The triumphant shout made her jump.

For a second, she was confused about what was going on. Glancing around, she looked for the person who had bought her. Then she saw Mersor handing a little boy a tag. The boy wove through the crowd and ran up on stage, handing the tag to the announcer. Of all the people, she thought, suppressing a groan. If I get stuck with him... The thought sickened her.

The announcer looped Mersor's tag around her neck and handed her off to the guards before she could even think about protesting. She spotted Ajax watching her as she was shoved through the door and tried to relax. He's not just going to leave me here, she assured herself.

Knowing that didn't comfort her much. If things were timed wrong, she would end up in the hands of one of the rebellion's biggest enemies. It would be an ironic situation- the leader of the rebellion reduced to a slave in her enemy's house. But the irony wouldn't make the issue any better. Plus, Mersor was known for his huge parties and many mistresses. She didn't want to think about what might happen if he tried that on her.

They shoved her back into her cell, and she sat down on the straw pile again. She let her head rest on the cell wall and rested a hand on her knee. Unlike most of the people in the cells, she appeared fairly relaxed.

Several minutes passed before a guard walked up to the cell and unlocked it. "Your new owner wants to see you," Ajax said, grabbing her arm and yanking her to her feet.

She started to follow him out of the warehouse, but paused. "Wait," she whispered once the real guards were out of earshot.

"What?" Ajax asked.

"We can't just leave the rest of them here," Amanda said. "They're lives will be miserable."

"We're going to take this slaver business out, Wren," her brother pointed out.

"That won't help them! Once this is over, the buyers will come in and collect them. We'll lose our chance," she argued. "We have to help."

"Seriously?" Ajax hissed, crossing his arms. "There are too many guards around."

She considered that. "Okay, look, the leader goes by Miss Lexi. As near as I can figure, they're based in Chicago. That's all the information I could get."

His brows lowered. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Just... you go. Get the intel to Zephyr. Give me the key card and a couple of knives and I'll take care of the people here," she explained.

"I can't let you do that! What if you get caught?"

She rolled her eyes. "Stop worrying about me. Getting the information to Zephyr is top priority right now. I'm just taking a little detour on the way out. I'll meet you at the diner."