Fractured (Josie) novel Chapter 296

Chapter 296 

**Luke’s POV** 

+25 BONUS 

Brent gives me a tout, which takes only a few minutes. There is a communal type area with dirty pillows on the floor and makeshift tables made out of wooden pallets. Brent tells me breakfast will be served here in the morning. There are stacks of board games and playing cards on a pallet in the corner and another pallet is full of packaged paper plates, plastic cups and cutlery. There are large bottles of water that look like they have been refilled many times, the plastic warped and dirty. 

“I don’t suppose there’s a bathroom, is there?” I ask, trying not to show my disappointment at their living conditions. 

“There’s one around here somewhere,” Brent says, leading me down another mud tunnel. “Here, we move it every few days for obvious reasons. You can always tell which one is a toilet by the colour of the curtain. If it’s one of these blue ones, it’s a toilet,” he says, holding back a curtain to reveal a literal hole in the ground. I fight the urge to wrinkle my nose in disgust. 

“What about washing facilities?” 

“We have daily trips up to one of the gyms or leisure centers, we have people working in them that can let us in to shower. I’ll make sure someone takes you tomorrow. We also have fresh clothes brought down daily. You can leave your dirty clothes in the corner of the communal area, and they will be taken to the laundrette and returned. I can’t guarantee someone won’t take them though. It’s a bit of a free–for–all with the clothes,” he shrugs. 

“That’s fine. Thank you. It’s quite the set–up you have here,” 

“We are constantly on the move, so we don’t have anything permanent, but it works. Get some sleep, I’ll probably see you in the morning,” he says before porting out. 

After Brent leaves, I debate my options. Should I go back to Robert or search for Harper? I’m sure there won’t just be teens down here. They will have someone here keeping them under control, because there’s no way a group of teens would follow a set bedtime routine without it being enforced. Whoever is watching the teens has most likely been told to keep an eye on me and Robert too. 

I make my way back to Robert, peeking my head in to checkon him. He is curled up on his side, snoring softly. I step back, looking down the tunnel. I can see multiple curtains covering the entranceways to more rooms. Harper could be so close, right behind any one of these curtains. I wish I could just call out to her, but that is the worst idea. 

I check my bond link. They’re all still awake and anxious. 

“I’ve been taken to some underground tunnel system. It’s like Cornelius‘ hideout, but on a much larger scale. They are living underground in burrows like rabbits. The whole place is silent, but the guy who brought me here said this place is full of teens. I’m going to start searching the rooms, but this place is like a maze,” I say into the mind link. 

“So we were right about them possibly being underground, Deacon says. 

“Yes, we had no chance of finding them,” I confirm. “I have another lead for you to check out. They are using gyms and leisure centers to shower. They have people worlding there to let them in, so you might want to get some surveillance set up on any that are near the locations we found evidence in.” 

“Good work, Luke. I’ll let Raff know and get something setup to monitor them,” D responds. 

“Okay, Robert is still sleeping, so I’m searching alone for now. I’ll update you when I can.” 

+25 BONUS 

Chapter 276 

“Be careful, don’t get yourself caught snooping around in there,” Mason warns. 

“I won’t,” I reassure. 

“Luke, I’m so proud of you, and I love you,” Josie says. 

“I love you too, Sweetness, I’ll be back with you soon, I promise,” I tell her before closing down the link. 

I very slowly pull back the curtain of the first room I come to. It’s the same as the one Robert and I have been assigned, and this one has two boys sleeping in it. It’s difficult to see them clearly in the dim light, but I’m almost certain neither of them are Archie or Dillon.