It isn't long before Reece walks in. He stands by the bookshelf and leans against it, refusing to look at me. "You're not coming tomorrow," he finally says.

My stomach turns. "Why?"

"Because you're reckless," he says, "and I can't trust you."

He goes to leave but I grab his arm, forcing him to face me. "It was a mistake. I'm sorry."

He shakes his arm from out of my grip. "A mistake like that in Marine World will cost us all," he says, stepping closer. "What were you going to do, Aura, shoot him?"

I swallow hard, hating the way he's looking at me. "No." I avert my gaze. "I don't know. Muriel is gone because of him, Reece. Because of what he did to her."

"I know what he did," Reece says, his expression softening. He gently takes hold of either side of my face, his eyes searching mine. "And I would kill him myself if I could. But there are laws, Aura. Consequences. You can't just go around–" He stops to exhale before meeting my gaze. "We haven't come this far for you to get locked up again, and that's what's going to happen if you don't learn the rules."

I remain silent, acutely aware of his fingers on my skin. I know his anger is only driven by his need to protect me, and a part of me knows I don't deserve it. Don't deserve him. I pointed a gun at him back in Marine World, I was going to take his car and leave him at the side of the road. I've done nothing but prove I'm willing to put my own freedom before anything else, yet he keeps trying to sacrifice his for mine.

"Maybe you were right," I say, closing my eyes. "Maybe I'm dangerous."

Reece tilts my chin until I'm forced to look at him. "You're a lot of things, Aura. Brave, caring, stubborn–" he steps closer again until we're inches apart, "but never dangerous."

My heart does a flip as his thumb strokes my cheek. "I'm scared, Reece."

His eyes flash protectively. "I won't let anything happen to you."

A powerful warmth ignites in my stomach. I tilt my head slightly, aware of how close his lips are to mine.

I've always wondered how it would feel to have somebody kiss me. To feel desired, or loved, or like somebody needed me; I don't have to wonder anymore.

My lips are on his before I can think straight. Reece inhales sharply like he hadn't been expecting it, but he doesn't pull away. Instead, his hands grip my waist and he pulls me towards him, closing the distance between us.

My heart pounds in rhythm with the rise of his chest. His tongue pries my lips apart, urgent and warm, like he's been waiting for this moment; I think deep down, I have been too.

It only lasts another few seconds. He pulls away before I do, his lips red and swollen, and my own start to tingle in the absence of his mouth. I can't for the life of me understand this feeling in my stomach, but it gives me some semblance of hope for tomorrow–I have to survive.

He stares at me for what feels like forever, still surprised by my actions. He goes to speak, and I'm both excited and terrified of what he might say, but then Ben shouts for us to meet him downstairs, and the moment is lost.

"Come on," Reece says, grabbing my hand. "We're about to go through the plan for tomorrow."

He leads me downstairs in silence, where Ben is already sitting on the couch with a notepad and pen. I take a seat next to him, unable to stop myself from looking at Reece. He is staring at Ben's notes with the utmost precision, like our kiss never happened. I tell myself it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is rescuing Asia and Jewel.

"So, what's the plan?" I ask.

"Once we get into Marine World, we spend the day acting as guests," Ben explains. "Going on rides, visiting the enclosures, eating and that kind of thing. Once the fireworks start and everyone is distracted, we'll hide somewhere in the park and wait for closing. Reece, where's a spot with the least amount of cameras?"

At the mention of Reece's name, I force myself to look at him. His lips are still pink and swollen around the edges–I wonder if Ben can tell.

"Probably near the lake," Reece says after a moment or two. "There's a lot of foliage around there that we can hide behind, and a fake surf hut that leads down into the employee tunnels."

Ben nods, quickly scribbling something down on his notepad before looking up expectantly.

"The best time to try and get them out is the next morning," Reece says, taking the pen and paper from Ben before writing something down. "Their breakfast will be served at seven and at eight, they'll have one last check by a member of staff before opening. We'll be out of the enclosure and back at the lake by eight-thirty, ready to leave the park when it opens at nine."

A foolproof plan–so far. "What about the cameras in the enclosure?" I ask.

"That's the hard part," Reece says with a frown, "but I know of a hidden surveillance room near Barnacle Bay. My father took me there after Crystal killed Alison. It has surveillance cameras that the regular guards don't have access to. If his username and password are still the same, I can log in as him."

Reece must notice my confused expression. "There's a tier system at Marine World," he explains. "Regular guards are tier one, along with janitors, ride operators and other similar roles. They don't know anything about you being there against your will."

"What are–were–you?" I ask.

He looks away briefly. "Tier two."

I shudder at the thought of how much tier three must know.

"If my dad's username and password are still the same, I can log on to his account and put the tunnels and the enclosure on a loop," Reece says. "Any guards viewing the cameras won't be able to see us."

"How do we know there won't already be a tier two or three guard in the hidden surveillance room?" Ben asks.

"We don't," Reece says with a pointed look. "A lot of this plan is hoping for the best, but security is usually quite lax once the park closes."

"They might have tightened things up since my escape," I point out, "and how are we going to get into the tunnels without a key card? I'm assuming Asia and Jewel will still have a guard watching them. How are we going to get past him?"

"If their guard is still the same as when I was working there, it shouldn't be too difficult," Reece says without looking up. "Kenny's a chain smoker. All we need to do is wait outside of the mermaid enclosure for him to take a cigarette break. We'll grab his key card, and then I'll head to the surveillance room to put the cameras on a loop. At eight, we'll get the girls and go back through the tunnels to our hiding spot at the lake."

Reece finally looks at me, his expression softening. "We'll need to wait ten minutes after the park opens to get on the monorail, or we'll draw attention to ourselves."

I nod, because the plan seems straightforward, but I'm not that gullible. I can see one hundred different things going wrong tomorrow, and I can't silence the thought that even if we do make it back out with the others, how will I provide for them once they're free?

"I'll take you all to the cabin I was going to take you to before," Reece says before I can ask. "You can all stay there until we figure the rest out."

I bite the inside of my thumb, a habit I can't seem to kick. "They'll be expecting us."

"I doubt it," Ben says. "Who would be stupid enough to break back into a place they broke out of?"

"They might have upped the number of guards though," Reece adds. "Either way, there's no point in guessing. We'll see when we get there."

"Okay, we'll leave around eight," Ben says, getting to his feet. "Time for my beauty sleep." He disappears without a word, leaving Reece and I sitting on the couch with a Ben-sized space between us.

I know I should be focusing on what happens tomorrow, but a part of me can't stop wondering about what will happen after. Breaking into Marine World and rescuing the others seems like the easy part, the part I know how to do, but surviving? Living? It is the part that terrifies me.

"I guess the girls and I will have to try and get jobs somehow," I say in a bid to break the silence. "Ben said I'd make a lot of money working at some club, right?"

Reece's expression darkens, and his eyes flash back at me in an almost protective manner. "You're not working there," he says stiffly, getting to his feet.

I do the same so that I'm standing before him. "Why, what is it?" If I am going to survive in the real world I'm going to need money, and by the sounds of it, there isn't a lot I'll be able to do without whatever papers Ben referred to.

"It's a place that will exploit you just as much as Marine World did," he says, his voice low.

His jaw is so clenched that I can make out the outline of each and every muscle. I give him a small nod to show him I understand, watching the way his expression relaxes before he glances at the clock.

"It's late," he says. "You should get some sleep before tomorrow."

I hover for a moment, wishing I were brave enough to voice my concerns, but instead I give him another brief nod and then make my way to bed.

Hey guys, some of you may know that I wrote this book a long time ago and then took it down to edit it. I've finished what I wanted to edit, so I was wondering: 🧜🏽‍♀️