Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
His gaze lowers and lands on me, relief bleeding from him, and I’m pulled into an embrace and hugged fiercely before his hands cradle my face. “Addie. Addie. I thought—”
I catch his hair and lean into him, pressing my lips to his lips, desperate for the warm comfort that, on some level, I know brought me back to life. Those lips. This man. A memory—of those guns pointed at us, of being certain we were going to die—washed over me. One minute there were the guns, the next… “We windwalked.”
“Yes,” he says, pulling back. “I had no choice. If I’d have used the wind, I might have hurt the Renegades. They were going to—”
“Kill us,” I supply. “I know.”
“We need to get you down to medical,” he says, already pulling me into his arms and to my feet when an alarm sounds. My heart jackhammers, and I follow Creed’s gaze to the cavern wall as it parts. Caleb and Jensen appear in a gust of wind, shadowy figures in black fatigues that fade into the darkness outside the door.
Jensen takes one step forward and collapses, blood pooling beside his body. The wind carried three more men to the door, two of whom were hunched over in pain and injured as well.
My attention shifts to Creed, and I can read the conflicted emotion spreading across his face. He’s worried about me and them. “Go!” I yell, pushing out of his arms. “I’m okay! Please. Go. Help them.”
He hesitates only a moment before he’s running toward the injured soldiers. I stumble but find my footing, watching in horror as Caleb throws Jensen over his shoulder and starts walking toward the back of the warehouse in the direction of a row of elevators. Blood trails in his wake, pooling on the floor. A lot of blood. Leaving no question about the seriousness of Jensen’s injuries.
Guilt stabs at me with a mighty blade as Creed throws another injured man over his shoulder, whose name I remotely remember as Maddox. I’d liked Maddox when I’d met him back at Area 51, just as I’ve always liked Jensen. These men were hurt protecting me.
“Please,” I whisper softly, my gaze lifting upward, calling on faith I’ve perhaps forgotten too much lately. “Don’t let them die.”
Even as I say a little prayer, I run toward the elevators, determined not to be left alone in the warehouse, determined to help any way possible. I catch up in time to squeeze into the car with Caleb and Creed as they carry the other two men’s bodies.
I can feel the kindred spirit between these men—these Renegades. They are all, and have always been, Renegades. How had I ever believed Creed would follow Julian rather than Caleb?
The elevator lowers slowly. Too slowly. A lifetime for these men, I fear, and the silence is thick with that implication.
“What happened out there?” Creed asks, his voice rigid and low.
“Maddox was down when I got there. I was retrieving him when Jensen windwalked right into the middle of the gunfire and took the Green Hornets.”
“He saved you,” he assumes.
“Zodius won’t kill me. They know my brother forbids it.”
“Maybe not intentionally, but that doesn’t mean you might not have died out there. Your life is too valuable to risk losing. You have to lead us the hell out of this mess. Correction. You’re destined to lead us the hell out of this.”
“Spare me the talk about the grandness of my life while Jensen is bleeding to death over my shoulder, Creed. My life is no more valuable than—”
“Like hell, it’s not,” Creed counters, “and we all know it even if you don’t.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Shaken. Guilt ripping through me. Could I have prevented any of this by seeing my father for the greedy killer that he is way back when Project Zodius began? All of this started with him.
“This isn’t your fault, Addie,” Caleb says, shocking me with the certainty that he has read my mind. Though nothing should shock me about the GTECHs any longer.
“No,” Creed agrees roughly. “It’s mine.”
My heart leaps at his declaration of blame. Was he talking about being the one to bring me here tonight? Because I regret agreeing to such a thing. God, how I regret coming here, allowing these men to defend me and ending up hurt.
Or maybe, for Creed, this is about my father. About allowing him to live. He regrets that decision, I know. How can I not know? It’s a hot poker between us, branding all that we are.
The elevator doors slide open. Medical staff await, and Jensen and Maddox are unloaded onto a rolling gurney, and the crew has them moving quickly down a narrow stone-covered foyer. Caleb and Creed follow, and I double-step through a wave of nausea to follow. We end in what resembles a large emergency room with a center desk and curtained-off rooms.