Page 74 of Silk and Steel

To my surprise, the pain that comes is minor and mostly relegated to my right knee. Blood darkens my kneecap, and bits of gravel are embedded in the skin.

I tell my body to rise, and it obeys. I’m sore all over, but intact. Ahead of me, the van skids into a hard turn, fishtailing around the curve until it rams, back first, into a thick oak tree.

Glass shatters, and I hear Julian and Banner shouting. I don’t wait around to see what happens next. Turning my back onthe wreck, I rush into the woodland surrounding the old logging camp.

I hope I don't run into a mountain lion. This is prime territory for one. How ironic would it be to escape Julian and his serial killer buddies only to die because of an overgrown cat?

My luck holds. No predators jump out to eat me. But I can hear shouting from the road behind, and the sounds of breaking branches and crashing foliage. I have no choice but to keep running.

“There she is!” Julian shouts. “I see her, running next to that gully.”

I look over my shoulder, and see Julian struggling through a copse of trees. Then my leading foot hits nothing but air and I’m falling.

I don’t have time to scream as I strike a slope of hard edged gravel and slide down headfirst. The gully Julian was talking about. When I hit the bottom, I spit out a mouthful of gravel and groan. Did I break something this time, or can I move?

I roll over onto my stomach, a thousand little agonies shooting through my body. Moaning, I plant my palms on the rocky ground, preparing to push myself up onto my feet…

Only to freeze when my gaze falls on a man’s boot inches from my nose.

18

COLE

Emory stiffens up in terror, then scrambles backward away from me.

“It’s me, Twinkletoes.”

The sound of her nickname snaps her out of it. Emory blinks, and then her eyes focus on my face for the first time. Her mouth falls open as I hold out my hand to help her up.

She goes with the momentum of my lift, flying into my arms and wrapping me in a tight embrace. I hug her back, careful about my shredded fingertips. The last thing I want is for my makeshift bandages to leak and stain her lovely golden hair with my blood.

“Oh my God, Cole, he told me you were dead. He said the Surgeon killed you.”

“It’s okay. Baby.” I hold her close and sigh. “He took his shot, but I was the better man today.”

“You’re the better man every day. And you’re my man.”

She stiffens up against me and then draws back.

“Sorry, that, um, kind of just came out.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I like the sound of it. But if I’m your man, then you’re my girl.”

A wonderful smile blooms on her face, her eyes shining in the twilight.

“I can agree to those terms.”

A shout echoes in the woods. Battle honed instinct takes over. I push her behind me and put my body between her and the sound.

“It’s Julian,” Emory says, clinging to my sleeve and peering over my shoulder. “He has Banner with him. They both have guns.”

“What kind?”

“Um, handguns.”

“Automatic or revolvers?”

She groans. “I’m a dance instructor, not an armory officer. They were guns, okay?”

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