Page 139 of I Will Mend You

.

SIXTY-EIGHT

AMETHYST

I freeze, my eyes widening as beams of red light target my chest. Before I can even register the ambush, Xero shoves me down. I hit the rug with his larger body crushing mine, then my ears ring with the roar of automated gunfire.

My heart thrashes. All the air escapes my lungs. Bullets fly from wall to wall, and Xero flinches.

On instinct, I rear up, but he presses my head into the carpet. “Stay down.”

My breath shallows. “Xero, you’re hurt.”

He tenses, but neither confirms nor denies. His breath is hot against my neck, making me shiver. I can’t tell if it’s out of pressure or pain, but we can’t continue to lie here, exposed.

Staring out into the dark, I eye the room for shelter or escape. The bed lies a few feet ahead. Its mattress is the only thing that isn’t exploding. I elbow Xero in the ribs and yell, “Hide under there.”

“I’m not leaving you exposed,” he snarls.

Desperation fuels my next words. “Then we move together. Under the bed, now!”

With a grunt, he crawls across the floor, covering every inch of my body like a shield. Bullets whizz past, embedding into the wall and nightstand. We make it to the bed just as a round hits the nearby rug.

“Did you think you could break into my house, assholes?” A female voice sounds over the speakers.

Her words trigger a slew of fresh memories, making every fine hair on my body stand on end. It’s the bitch who came to my bedroom every night, telling me to kill my baby brother. Some days, she’d appear as a wraith. Others, a disembodied voice.

Once again, Charlotte has gotten the upper hand.

“Ignore her,” Xero rumbles, shoving me further under the bed. I close my eyes, trying to shut her out, but the memories keep coming more vividly than a dream.

One time, she sat on my chest, crushing my lungs until I passed out. When I woke up the next morning, my mind was filled with images of her pale face, her blood-spattered gown, her red fingers. Mom looked around my room and told me it was a nightmare, but I could still feel the lingering pressure on my ribs.

Another voice fills the Bluetooth in my ear. It’s Tyler’s and he sounds urgent. “Shutters just fell across every door and window in the building. What’s happening?”

“Charlotte’s placed us in lockdown,” Xero snarls. “She’s in a panic room, attacking us with remote-controlled weapons.”

“We turned the power off. She might have a generator.” Tyler replies.

“Or she’s siphoning power from a neighbor like a parasite,” I say, remembering how Charlotte used to cozy up with Dad when Mom was upstairs resting.

Xero snorts. “If you can’t shut her down, we’ll expire long before she runs out of ammunition.”

Bullets pierce the mattress and hit the metal bed frame. How the hell can anyone be so calm when we’re stuck in a killing room? Xero might be protecting me, but how long will his armor continue to protect him?

“Give me a few minutes. Let me override the lockdown,” Tyler says.

“No time. Activate the EMP.”

“But that will fry our tech,” Tyler says.

“Then protect as much of it as you can. Start the countdown.” Xero plucks my night vision goggles off my head, along with the attached Bluetooth, and pulls the comms device from my jacket. “Stick these in your left pocket. It’s the only one that’s shielded.”

With trembling fingers, I do as I’m told and place a hand over that pocket for extra protection. Xero shifts on top of me, moving his devices. Seconds later, my ears fill with a high-pitched ringing, and then the bullets stop.

We slump at the sudden stillness, both releasing identical exhales. The next few heartbeats stretch out like minutes. Our breathing synchronizes, and the butterflies in my chest flutter. Knowing he would sacrifice his life to save mine does strange things to my heart.

When he rolls off my back with a soft grunt, I already miss his comforting weight.

---