Page 141 of I Will Mend You

“Shit.”

Xero grabs my arm and spins me around, sending me racing ahead back up the stairs.

“Head for the front door. Now!” he roars.

Panic punches me in the chest, propelling my movements. I thunder up the steps to the ground floor. Xero barks orders atTyler, who says something about the EMP blast taking out the remote-control bomb he planted around the perimeter.

We’re trapped. Trapped in a house about to explode. Xero will die, never reaching his goal, and Dolly, Charlotte, and Delta will go unpunished.

We reach the front door, and my last hope shatters as Xero’s ax fails to make a dent. Cursing, he rushes into the living room to hack at the window shutters.

I stand in the hallway, paralyzed by terror. My skin breaks out in a cold sweat. We have less than thirty seconds left before that bomb detonates.

“Tyler,” I stutter into the Bluetooth. “Can one of your team fly over a grenade?”

“Affirmative. Stand back from the front door. Drone incoming. Ten… Nine… Eight.”

“Amethyst!” Xero charges out of the room, scoops me off my feet, dives into the kitchen, and slams me against the wall. His large body covers mine completely, a solid shield against the impending explosion. His breath is hot and ragged against my ear, mingling with the acrid scent of gunfire and fear.

“Four… Three… Two…”

An explosion rips through the house with a deafening boom. Debris flies from the walls as a shockwave rattles the floor. Plaster and dust rain down on us like it’s Armageddon.

As I’m reeling from the impact, Xero picks me up again and launches us both through the smoky hole. The night air hits me like a punch, but I barely have time to register the change in atmosphere before we’re moving again.

Xero picks up speed, clinging to me like his life depends on it. We race down the street, passing houses, trees, and cars that whip by in a dizzying frenzy. My heart pounds so hard in my ears that it muffles the second explosion.

Fire brightens the sky, followed by a gust of heat that knocks Xero off his feet. He dives behind a truck, cradling me so tightly that I’m at risk of suffocating before the bomb can do its work. My breaths come in shallow gasps, my heart hammering a furious rhythm against my ribs.

Sirens blare. People scream. Car alarms ring. The toxic stench of smoke fills the air. A vehicle screeches toward us in reverse. Its back door swings open, revealing Jynxson.

“Get in!” he shouts from the driver’s seat, his face illuminated by the horrifying glow of the fire.

Xero rises on shaky legs and tosses me into the vehicle, climbing in as the tires screech away from the scene.

He grabs me by the throat, his grip tight but not threatening. “Amethyst,” he snarls through gritted teeth, scanning my face with frantic eyes. “Never do that again.”

But I saved us, didn’t I?

My lips part with a protest, but he silences me with a kiss.

SIXTY-NINE

XERO

If I don’t kiss Amethyst, I’ll throttle her for interfering.

We were on the brink of escaping. I’d just created a hole in the shutters when she ordered the explosions.

Sure, her move was effective, but it was also premature and reckless. We had seconds to spare and could have escaped through the window before the bomb in the basement detonated, but Amethyst had to jump the proverbial gun.

She tenses beneath my lips, and for a moment, I forget she’s fragile. Not only traumatized from being assaulted at the asylum, but from resurfaced memories, each one a raw nerve, pulsing with excruciating pain. I draw back, needing to erase the unwanted touch, but her arms encircle my shoulders, drawing me closer.

Her lips are tentative, soft, yet they ignite a fire that I’ve been trying to keep banked. The truck rumbles down the road, making a sharp turn that knocks us both into its metal wall, but I barely notice our surroundings.

“What was that for?” she asks, her voice breathy against my lips.

“I almost lost you,” I snarl. “We could have gotten out seconds before the explosion if you hadn’t interfered.”

---