Page 66 of Burn Like An Angel

“Watch your step.”

Lennox pulls me upright, setting me back on my feet. He doesn’t release me at first. Instead, his arms squeeze tighter, holding my back to his broad chest. I feel his breath stirring in my hair.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “You can let go.”

In all the madness, his scent still registers. It’s rare that I’m close enough to drink in its intoxication. Lennox smells like summer campfires and musky, burning wood, carried into my senses like curling smoke.

His one unbandaged hand is balled into a fist above my stomach, making the scar tissue that disfigures his knuckles stand out. He twists the front of my t-shirt before blowing out a tense breath.

“You need to be more careful.”

Releasing my t-shirt, Lennox’s arms vanish. I immediately miss the firm press of his steel-carved muscles around me. The same arms that held me close the last time we faced death.

“Come on!” Xander bellows at us.

I look up at Lennox, his vast height towering above me. Two pale-green orbs stare back, the ever-present, burning hatred now awash with more concern and mind-bending tenderness than I can fathom.

“Look where you’re going,” he grumbles. “Now move.”

With a far gentler push, Lennox encourages me to continue following. There isn’t time to consider my actions. I reach down and grab his huge hand, forcing his fingers to wrap around mine.

Nostrils flaring in surprise, he glances at me. I stare back for a prolonged moment, allowing him to see my warring emotions.

Perhaps this is all we’ll ever be.

Simply each other’s means of survival.

Rushing to catch up, we find Xander and Raine as the trees begin to thin out. The cloudy morning sky emerges once more, penetrating the thick canopy overhead. With it comes the sight we’ve been searching for.

Glinting barbed wire. Sharp spikes. The metal monstrosity stretches at least ten feet tall, topped with deadly razor points and an array of security cameras. I don’t have time to worry about whether they’re working.

“Shit.” Lennox comes to a halt.

“Yeah,” Xander replies tersely. “It’s high.”

“Can we even climb that?”

“We have no choice,” I answer them. “Be thankful it isn’t electrified with the power still out.”

“Hate to be the voice of doom and all,” Raine vocalises. “But I can’t climb shit. Not without being able to see it.”

Glancing between us and the fence, Xander taps his lips, falling into deep concentration. Our options are limited. We climb or stay. Run or surrender. Die falling or die kneeling. That damn fence can’t stop us now.

“Xander goes first with Lennox.” I eye the towering fence. “He’s still one-handed. Then I’ll support Raine on this side. Xander guides him down the other, and I’ll climb last.”

“Forget it,” Xander snarls.

Lennox glowers at me like I just suggested something utterly insane. “We are not leaving you standing here alone.”

“Agreed,” Raine parrots.

“We don’t have time to argue!” I look around the circle. “This is the only way it’ll work. So climb!”

They exchange grim looks. Raine remains silent, but eventually, Lennox and Xander both stiffen as they seem to reach the same conclusion. It’s this or nothing; we don’t have time to find another solution.

Xander’s subsequent choice of curse words raises even Lennox’s eyebrows. Resolving himself to this decision, the iceman goes first, peering up at the individual chain-links and looming spikes.

“Wait!” I quickly pull off my green parka to hand over. “Tie this around your waist. You can cover the spikes.”

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