Page 62 of Saint

“Oh, thank God,” Mia whispered, her frame sagging as she looked from the destroyed box to Saint. Nearby, Rip and Bruja stepped into the dim light, pistols aimed at Chadwick’s head.

“Money ain’t gonna buy your ass out of this, you sack of shit,” Saint hissed. “Mia, come here.”

Chadwick emitted a rage-filled sound, unable to do anything as Mia fled to Saint’s side and he wrapped a protective arm around her. As much as he wanted to immediately lodge a bullet in Carlisle’s brain, he hesitated. One, he didn’t want to kill the man in front of Mia. Even though he wasn’t really her father, she’d believed he was up until just recently. And, two, they might be able to garner important intel from him.

When Ryland pulled a pair of zip ties from his pocket, on the same wavelength, Saint nodded. Taking Carlisle prisoner was the smartest decision. After securing the ties around his wrists, Ryland tapped his comms and reported to Braxton.

Once again, the floor rolled and shifted beneath them.

“We need to go,” Inda stated, motioning for them to move.

“Pharaoh and Demon are heading for the southwest exit. Guards have all been neutralized,” Ryland reported. “Banshee confirmed massive avalanches have made the area unstable.”

“How do we get out of here?” Saint asked. “Is there another exit?”

Carlisle stared at him defiantly.

“I suggest you tell us now before this whole place comes down,” Ryland snapped, shoving him out the door.

“North corridor,” Carlisle finally revealed in a begrudging voice.

“Let’s go.” Ryland shoved the man forward.

Meanwhile, Saint tightened his arm around Mia, looking down at her as they moved forward at a clipped pace. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded bravely and he pressed a kiss to her temple. Dust and dirt covered her pretty blonde hair, but as soon as they were safe, Saint planned to wash the chaos from each golden strand.

Once they reached the north hallway, they abruptly halted. The floor in front of them had split right down the middle and Saint quickly gauged the distance. It was about a three-foot jump to the other side. Definitely doable.

“Everybody ready to jump?” Ryland asked.

“Go ahead,” Saint said.

Ryland easily leaped across the divide, followed by Inda.

“You’re next,” Saint told Carlisle. But the other man paused and looked down into the deep, dark crevice, as though contemplating whether or not to jump inside. “Don’t even think about it.”

But before he could jump, another epic rumble tore through the hallway, nearly knocking Saint off his feet. Without hesitation, he covered Mia, trying to protect her from the rocks that lodged loose from above and began to rain down.

Instead of the ceiling caving in again, the ground opened further, as though an otherworldly force tore the jagged crevice farther apart, widening the fissure. Powerless to stop it or move back in time, Saint felt the ground slide away from beneath his boots.

Then he, Mia and Carlisle fell into the endless black abyss below.

???

Mia cried out, losing her grip on Nik as they plummeted into the yawning hole. Somehow, she managed to snag hold of a rocky outcropping and stop her fall. Breathing hard, hanging on for dear life, she glanced down into the innards of the mountain.Jesus.It was a deep, bottomless black pit with no end in sight.

Where was Nik?

She didn’t see him or Chadwick and her heart crashed against her ribs. Had they fallen all the way down? Was the man she loved lying somewhere down there, broken on the rocks.God.They’d never be able to reach him. Never be able to get his body out of there.

Just before a sob could tear from her throat, Nik called her name. A wave of relief moved through her and she tilted her head back, looking up. He was perched on a narrow ledge almost directly above her.

“Mia, hang on, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re okay!” Nik called up to Inda and Ryland.

---