Page 51 of Perilous Healing

“And how do I know you won’t run?” River demands.

“Because she can’t run with me and I can’t move as fast with her in my arms. Now you’ll let me carry her, or you might as well drug me, too.”

“Absolutely not,” Yarrow snaps.

“Give her to him,” River orders after taking a moment to consider.

“What? No.”

“We’re all trying to be friends here, Yarrow. If he wants to carry Bianca’s dead weight around, then let him.”

I cross over toward Yarrow, keeping my gaze locked on him, my expression furious. “Go on then, Yarrow, listen to your puppet master.”

Yarrow stands perfectly still as I take Bianca from him. I can see the shallow rise and fall of her chest, but her complexion is far paler than it should be.I promise I’ll get us out of here.

“This way,” River says as he moves past us, walking through the main door. As we’re passing, the office door where he’d sent the man he’d called Javier opens. Two of the guards leave, one of them carrying a black body bag over his shoulder.

“So you didn’t even have the guts to look him in the eyes when you killed him,” I sneer.

“I see no need for the show of power anymore,” River replies flatly.

With Yarrow behind me, I can’t turn and run. Can’t sprint toward the exit. And I don’t trust them not to kill us if I try and stall. So, even though I understand the weight of it, I make my way down the hall and out a back exit into an emergency stairwell.

Good.Hope burns through me. Lance will have had the stairwell covered, which means—but instead of going down, we head up. I listen, hoping to hear the cavalry arriving, but the stairwell is silent.

Completely and eerily quiet.

Where is Lance? Michael? Elijah? Jaxson?

Why are they not here?

We emerge onto the rooftop where two guards are waiting for us. Yarrow reaches out for Bianca. “Give her to me so we can get you ready,” he deadpans.

I don’t budge.

“Better listen to him, SEAL. I don’t think even you could manage to hold onto her while climbing a rope ladder into a helicopter.”

As he says it, the unmistakable whirring of blades fills my ears. I look up just in time to see a helicopter hovering above us. A rope cord is dropped, and River is outfitted with a vest that the guard clips carabiners to. Seconds later, he’s pulled up into the helicopter.

One of the guards outfits me with a vest and from above, a thick cord of rope is dropped. He clips the carabiners into my vest, then Yarrow hands me Bianca who has a similar vest on her body.

He clips Bianca to my chest as I cradle her close.

Two more ropes are dropped, and Yarrow and both guards clip their vests to the thick cords. Then, Yarrow looks up at the helicopter and makes a sign with his hands.

Air rushes over me as we’re drawn upward.

We’re mere seconds from the helicopter when the door bursts open and Lance rushes out, flanked by Elijah, Jaxson, Michael, and three uniformed officers.

“Shoot it down!” I bellow.

But I know Lance won’t. Because doing so would mean Bianca and I both go down with it.

He lowers his weapon, and all of my hope vanishes. Once this helicopter is out of view, we’re at River’s mercy. He has the connections to take us anywhere…the ability to disappear.

Is he going to kill us?

Torture us?

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