Page 137 of Wilde and Deadly

The words hit like a sledgehammer.

Davey’s pulse slammed against his ribs. The gunfire. The silence. The fucking static. His vision blurred at the edges, his mind lagging behind his body. It was still stuck in the Humvee halfway across the world with a dead team and a busted-up leg.

He couldn’t lose Rowan.

Not like that.

Not likethem.

Sullivan shoved him. Not gently. A sharp, jolting push. “Davey.”

Adrenaline slammed through him like a goddamn freight train, and his mind finally caught up. He turned to Dom, who was all but vibrating with the need to kick ass. So Davey cut his leash.

“Go. We’re right behind you.”

Dom moved with startling speed, swinging his rifle to his shoulder and taking the ladder so fast he might as well have jumped.

Davey followed. No hesitation. No thought. Just action. Just movement. His boots hit the concrete in time with the pulse hammering in his ears.

Rowan was down there.

And he wasn’t losing her.

Hold on, Hellcat. I’m coming.

thirty-five

Breathe.

Rowan inhaled. The subway air was thick—rust, sweat, something stale.

Just breathe.

She exhaled slowly, shifting her weight.

Stay loose. Stay ready.

Despite the pulse thundering in her ears. Despite the bomb at her back. Despite the near-irresistible need to chase after Davey and make sure he was safe.

And breathe again. In for four. Hold for four. Out for four.

She forced the rhythm, grounding herself against the fear. Scanning the dark tunnels. Watching. Waiting.

No movement. Just the occasional rat scurrying along the tracks. No threats. Yet.

Behind her, Weston worked fast, his hands moving with precision as he traced the wires along Liam’s bomb vest. Sabin was crouched beside them, working the last of the locks, his fingers nimble despite the sweat beading along his brow.

Almost there.

Bridger hovered just behind them, silent but watchful, his rifle steady in his hands. He wasn’t pacing—Bridger never paced—but there was something in the tightness of his stance, the way his fingers flexed against his weapon, that told Rowan exactly how much he wanted to.

Liam gritted his teeth as Tessa held pressure to the gash on his head. He was swaying, barely upright, but still holding on.

“We’re still clear,” Rowan murmured. “No movement.”

Sabin hissed through his teeth and paused long enough to swipe at the sweat dripping down the side of his face. “Merde, cher, why don’t you just ask the universe to smite us while you’re at it?”

A hiccup of a laugh burst out of her with her next exhale. “The universe obviously wants us smited.”

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