Page 70 of Rupture

“Crap.” She winced as Duke snipped thread.

“Well, that’s a common side effect after a dumbass move like you just pulled.” His grip tightened on her hand, the fear of the last hour crystallizing into anger. Seeing her unconscious, blood matting her hair, had torn something loose inside him.

He leaned closer, voice dropping low. “Don’t ever do anything like that again.”

“Did it work?”

He barely suppressed a growl of frustration. “Yes. It worked.”

Her mouth shaped into a wonky smile.

“That doesn’t make what you did okay.” The words came out harder than he intended, but damn it, she needed to understand.

“No.” But her smile deepened.

Duke straightened. “Okay, that’s you patched up. But I want you to take it easy. You’ve had a concussion. Want to sit up?”

“Please.”

He pressed a button and the upper part of the bed raised.

Finn’s heart clenched at the sight of her skin, tinged faintly gray under the bright light. That had been too close. Far too close. His job was to protect, and he’d failed. He should have anticipated her actions, should have stopped her, taken the risk himself. Never again. “No more theatrics.”

Duke handed her a glass of water.

Rose sipped her drink. “I hear you.” She reached for Finn, tangled her slender fingers in his. “I’m not ready to die yet.”

“Well, isn’t this cozy? Everyone surviving without me?”

Finn twisted. Behind him, Luca waddled in bare feet across the med bay, a blanket pulled around his shoulders. His hair stuck up in all directions, but his color was good.

“Looks like I missed all the fun.” Luca’s eyes fixed on Rose’s bandaged head, pausing a moment too long. “You know, when I nearly died keeping your ass alive earlier, I didn’t mean for you to immediately go find new and creative ways to get yourself killed.” He shuffled closer, trying to look casual as he checked her over. “Nice stitches, though. Very apocalyptic chic.” He squared his shoulders. “So. Anyone squish all the murderous micro-bastards yet, or should I go back to dying quietly?”

Finn suppressed a grin. Yeah, Luca was definitely feeling better.

“Ethan Carter. There has been an evacuation from the Io habitat.” Remy’s composed voice sliced through the room.

“Evacuation?” Rose jerked off her pillow. Finn fought the urge to push her back down on the bed.

“That is correct. Dr. Thea Wyndham has evacuated the habitat.”

“What?” Ethan’s voice sharpened. “Remy, explain. Liev locked the repaired shuttle down tight before we trapped the swarm, just to be safe.”

“Dr. Thea Wyndham took scuba gear and evacuated through the moon pool thirty minutes ago.”

“While we were trapping the swarm.” Finn met Ethan’s gaze, understanding passing between them.

When he turned, he caught the dismay on Rose’s face. She hadn’t said it aloud, but he knew she’d hoped this mission might repair things with Thea.

“We’ll find her, Rose. Remy, do you have visuals from the exterior cameras?”

“Preparing visuals, Finn Jones. Displaying on the primary monitor now.”

A large screen on the far wall flickered to life. Static churned before resolving into an image. Thea swimming with a tow line trailing behind her, hauling some kind of kit. The looming shadow of the Io filled the backdrop.

Finn rose quickly from Rose’s bed and crossed to the screen for a closer look. “She’s circling the Io, not moving away from us.”

“That is correct, Finn Jones,” Remy confirmed.

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