Page 89 of Revenant

“Dallas?” Feet shuffle, then DJ shoves forward until he’s standing before us.

“Dillon!” The big man grabs his younger brother by the shoulders and drags him close, practically smothering the skinny kid with his muscles. “I knew you weren’t fucking dead. I just knew it.”

Dallas’ eyes meet mine, and his jaw drops. “You knew!”

“You’re too kind to work at this place. I figured you must be looking for someone. I recognized DJ—Dallas Junior—immediately.” I snort and roll my eyes. “The resemblance is kind of hard to miss. He has that same stubborn,I’m going to rip off your facemood as you do.”

“So that’s why you call me DJ,” Dillon mutters, pulling away from his brother to glare at me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It would’ve only made you more suspicious.” I shrug when he narrows his eyes. Before I can finish, a hacking cough takes me by surprise, and I can’t seem to catch my breath.

“Talk later,” Hicks snaps, his worried gaze meeting mine. I’m only a little annoyed that the fucker isn’t even affected by the smoke. “Let’s worry about escaping first.”

Dallas nods, squeezing his brother one more time, sweeping the poor kid off his feet before he reluctantly releases him. Then he takes charge and leads us through a maze of hallways and rooms. I’m coughing so hard I can’t catch my breath, my watering eyes blinding me. Gunner tucks me close against his chest, his hand on the back of my head, and I bury my face into the crook of his neck as I cling to him, trusting that he will get us out alive.

Chapter Thirty-three

RUE

Idon’t realize that I passed out until damp grass seeps through the back of my shirt, and I’m blinking up at the smokey sky. My eyeballs ache like they were scrubbed with sandpaper, and I suck in a deep breath of fresh air into my oxygen starved lungs.

And practically cough up said lungs.

I curl up on my side as my muscles protest the abuse. A hand rubs soothingly up and down my back, while another hand tucks a sooty strand of my hair behind my ear. When I’m panting, too worn out to cough more, I see flames licking up the building in the distance.

Emergency personnel are on the scene, working to contain the blaze, while nursing staff, doctors, and a slew of orderlies struggle to keep the patients corralled. From the distance, everyone looks like ants crawling over the property.

Worry over whether the guys made it out alive obliterates all rational thought, and I jolt upright, frantically scanning my surroundings. I sag in relief when I find them gathered aroundme, sprawled across the grass. Ellis and the twins are breathing hard, their skin streaked with soot. Gunner looks like he tried to crawl up a chimney. Hicks is without his shirt…and looks perfectly unruffled.

Somehow, I’m not surprised.

He is standing guard, an unnatural stillness to him that catches my attention, and I glance in the direction he’s looking. My blood chills in my veins when I spot them—soldiers standing along the ridge, overlooking the asylum.

They aren’t the same ones hired to work at the hospital. No, these soldiers radiate authority and power, especially one man wearing a full military uniform. I instinctively shrink away, not wanting to draw their attention, but we’re protected by a line of trees.

The soldiers only stay a few minutes, then turn on their heels and disappear into the woods. Not much later, three vehicles start and drive away.

“We’re not safe here,” I murmur, pushing to my feet with a painful groan, and Hicks grunts in agreement.

“The doctor might be dead, his research gone, but we have no idea who accessed the information before we destroyed it.” He turns away and places his hands on his hips as he meets my gaze with a hard expression. “Someone hired the doctor to find answers. Those people are still out there. We can’t be sure that they won’t start up again.”

I shudder at the thought, forking my fingers through my hair and dragging the smoke drenched strands away from my face. “None of us will ever be safe.”

I knew it, but it’s another thing to have the truth slap me in the face.

The guys drag themselves to their feet, their movements stiff as they gather protectively around me. Gunner gazes off in the direction where the soldiers disappeared, a protective growlrumbling in his chest, his muscles bulking up as if he wants to go after them and eliminate the threat. Before he can take a step, I plant myself in front of him, then thread my arms around his waist and press my cheek against his chest.

The frantic thrumming of his heartbeat slowly calms, the growl fades, and his arms close around me as he tugs me closer. When I’m sure he’s not about to stride into danger, I peer up at him. “We can’t afford to march off without a plan. We need time to heal and adjust to our new reality before we start a war.”

He sighs heavily, then leans down and kisses the crown of my head in grudging acceptance. I linger in the comfort of his arms for a moment longer before pulling away.

That’s when I spot that we’re not alone.

Sue, Mabel, Brad, and DJ stand together, their group lingering a few yards away. Dallas hovers protectively near his brother, his arms crossed over his massive chest, his face smudged with soot. A handful of other patients stand behind them, a lot of them looking a little worse for wear. I expected them to scatter the instant they gained their freedom, but they remain huddled together, looking shell-shocked and terrified, and I can’t blame them.

Their life was uprooted by the doctor, and I doubt any of them have a place to go.

Nowhere safe, anyway.

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