Page 82 of Chasing Paradise

It was sore. But that was the least of our problems.

“No, it’s fine. Drink your water.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, but his gaze kept creeping back to my arm.

“You should probably get some rest,” I insisted when, finished with his water, he slowly got to his feet.

“Fuck, that’s sore still,” he said, taking a few steps. “Better than it being completely fucking paralyzed, though.” He moved around until he was no longer wincing with each step before coming back toward me. “You okay?” he asked.

“Me? Nothing happened to me.”

His head cocked to the side. “Duchess…”

“What?”

“It’s not easy to watch someone in pain like that. With no way to help.”

“It was a long night. I’m just glad you’re—”

“Fuck,” Wick said, eyes wide as my words fell away because I heard it too.

Men’s voices.

My worst fears from the night before were realized. The screaming had led them right to us.

And they sounded close.

There was no thinking.

Wick grabbed my hand and we ran.

I knew his leg must have been killing him, but Wick set a punishing pace regardless.

Unfortunately, moving quickly meant we weren’t as careful about making sure our footsteps were silent.

And all that cracking of twigs and scattering of birds sent the assassins in our direction.

I would swear that even over my own labored breathing, I could hear theirs as well.

If anything, I was sure they were catching up to us even as the sky above us darkened, the air taking on an electric feel that had me tensing.

“You feel that?” Wick asked, his breath a little ragged, making me feel better for my own labored breathing and burning lungs.

“A storm, right?”

“Thunderstorm coming, I think.”

“Are they bad here?”

The slight pause in answering told me all I needed to know.

“They can be really bad, yeah. Nonstop thunder, lightning, hard wind, and rain.”

“Well, at least we will have some sound cover, right?”

I didn’t like the tension in his shoulders, though, as we kept going, as the sky grew more and more ominous, the air feeling crackly and the rumbles of thunder drawing nearer.

Then, suddenly, the storm was right above and around us.

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