Page 45 of Into the Fire: After
We approached a set of silver rectangles, and I caught the meager reflection of myself in the matte finish.
A chest. I was tucked against a warm chest.Lin’swarm chest. My brand new bond mate, who even now pushed cool, soothing serenity toward me, like fresh mint. I relaxed slightly against him. Even if his body heat only added to my own too-hot skin.
The doors—oh! they were doors! elevator doors!—dinged open, and we entered.
Radio static sliced through my head. I whimpered.
Voices surrounded me, fast and urgent. They had been from the moment of the bang before I’d begun flying. I swallowed, closing my eyes and trying to focus on making out the words.
“—chopper inbound in eighteen minutes.”
My brain struggled to keep up. Chopper? Like…knives? Why would they need knives?
Surgeons used knives. Maybe they were going to cut the pain out of me. I sighed with relief, sinking back against my blackberry carriage.
Unnerving movement made my stomach flip. Another ding, and the doors opened again. I cringed into my alpha's chest atthe harsh whistling that pierced my eardrums. My hair whipped, the air too harsh on my skin.
Wind?
“You’re okay, sweet omega,” Lin whispered in my ear, shielding me. Somewhere behind him, I heard some vague bangs and grunting. “We’re going home.”
Home.Tears burned behind my eyes. “Brea? Brooks?”
Lin’s smile was so beautiful. “Yeah, honey,” he said, voice shaking. “Yeah, we’re going to Brea and Brooks.”
Adrenaline made my body fuzzy, but sharpened my mind. I looked around as best I could. Hazy lights surrounded us. City lights. City at night. Lin wore scrubs. I was back in that horrid gown.
The ground was rough concrete. Walls surrounded us, but the sky opened above us. And the walls weren’t right. Shorter than my knees.
“ETA?” Caine’s voice called out. I looked over Lin’s shoulder. He and the guard were locking a huge chain through a door handle, the not-quite-black night sky a matte background behind them.
Roof. We were on a roof.
“Eleven minutes,” the guard replied. He motioned to Lin. “You three, out of view of the door.”
Caine grabbed Lin’s arm and pulled us behind an ugly metal cube off to one side. The guard slid down behind another such box across the roof from ours.
The wind muted my breaths. Lin cradled me. Caine held my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles.
Something banged on the chained-up door.
“Shit,” Caine muttered, moving so that he sheltered me entirely from view. He scanned the sky. “C’mon, asshole, if there was a time to be fucking punctual…”
Another bang. So loud. I covered my ears. Warm hands rubbed over my back.
Two loud metallic bangs, and footsteps flooded out on the other side of our hiding space. Then a horribly familiar voice spoke.
“You have nowhere to go from here,” the doc shouted over the wind. “End of the road. For all of you.”
Quick footsteps grew louder, until Caine stood behind me and the sound of fist meeting flesh made me flinch. A gun cocked. Caine froze.
“Up,” the new voice said.
Lin grasped me to his chest, standing from his kneeling position with me still in his arms. Caine stood in front of us, hands raised, another guard with another gun pointed right at him.
Neither was our friendly guard.
Sure could use a friend about now.
