Page 160 of Light the Fire

Zane’s eyes were harsh, his expression almost unreadable. But they nodded, and together, armed as much as we could be, we made our way through the maze of corridors in search of an exit.

“We need to find Moord,” I said. “We can’t let him live. Not this time.”

“Or are you leading us straight to him?” Zane snapped back, at the front of our little four-person train.

I stopped in my tracks, my heart thudding hard in my chest. All the fight I had seeped away. “You don’t believe me?”

He sneered. “Not sure what to believe.”

My chin trembled, but I held his gray gaze, then before Rix could even attempt to stop me, I grabbed the gun from his hand and held it to my temple. “If you don’t believe me, don’t trust me, then what the fuck is the point to any of this?”

“Wildcat, don’t,” Rix shouted, his words ricocheting off the walls.

I shook my head, flicking my gaze to him for just a moment before pinning it back on Zane. “No. This will never work. The four of us … fighting for freedom. The rebellion. None of it if Zane doesn’t trust me. If Zane doesn’t believemeand my love for him—for all of you—over that sick fucking psychopath and his lies, then I’m not doing this.”

My hand didn’t shake, but tears spilled down my cheeks.

Now was not the time to hesitate. Any second, more super soldiers would come through the corridors. Eventually, we would be overpowered.

“You promised me you’d kill me if we saw no way out. If we got captured and didn’t think we could ever get free. Well, that goes double for if you truly don’t trust me. Either fucking shoot me, Zane, or I’ll do it my goddamn self. But I’m not staying here, and I’m sure as hell not going to go on living without any of you.”

“Haina … Angel…” Jorik breathed, holding his hands out flat and speaking to me softly like one might if they had a feral dog cornered and were trying to subdue it. “That’s not what we’re say—”

“Fucking shoot me, you motherfucker,” I screamed at Zane. “Kill me if you don’t trust me, because without your trust … without your love, I’m fucking dead inside anyway. You promised you wouldn’t let me be a prisoner again. You fucking promised!”

Zane’s jaw twitched as he ground his teeth, uncertainty and fear flaring in his eyes.

“You can’t shoot her,” Rix said with a hiss.

Another heartbeat was approaching, and I could hear footsteps. Without a second thought, I spun around and fired the gun three times.

The look of shock on Moord’s face was something I’d recall fondly for years to come if I ever had trouble falling asleep. More footsteps. More heartbeats, but not for long.

I plugged bullets into every single super soldier that came careening around the corner, then when the gun was empty, with a battle cry I didn’t even know I had in me, I lunged at the rest of them with my Yakku blade and Nereza’s blade out. I sliced and I slashed, causing blood to spray everywhere. Heads rolled off necks. Bodies crumpled to the ground and smashed against the concrete walls.

I saw Moord’s body lying there, his eyes open and vacant. But again, one can never be too careful, so I stabbed him at least a dozen times in the neck, chest and face to make sure he was deader than dead.

I sat there on top of a dead super soldier’s chest, stabbing aimlessly, drenched in blood, my mind blank, so when a gentle hand came under my arm, I reared back with the blood-covered blade ready to strike again.

But it was Zane, so I paused—barely.

Not saying a word, he bent down, scooped me up and carried me over the sea of bodies. Just then the building shook, tossing us into the wall.

“Fuck, I think somebody is bombing the building,” Rix shouted. “We need to get out of here.”

With Rix in the front and Jorik behind us, Zane carried me through the rattling and crumbling corridors until we finally saw the bright green EXIT sign before us.

Another explosion rocked the building, and we paused as dust and debris fell from the low ceilings.

A door behind us blew off, filling the entire hallway with smoke.

“Shit,” Jorik murmured.

Rix picked up the pace.

“You can put me down,” I said to Zane. “It’ll be faster.”

He shook his head. “Never letting you go again, Kitten.”

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