Her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she saw the dark figure approaching. Based on his punches, he wasn’t augmented.
Not the way she was.
Never taking her eyes off his shoulders, she watched for signs that he was about to attack.
His shoulder twitched.
Taryn leaned back to avoid the punch. Air rushed past her cheek.
She stepped into his space, planted her foot, and threw a punch with her right hand. A solid punch with all her body weight behind it.
Right on the button.
He dropped like a stone.
Taryn kicked him in the stomach and danced back.
No grunt, just dead weight.
Her shoulder throbbed, but the pain disappeared quickly. Her arm was designed to dissipate the kinetic force before it reached muscle and bone.
Her shoulder felt a hell of a lot better than her face.
“Can you see anyone else, Gen?” she asked quietly.
A soft curse and the rattle of equipment. “No one else. Sorry about that.”
“It happens, Gen. Don’t worry about it.” Taryn surveyed the room. “Okay, people. Gen says it’s clear and I don’t see anyone else either, so let’s get in and get Hope out.”
Taryn led the way. The figure in the bed was so small, so still. Her heart broke for Ash. She stepped out of the way while Gen entered the room. She was followed by Daryl and Sasha with the gurney.
Taryn stayed out of the way, giving them room to study the setup. “We good?”
Sasha surveyed the setup for another minute.
“Yeah, we’re good. We need to do this my way, though. Okay?” She looked at Taryn when she said that.
“You’re the boss,” Taryn agreed easily. She was all about letting professionals use their talents.
As if Taryn had uttered the magic words, Sasha took charge of the room.
“You need to pack up the equipment in this order, Gen.” She pointed at every piece. “First, second, third, fourth. The first two can go under the gurney. The others will need to be tucked near her on top.”
The tech worked quickly, carefully shifting equipment, until it was time to move the most important piece in the room—Hope herself.
Sasha arranged everyone around Hope’s bed. “On three. Super carefully. Allie, make sure you’ve got that machine. It’s the most important job.”
“One. Two. Three.”
On the final count, they lifted Hope on the sheet.
She was so light.
Ash said she was eighteen when they were caught, so she was twenty-three now. The same age as some of the women helping Taryn right now.
Poor Hope. She’d lost almost a quarter of her life. And might miss it all.
“Fucking Tremaines,” Taryn muttered.
