It takes us a matter of thirty seconds to get back to the top of the summit. Cameron’s already killed two of them and is swinging his rifle up to take out the third. The four newcomers break their focus on him and turn to us.
“Is that the runt? Come here, you little bitch!” I’d know Wraith’s cruel voice anywhere. His murderous eyes are even more cold and hungry than they usually are. His wounded arm doesn’t seem to be giving him any trouble with his gun.Shit.
Bryce takes a tree to his left side, and I take one on my right as Wraith lifts his rifle and fires at me. I’m guessing that’s Arnold with him, who is shooting at Bryce just as relentlessly.
I curse and turn to the opposite side he’s favoring with all his bullets and fire off two rounds at him. One misses and the other lodges in his waist.
Wraith yelps and falls to his knees. I take the opportunity and shoot at Arnold. He spooks easily, and leaps for the slope to get cover. Bryce shouts something I can’t make out and goes after him.
I quickly train my gun back at Wraith and pull the trigger to put the feral dog down, but someone shoves my shoulders just as I’m taking the death shot. The bullet goes straight into the ground. I whirl on my attacker.
My eyes widen. It’s the man I spared. His hands are covered in blood, and in the dimming sunset light I can hardly see the whites of his eyes.
Cameron was right, is my last thought as the man shoots me straight in the chest. Even with the bulletproof vest on, it hurtslike a bitch. I can’t tell if it went through and pierced my sternum or not, but the force sends me toppling down the hill, except this time Bree isn’t there to stop my fall.
I roll straight off the edge and drop down into the ravine.
The last thing I hear is Cameron’s raspy shout as it echoes through the valley below.
27
CAMERON
Emery’spink braids are the last I see of her before she falls to her probable death. Something inside me fractures and a bellow filled with horror tears from my lungs, “Emery!” I try to chase after her, but the assholes who are trying to diminish my squad stop me.
The biggest one swings his combat knife at my eye and nicks it. I can’t feel the pain, but the vision on that side goes completely red and hot liquid drips down that side of my face.
These bastards have no idea what they’ve done.
I fist my KA-BAR and shove it up the big one’s jaw. He stills, brains probably scrambling for any last thoughts that I won’t fucking grant him. My knee comes up hard, and I nail the knife all the way into his skull until the butt of the handle is flush with his jaw.
He collapses like a troll. My eyes flash to the others. They blanch and try to flee. Bree and Damian finish off their cadet before stopping the two running from me.
I take a deep breath before turning and charge down the slope.
“Wait! Mori, it’s too steep!” Damian shouts.
I don’t fucking care,I think as my feet slide off the edge. I unsheathe my second knife from my ankle and use it to slow my descent and keep me upright as I literally fall down the mountainside.
My eyes scour the ground below, and fear drums into my blood as I see a splash of red and pink and black at the bottom of the snow-covered ravine. She’s not moving.
What do I do? What the fuck am I supposed to do?Panic races through my veins. The feeling is so rare that it makes me lose my grip on my knife.God, what this woman does to me.I bury my gloved hand into the dirt and rocks as an anchor and quickly navigate my way to the bottom.
The second my feet hit the bottom, I try to run to her body, collapsed on the ground like a fallen angel, but my legs tremble and give out, sending me to my knees. My breaths stifle and sound ragged as I gnash my teeth into my lower lip. I must’ve hurt them in the fall, or is it purely my anxiety that’s paralyzing me? I can’t tell.
All I see is her.
Her lying there motionless, bleeding into the earth.
Not her. Please, not her. Take anything from me, but not Em.
I brace myself up on my forearms and drag my body across the snow and gravel until I reach her side. She’s curled up in the fetal position. Her frame is so small. All I want to do is keep her safe and wrapped in my arms. I sit beside Emery and reach my hand over her to gently turn her, but my hand freezes an inch away before I touch her.
What if she’s dead?
My heart sharply aches as if a dagger has impaled me and I’m bleeding out. It’s the most pain I’ve felt in years.No. She’s fine. She’s okay.
“Emery,” I whisper, wincing at how hoarse my voice sounds against the silence cascading around us.
