“I sent him our last known location before we entered the mountain,” I explained, hoping it would ease her anxiety. “He’ll track us. Sean’s resourceful, you know that.”
But Emma wasn’t convinced. She was still pacing, her restlessness palpable in the way she moved—quick, agitated steps, her hands clenching and unclenching as she tried to figure out the impossible. “I can’t just sit here. We need to do something.”
I could see how much this was getting to her, the constant movement draining her energy. And in this freezing hellhole, we couldn’t afford that. She was nervous—panicking—and it was costing her. I needed to get her mind off the situation, at least for a little while.
“You know,” I said, letting my tone go light, trying to diffuse the charged silence, “we might be in here for a while. Our chances of survival would increase if we were both naked.”
Emma’s head whipped around so fast I thought she might actually hurt herself. Her eyes widened to the point where they looked like they might pop out of her head.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she shouted, exasperation pouring out of her. “We’re locked in an ice box with what amounts to a nuclear weapon aimed at us, and you’re still making jokes? How can you be so?—"
“Charming?” I offered with a playful grin, enjoying the effect my comment had on her.
“Calm!” she spat, glaring at me as if she were deciding whether to strangle me or laugh. Probably both.
I uncrossed my arms. “Well, we’re not dead yet. Might as well enjoy this quality time we’ve been given.” I needed her to fucking calm down and focus on something other than the panic clawing at her insides.
Emma took a threatening step forward, her voice cutting through the cold with an edge sharper than any blade. “CadenColt. We can have all thefuckingquality time you want in the warmth and comfort of our home.” The words were laced with urgency and rage. “But we need to getoutof here for that to happen. So for the love of all that’s holy, will you please get the fuck off your ass and help me figure out a way to escape?”
I let out a long, exaggerated sigh, pretending to be annoyed by her outburst, but inside, something else stirred—something warm.Our home.She didn’t even realize she’d said it. The way the words had rolled off her tongue had felt more than natural, and I couldn’t help the honest smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
I walked our new cage with her a few times, inspecting every glacial inch. Until she finally did reach the same conclusion I had when the Amplifier was first turned on.
We were screwed. All translation was out, and we were trapped inside an icebox.
Turning back to Emma, I noticed her shivering had grown worse. Her breath came out in small clouds, her teeth were chattering uncontrollably, and, I could see some dark spots across the fabric beneath her jacket. My eyes narrowed in on it, realization hitting hard.
“Your shirt’s wet,” I grumbled, the annoyance in my voice more out of concern than frustration. “How the hell did that happen?”
“Fro—om when I—I slipped on the pathway up here,” she stammered, struggling to get the words out as her body shook. Her teeth clicked together between each word, making it clear just how bad things were getting.
I cursed under my breath, my mind racing. Wet clothes in these conditions? She was on a fast track to hypothermia. I had to act quickly. Without hesitating, I shrugged off my jacket and yanked my tee over my head, the cold air biting into my skin the second it hit. The chill wrapped around me like a vice, but Iignored it. Emma needed warmth more than I did right now, and I wasn’t about to let her suffer any longer than she had to.
“Wha—at are you do-oing?” she asked, her voice trembling as she looked at me with wide, confused eyes.
“You’re going to lose that wet shirt and put on this dry one,” I said firmly, handing her mine without giving her the chance to argue. “Then you’re going to come sit close to me, and we’ll share body heat so neither of us gets hypothermia.”
I slipped my jacket back on, feeling the immediate relief of insulation, but it didn’t matter. My only focus was on Emma standing there, still staring down at the piece of clothing I had just given her, unsure of what to do.
“Thompson, you’re killing me here,” I said, exasperated. She still didn’t move, her gaze flicking nervously between me and the shirt. I rolled my eyes and turned my back, giving her some privacy. “I won’t look, okay?”
I thought I heard her mutter something under her breath—something about there not being much to see—but I couldn’t be sure. I wasn’t in the mood for banter, not when she was still shivering like that.
A few moments later, I heard the rustle of fabric as she slipped out of her wet top and into mine. The thought of her in my clothes made something stir inside me, but I shoved the feeling aside. This was survival, plain and simple.
When she finished dressing, we moved away from the Amplifier, finding the spot in the cell furthest from its energy. We sat down, and without a word, I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close to me. She didn’t hesitate, nestling into my side, her face pressing against my chest, searching for heat.
Fucking. Bliss.
I didn’t even feel the cold anymore, nor the biting air around us. I homed in on Emma’s warmth against me, her body fitting perfectly into the curve of my arm.
Nothing mattered, except making sure she was safe. Her small frame shivered against me, but I held her tighter, offering whatever comfort I could, my own body acting as her shield against the bitter chill.
“Okay, so what now?” she whispered after a while, the words muffled against my shoulder. The stiffness in her body was starting to ease, but her uncertainty lingered.
“Sean will come and save us,” I said, with a hint of resignation. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Usually, I was the one doing the saving. “And then… I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
Emma let out a soft, tired chuckle, though it was clear she wasn’t entirely amused.
