When I pull back, he’s breathing hard, that wild, frenzied look has dulled—but it’s still there, flickering in the edges.
“We need you, Priest.Ineed you.”
The truck lurches violently. I slam into him. His arm catches me tight around my waist. He doesn’t look away from my face. Doesn’t blink. Just stares at me like he’s seeing me for the first, the last, and the only time.
Then he turns.
“New plan.” He releases me but keeps one possessive hand on my hip. “We regroup. Find the others. Somebody get on comms and give me a fucking body count.”
“Last communication had them heading south—following the river,” a soldier grits out, pressing a rag to his bleeding thigh.
“We ditch the truck. It’s a goddamn coffin on wheels.” He looks at Arsen. “Send word to the others—we jump at the bridge. Tell them to rendezvous downstream.”
Arsen’s already grabbing the radio, barking orders.
Priest’s grip tightens on me. “Get me a vest,” he snaps.
A soldier tosses one from the gear rack. Priest yanks off my shredded vest, tugging the new one down over my body. His touch is rough, but his gaze lingers on the bruises across my skin.
“I’m sorry about Raze.” My hand twitches toward him, then drops uselessly back to my side. His fingers freeze. Just for a second. Then he jerks the straps tighter.
“Message received, we’ve got?—”
The soldier doesn’t finish. The truck screams, lurching hard right. The tires lose grip, skidding across slick mud. The whole world tips.
“Hold on!” Arsen bellows from the cab.
Everything blurs. I’m slammed into Priest again. His arms wrap around me, locking me in. We’re weightless for half a second before gravity hits.
The truck rolls.
The world flips. Screams. Metal groaning. Glass shattering. Another impact. We crash down hard, the entire vehicle shrieking as it settles, angled in a ditch.
Silence. Then shouting.
“Everyone out! MOVE!” Arsen’s voice roars from the front. “GET TO THE BRIDGE AND JUMP!”
The doors are kicked open. Cold, wet air hits me, and I stumble, the world tilting beneath my feet. Priest’s hand wraps around my arm, hauling me upright, dragging me forward.
We crash into the woods. The night exploding behind us, firelight painting the sky red. Branches tear at my skin. Mud sucks at my boots. Adrenaline drags my body forward, even as every cell in me screams.
The bridge looms ahead—a steel arch over a dark, rushing river. The others are already there, sprinting for the edge, leaping one by one into the dark below.
One jump and we’re free.
The shot cracks.
Priest jerks. Blood sprays across my face, and we collapse together at the edge of the bridge. His weight crushes me, his blood soaking through my shirt.
“Priest!” My voice breaks as I shove at his chest, trying to get him up, trying to push us toward the edge. “Get up, goddamn it—we have to jump!”
He doesn’t move fast enough. Blood pours from him in thick rivulets, soaking my hands as I claw at him. His body is heavy, pinning me down while Sterling’s men close in from both sides.
“Priest, please!”
He’s on top of me, shielding me with the only thing he has left. His blood is hot on my skin, slicking my fingers as I try to crawl us toward the edge.
“Move! We can make it! We can still?—”
