“We have to go,” I insist, clamping down the laughter. “This is terrible.”
But it’s not. It’s charming and hilarious, and I just hope we can sneak out of here without getting charged for the room and then arrested because we can’t pay.
We climb into our clothes in record time, but August stops me as I’m about to flee, grabbing my waistband and pulling me close to him. “Whatever happens now, thank you. Thanks forfalling in love with me. Thanks for being my partner. Thank you for changing my life.”
I wrap my arms around him, trying to capture all the hours I wish I could spend here with him in one tight hug. “I could say all the same things to you. I just hope this worked.”
“Even if it didn’t, I won’t give up on us. We’ll try something else.”
I love him for saying that.
It could be the longest ride in any elevator ever, wondering if staff will be waiting for us at the bottom. How are we supposed to explain this? ‘Sorry, needed a place to fuck to stop the world ending.’ ‘Do you think I could pull a move like that in an alleyway?’
Damn, that was good, though. I’d always wanted to try that… August, so worn out with pleasure, so broken and desperate on my?—
Ding!
Shit. Okay. Eyes on the ground. Just walk like it’s nothing. Like we’re a pair of totally normal and non-fucking cousins. Or something.
“That’s them!” a voice shouts across the lobby.
August grabs my hands and we bolt. We don’t look back for a second, spilling into the crowded street.
It’s incredible to be out here again. I have no idea how much time has passed since Assassin August reawakened everyone, but it’s just as busy as it was before. People seem a little less like they’re just shopping, and more serious. They know something big went down. A few look to be nursing minor injuries from the fall. I can see some people in uniform talking to others.
But we couldn’t pause if we wanted to. August never slows or lets go of my hand, and we make straight for the raised walkway. It takes some serious acrobatics to get from there back up ontothe freeway, but dangerous as it is, we eventually scale it and find ourselves high over the city.
It’s so different to the walk when we got here. August was so upset, keeping all of that inside. Now his arm stays around me. He’s stopped worrying about me and how I’ll cope with his loss. Now we’re together. Finally.
My heart stutters when we find our friends, half of them sitting on the ground, Shashi and August pacing. But when they catch sight of us, their faces light.
“The rift’s back!” Shashi cries. “Come quickly. We were so worried it would close before you got here.”
Jon scrambles up to throw his arms around me. “You fixed it! What did you do?”
I pat a hand over his back, flushing. “Um, I’ll explain lat?—”
“Never,” August finishes for me. But when Jon throws his arms around him too, August hugs him back. It’s not a sight I ever thought I’d see.
Amber dusts herself off. “Should we try it? Where do you think it will go?”
“Hopefully back to the barn,” says Assassin August. “If it’s worked like it should, we can retrace our steps.”
“And really get home?” Her excitement is tinged with nervousness, accompanied by a side glance at Shashi.
“I hope so,” I tell her.
Christ, I hope I haven’t misjudged this. Messed it all up even more.
Assassin August passes a worried glance over my shoulder, and I know who he’s looking for.
“Are the other Augusts alright?”
“They’re all alright,” he says. “But with everyone awake again, someone will let them loose before long, if they haven’t already.” He holds up his hand, still clutching the Particle StasisDisplacement Pulser. “We were able to sneak away through the crowd, but I’m worried they’ll detect the rift and find us.”
“It’s okay. If this worked like I hope it did, pretty soon that fifty million credits should be wiped. Along with everything else that’s on August’s inter-universal perp sheet. Let’s go.”
August grabs my hand. “Together, okay?”
