As soon as my hand went completely numb, I positioned it directly in front of the control panel next to the door. I shook, partly from fear and the fatigue of the run and partly because a piece of my body was being controlled by something other than me right now.
“Come on!” Anxiety pumped through me and kept my hair on end. Not even the heat and perspiration of running for our lives could keep the sudden chill from my skin.
I glanced over my shoulder. The others raced down the corridor. Caeryssa clung to Jax’s front like a monkey, her arms around his neck, one hand stretched out and firing. Shade and Frank both turned to shoot, loping sideways and trying to cover each other. Bullets pinged around them, but the goons on their tail were taking cover behind the bend and shooting wildly down the hallway without aiming. I’d bet my ship they were waiting for a swarm of Red Beams.
I held my gun in my free hand, shifting nervously. Numbers started flashing across the lock’s small screen faster than I could read them.
The lock beeped just seconds after the override started. This type of control panel used simple badge recognition for workers unloading supplies to this level. Nothing fancy, and even quicker than I’d expected.
I pushed through and stepped onto the grated metal platform, holding one side of the double doors open. The cold hit me instantly. I shivered. It was pressurized and livable in the open space between the shells, but it sure as hell wasn’t heated like the inner station.
I glanced up, remembering what Sanaa said about nabbing two cargo holds. Zigzagging flights of stairs and a latticework of unloading platforms climbed above me until the curve of the rounded spacedock cut them off from view. There was definitely no making it to the food storage on the upper tier of the station, but one more level might be doable.
I turned back to the others. “Red Beams!” I shouted.
A drone army rounded the corner. Dozens came at us. I could barely see the ceiling. Stun blasts chased my friends down the corridor. They sprinted as though the floor were on fire, and I curved my body around the doorway and shot above their heads. I didn’t have to aim. I just fired and hit things.
Goons moved in behind the cover of the drones, masks down and shields up. They weren’t taking any chances.
Jax careened past me with Caeryssa, clipping my shoulder. I righted myself and kept shooting. I’d be out of bullets soon.
Shade spun around and faced the Dark Watch as the hallway erupted into a war zone. Drones exploded in the air like bombs, raining down sparks and bits of metal. Frank barreled through the doorway next, and Shade brought up the rear, covering everyone’s asses.
He backed toward us, crimson lasers flashing all around him.
“Shade!” I cried. “We’re in!”
He turned and sprinted the final steps. I tried to cover him, but a Red Beam swooped down and fired. A stun blast hit him square in the back and he toppled forward, one hand reaching through the doorway.
Chapter 16
SHADE
My back is on fire!I clawed at the metal flooring under my fingers and tried to haul myself forward.
My shoulder didn’t work. The muscles didn’t respond. I couldn’t feel my upper legs, either.
Tess lunged, grabbed my outstretched arm, and dragged me through the doorway. Where’d she find the strength? I was fucking heavy.
Jax slammed the door on the stun rays blasting into the loading area. One hit my right calf before the barrage cut off. My body erupted in flaming agony. My whole leg went volcanic, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Then I grimaced as a painful loss of control took over. The inability to move chilled me to the bone. Hot. Cold. Fucking terrifying. It felt like most of my body was missing.
Frank plugged the electronic lock on our side with two quick rounds, blowing it to pieces. Sparks flew. It went dead just as the doors rattled.
The heavy thud of bodies pounding against metal drummed in the loading area. Shouts echoed through to us. I’d never been on the wrong side of this shit before. And here I was, living it every day now.
Someone bellowed. Gunshots rang out on the other side of the door panels. Nothing came through. Were they stupid?
Tess took careful aim above us. With five shots, she destroyed the locks on the next five levels. She tried for six, but her gun clicked, out of bullets.
“Impressive.” I looked up at her from the floor, smiling stupidly. My woman thought fast and fought hard. Her hand-to-hand combat was messy and unorthodox, but she could run like the wind and had spectacular aim with a Grayhawk.
“What are you grinning about?” Tess grinned back at me.
“Just happy to be alive, starshine.” I was giddy with it.
“This isn’t over yet.” She crouched next to me and laid her hand on my shoulder. She squeezed, but I didn’t feel it. “Can you move?”
Barely. “Parts of me work. Help me up and maybe I can hop somewhere.”
