“Are you okay?” I demand, helping him up.
He ignores the question, his wild gaze searching the shadows. “Neema,” he grinds out.
“She’s over here.”
We stumble toward Neema’s limp figure. Smoke rises from her body, and the sharp scent of burnt hair and flesh stings my nostrils. I’m worried about touching her in case electricity is still coursing through her body, but there’s no reason to. Her eyes are wide open. Unblinking. Lifeless.
Declan’s arms begin to ripple silver. For a second I think he’s being electrocuted, until I realize what he’s doing.
“She’s gone,” he says flatly. “No energy signature.” He taps his earpiece. “Saint. The force field is active. Neema’s dead, and we can’t get out this way.”
“Shit. All right. Leave the way you came in and get to the original drop. I’ll redirect Lu.”
“Copy.” Declan’s breathing sounds shallow as he cuts the feed.
We both stare at Neema again. Lying there on the ground, fried to death. What a gruesome end. I didn’t like her much, but I never wanted her dead.
“Let’s go,” Declan finally says.
My bike is the only surviving vehicle. Declan reaches it first, but as he tries to right the sleek machine, he suddenly keels over, breathing hard.
“What’s wrong?” He dismisses my concern by waving his hand, but this time I don’t let him. “Did any part of your body make contact with the field?”
“Just my sleeve,” he mutters. “It didn’t touch me.”
I’m not so sure about that. He’s panting as if his lungs are having a tough time keeping up, and I’m worried his heart might be struggling, too. I know even the smallest current of electricity from a force field can screw up the body’s natural rhythms.
I intercept him before he can climb onto the bike.
“You’re in no condition to drive,” I say firmly. I swing my own leg over the seat instead. “Get on.”
Without another word, he settles behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I feel his hands shaking, his chest heaving. Yeah, something is very wrong. I crank the throttle and speed back in the other direction. To my relief, we don’t encounter a Command ambush, and I’ve never been happier to see the sky than when we finally emerge from the tunnel.
But my joy is short-lived.
“Minor setback,” Teriq reports over the comm. “Turns out we left someone behind. A Mod is being held in the camp prison for attacking a guard this morning.”
“Who is it?” I ask, unable to ignore the uneasy sensation in my gut.
“Doesn’t matter. We’re already in the air.” Teriq’s tone is resigned but resolute. “We got forty-one out of forty-two. I’d call that a win.”
“Who. Is. It?” I repeat, and though I hear the hostility in my voice, I can’t stop it.
There’s a beat, but I know what Teriq is going to say before he even says it.
“Tana Archer.”
Chapter 26
“Decoy team, you need to move. Your pickup is almost there.”
Saint’s voice is in my ear, but I can’t focus on what he’s saying. I stop the bike abruptly, summoning an angry expletive from Declan.
“What the fuck are you doing? Drive,” he orders.
I draw a shaky breath. My hands feel weak, trembling around the handlebars. With a rushed exhale, I ignore Declan and address Saint.
“I’m not leaving without Tana,” I tell our mission lead. “I’m going to get her.”
