Grace Goodwin - Ascension Saga - 9

Whatever. This was the only way I could talk to him without fear that someone would overhear.

“My name is Destiny, and this building is going to explode in less than a minute. You need to leave with me. Now.” I grabbed his arm once more and pulled him toward the door.

He didn’t move. Not one freaking inch.

“Interesting claim from a beautiful woman,” he countered, not swayed. “How do I know you are speaking the truth? You could have an ambush set up outside those doors.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” I countered with a wave of my hand. “Move before we’re blown to bits.”

When he just stared, I took a deep breath and calmed the bitch rising inside. Tried to temper my need to flee. Tick. Tick. Tick. I could hear the bomb as clear as I could hear him.

“Fine,” I huffed, sounding like an annoyed teenager. “Stay here, get blown up. I’ll tell my sister I tried. She’s the one who told me you were one of the good guys and to save you.”

His dark brow arched. “Sister?”

“Trinity.” I slapped him on the shoulder and walked quickly toward the exit. “Not too bright, are you?”

I reached the doors. Tall. Thick. Made of some alien metal that reminded me of the vault doors in the basement of the cleric’s fortress. I had my palm on the handle when he came up beside me. “Who are you? Truly?”

Nix moved into place on my right and saved me from responding. I hated to repeat myself. Especially when I’d already told Morson once, and he was just being thick-headed. Perhaps, cautious. I couldn’t blame him in his line of work, but right now there was no time. Nix wrapped his arm around my waist and I leaned into him. Just for a moment.

It was enough. I was home.

“We have seconds, Des,” he murmured, his fingers tightening. While his words were calm, he was anything but. “Hurry.”

Morson glanced at Nix over my head and whispered, “She is truly the third princess?”

I tugged at the door handle. It didn’t budge. Houston, we have a problem. “Nix, it’s locked. Shit.”

I lifted my hands and Nix took my place, straining against the door as he applied his entire body weight to the handle.

“Check my comm,” Nix ordered.

I did, the screen plainly visible to me once I lifted it from his pocket. “Thirty-two. Thirty-one. Thirty.”

Nix pushed harder, his entire body straining. I looked around us, searching for windows. Doors. Any possible way to get out of there.

“Fuck. It’s not moving,” Nix said. His breathing was ragged, his eyes a little wild.

“You were serious. About the bomb?” Morson looked from me to Nix. “And what are you doing here, Vennix?”

“Later, Morson. We have to get the fuck out of here.”

“Twenty-six.” Not that I wanted to interrupt, but we didn’t have time to chat. “We could go back.” The room we’d entered was an option, the window still open.

“Too far. We’d never make it.” Nix was right. It was on the other side of the building, and we were starting to get some odd looks, and I could hear quiet murmurs. Well, not we, Nix. He was kind of famous on this planet, his face plastered all over the news every time my sister or Faith was broadcast, standing behind them. Watchful. The ever faithful guard. That notoriety was not helpful at the moment.

“They recognize you, mate. Know you aren’t on their side. They might start shooting any second.” I hissed the words to him as I slid my own weapon free from its holster and stood just behind him, protecting his back. “Get the door open. Shoot the lock.”

“That won’t work.” Morson shoved Nix aside and pulled an oddly shaped key from his pocket. “The door will absorb the ion blast. You need a key to get in or out.”

Nix looked from Morson to the key. He was wondering why he had a key just as I was. But I wasn’t taking the time now to figure it out. “Hurry the fuck up. If my mate dies in here, I’ll kill you myself.”

Morson grinned.

Inappropriate. At least I thought so. But Nix grinned back.

Men.

Morson inserted the key and the door’s locks clicked open with a very loud series of pops, thunks and sizzling noises, like lightning bolts were moving along the frame.

I checked the comm. “Twenty. Nineteen.”

Morson opened the door. Nix tried to shove me through, but I got behind Morson and shoved him. “Trinity said to save your ass, so get out. Now.”

He had the sense not to argue. Nix held my gaze as I shouted as loudly as I could over my shoulder, “There’s a bomb. Everyone get out!”

I didn’t like any of the people in the room, knew they were evil, but I couldn’t just let them die. They deserved justice, not death.

Morson hadn’t gone very far, waiting for us, but took off again when we followed.

Nix and I sprinted. I heard commotion and heavy footfall behind us, but didn’t take time to worry about the others. They had warning. They could get their own asses out. We bolted through the front doors and dove to the ground at the first loud rumble behind us. I heard it first, diving on top of Nix, covering his body with mine. I didn’t think. Just dove, taking him down, my small frame wrapped around his upper body, protecting his torso and head the best I could. Any NFL linebacker would have been proud of my take down.

The boom blasted through me like I’d been hit full speed by a semi-truck. My eardrums ruptured and I screamed, covering my ears as heat scorched my back through my uniform and hot blood filled my ears.

It was all over in less than a second because Nix kept rolling, his big frame covering mine completely as he cradled my face to his chest.

Another blast rocked the air and moved through the ground beneath us like an earthquake. I clung to Nix, in so much pain I could do nothing else, every sound like a cannon blast inside my skull.

The rumbling stopped. Fire blazed into the sky behind Nix’s outline where he hovered above me. His large, warm hands were gentle on my face and he turned me so that I looked up at him. His lips were moving, but my ears hurt. I couldn’t hear a word he was saying, but could read his lips. “Destiny, what have you done?”

My back burned, the uniform sticking to my flesh where the explosion had seared my skin. Contact with the ground under me added to my misery, but I felt the welcoming cold numbness of shock setting in, and I didn’t even try to hold it off. Numb meant bliss at the moment.

Nothing mattered. Morson didn’t matter. He had been in front of us, far enough away to survive. And if he didn’t, well, we’d tried. I looked Nix over the best I could from my position. Satisfied that he would survive relatively unharmed and with just a ReGen wand pass or two, I smiled with relief. Mission accomplished. I loved him. And I protected the people I loved. The list wasn’t all that long, and Nix had somehow clawed his way to the top. “I love you, Nix.”

“Goddess damn it, Destiny.”

That one I knew. I read his lips easily, he’d said it often enough.

I was still smiling when I lost consciousness.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.