Page 73 of Mile High Heist

Every second that passed, the air became harder to breathe. Soon, we wouldn’t be able to breathe at all.

My pulse was deafening in my ears by the time I reached the final leg. The tips of my fingers had turned an alien-blue. I tried not to think about Madoc and Olivia—further down, closer to death—as I squinted up at the ladder and the parallel wall. The controls had to be there.

Where the fuck were they?

I blinked and blinked, straining against the pressure. I couldn’t see anything beyond the white sparks in my eyes. My brain was deteriorating under the immense force. Soon, something inside my skull would give.

We were seconds from death.

Fuck. Not like this.

Digging deep, I screamed through my fucking teeth like a wild animal as I reached for the ladder. My blue fingers locked, stinging harshly against the frozen metal. Then I pulled myself to my knees and searched for the big red button.

Whereisitwhereiswhereisit

My hands slipped.

No.

I gritted my teeth and retightened my grip, just in time. But my legs were ripped out from beneath me.

The cargo bay roared and rattled, a sound like a dying star.

My hands almost slipped again. I could no longer feel them. From the corner of my eye, I saw a red blink. A last, final hope.

Just a few feet away. It was right fucking there.

But there was no way I could reach it. My hands were useless. And if I let go with even one hand to reach for the emergency override, I’d be sucked out of the plane.

I was too late.

They were going to die because of me.

Something moved above me. A violent rush of air. A flash of black. Then a sharp impact against the wall beside my head.

My head dropped between my arms. If my brain hadn’t exploded, my eardrums certainly had.

The roaring stopped.

The silence was so loud it felt like I’d been plunged underwater.

At least death was quiet.

Time slowed. I still felt connected to my body; the harsh pulse in my deadened fingers, the ice in my joints, the stinging skin of my face. The iron fist around my lungs loosened. I sucked in a grateful breath that left me downright loopy.

Then death was suddenly not quiet.

“…ax! Jax!”

That was annoying.

Also, when did my head hit the floor?

I lifted it groggily, wondering when everything had stopped moving.

“Jax!” Someone screamed in my ear.

I winced. Awesome. Not deaf.