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SEVENTEEN
Weapon fire. From someoneelse. Niehl fell and based on the pool of blood spreading and the lack of a jaw Seraphina could see through her holosighting, he was dead.
Security raced around below, scattered screams reaching her ears. Breathing heavily, she rushed to gather her things. There wasn’t time to break down the weapon and place it back in its custom case. She shoved it into her duffel and erased any sign of her presence. Her boots scraped a divot and she tripped in a panic.
She wobbled forward, arms flung forward as she hovered over the precipice of the roof. Her toes dug into the ground and she arched all the way back, falling onto her butt.
“Damn, damn,” she muttered, pushing upright and rolling to her front to get back to her feet.
Air blew from her chest in gasping bellows. Thoughts whirled in her mind. Niehl was dead. Another shooter. She ran to the hatch, hands shaking and rolled down the ladder.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
She froze and flipped her wrist up. The comm unit she’d linked to the sensors in the stairway continued to beep in warning. Someone was in the building and on the way up the stairs. Her heart stuttered then resumed its beat at a hectic pace. She braced her hands on the sides of the rail, set her boots to grip the edges and slid down.
Her feet hit the floor with a jarring thud but she bounced up with moments to spare and curled into a tight ball to hide in a dark corner. The main door to this room eased open on a creak. Her gaze dropped to the floor and she saw the shadowy image of a crouched form.
She held her breath as the image formed into a man who entered the room with a handheld pulsar laser gripped tightly. The figure moved forward, glancing around carefully.
Tiny rivulets of sweat dripped down the back of her armor. Her ears throbbed with the pressure from the adrenaline dumping into her system. A beam of light through the single window put the man’s profile in view.
She barely managed to muffle her anxious cry. Roarke or Rook, she should say. If he was here, the team responsible for her abduction would be here too.
Stars! Stars! Her chest rose and fell in jerky motions.
Rook strode toward the ladder, his powerful thighs bunching with the motion in his black uniform. He climbed one handed and stepped onto the edge and eased onto the roof.
The minute his boots cleared the opening, she lunged to her feet. She waited to make sure he didn’t turn around then darted for the door. The bag hanging over her shoulder hit a support beam.
Clang!
Terror soared. Giving up stealth for speed, she ran full force toward the door to escape. Almost there. Rook had left the door open. His mistake.
Behind her, the ladder rattled ominously as boots hit each tread. The blast caught her by surprise and she stumbled. Shoulder on fire, she got back to her feet and lunged for the door.
Relief hit as her fingertips grasped the doorjamb. Eyes on the stairway beyond, she didn’t understand at first why her body suddenly jerked back. An arm clamped around her middle, lifting her off her feet. She screamed and a palm slammed over her mouth, silencing her cries.
Jamming her elbows back forcefully, she fought and twisted about. Her duffel, containing her laser, was ripped from her shoulder and tossed away with a clatter. She winced at the potential damage to the expensive weaponry then kicked out.
Thrown off balance, they both fell forward but her assailant spun them around, taking the brunt of the fall when they hit the floor.
“Tempest, stop! It’s over,” Rook snarled in her ear.
His hand prevented her from voicing a denial so she stretched her jaw enough to bite down.
“Motherfucker!” He jerked his hand back.
She rammed her palm behind her head and was rewarded with the tiny sound of a crack. Another curse as she bent her leg and grinded her heel into the thigh looped about her lower half. His legs parted and she sprung to her feet.
The split hesitation about whether to go for her bag cost her. Rook wrapped both arms around her waist just as she reached the door and dragged her back kicking and screaming. His foot powered forward and kicked the door closed, ending her bid for freedom.
She slumped in his arms on a defeated cry. Rook spun her around and pushed her back against a wall. His claws slammed into the wall, pinning her in. Lifting her head, she met his gaze in defiance. “Youshotme!”
Her nano suit had absorbed the blast of laser fire but she’d have a bruise to show for it on her shoulder. His gaze immediately dropped and Rook scanned her from head to toe. His lips firmed. “You have on a nano suit.”
“And youstillshot me.” She refused to let that go.
Remorse darkened his gaze and he gripped her arms. “Are you hurt?”
