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Chapter Seventeen
Adreax
What was happening? Minutes ago, Tayla would barely look in my direction. Now she pressed up against me, holding me close to her. Part of me wondered if it was a twisted fantasy created by my weakened mind. It was twisted. I didn’t want her. I didn’t want to want her. But there was something undeniably enticing about having my arms around her waist and feeling her ass pressing back against my groin. I wondered if she could feel me, or if she was even thinking about all the things our bodies could do this close together.
Herod marched past us, a grim expression on his face. He was on the warpath. He spared me a quick glance, and his ferocious expression changed instantly to one of disgust. I knew what he was thinking. I knew he didn’t like her. But somehow, that made me want her even more. She was forbidden, like a dangerous fruit, and I could almost taste her, she was so close.
And what might happen if I partook of this decadent treat? Would Herod abandon me? Would he think me weak-willed or unfit to lead our small party? Did it even matter if we didn’t have a ship of our own?
Too many thoughts tumbled around my brain.
Something slammed into the door from the other side, and I felt the jolt all the way through my legs and up into my spine. I bit back a groan and wrapped my arms tighter around Tayla. All we had to do was stay put.
Herod shoved the nose of the gun through the crack in the doorway, and he did not hesitate before firing his first round. The sickening sound of entrails hitting the walls of the corridor did not surprise me, but it was enough to make Tayla recoil. She curled into me, tucking her head into my chest and burying her face. From the shudder of her shoulders, I could tell she was sobbing. She clamped her hands over her ears to block out the noise as Herod reloaded and fired into the mass of bodies outside again and again. If we survived this, I would have to carry her out of here. I could not imagine her stepping through the gory mess that painted the hallway on the other side of the door. I had to protect her from the image.
But no matter how many times Herod fired, there was no end to the Patrol guards waiting to storm the door. They kept coming, and each time he stopped to reload his rifle, they ran at the door. Slowly, they inched it open, creating a wider gap than before.
I placed my lips close to Tayla’s ear and whispered to her.
“It’s almost over. Help me close the door.”
She was reluctant to peel her face away from my chest, but eventually she raised her eyes to meet mine and nodded solemn understanding. I watched her pull herself up to her hands and knees and crawl down the length of my legs to reach the door. She turned and planted her back against it, bracing her feet on the ground. At the next pause in the battering, she shoved backward, regaining some lost ground, but not closing the door completely.
Her beautiful face was pale, and her hair clung to her cheeks with the wetness of her tears. I could still feel the damp place on my chest where she had been crying, and I realized I missed having her there. She was barely beyond the reach of my arms, and I hated it. More than anything, I hated the Patrol for putting her life in danger.
Slowly, painfully, I dragged myself up to my feet and went to lean on the door beside Herod. I put my shoulder into it and braced for impact. When Herod stepped back from the crack in the doorway, I peeked around the corner, surveying the situation outside.
It looked like we were in a standoff. Many of the guards had retreated toward the end of the hall, and they were holding an impromptu meeting. Our cell door was still unlocked, but there was nowhere for us to go. From the determined expressions I could see on the guards’ faces, I had the distinct feeling our luck was about to run out. They were preparing an all-out attack to retake control, and we needed to be ready when they came for us, otherwise we would all be killed. They certainly weren’t going to put up with our resistance much longer. I had to think quickly.
“We need to get out of here,” I muttered aloud. “And we need to do it before they come to a decision.”
I eyed the guards at the far end of the hall. They looked nervous, but that only meant they were more dangerous. Anything we did was likely to send them into a frenzy. Then a thought occurred to me.
“Search the body. There has to be something we can use.”
I crouched down in front of Tayla and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“We need your help, Tayla. I need you to scream.”
“Scream? What for?”
“I need them to think that you’re not with us. Alec, too. It’s the best way to get you guys out of here without getting hurt. Just scream like we’re hurting you, or we’ve taken you hostage. When we’re ready, you two can slip out the door and run down the hall straight to the guards. Don’t stop running, and don’t look around once you’re out there. Got it?”
She nodded at me, but I could see the worry in her eyes. It was, of course, a real possibility that the guards were no longer interested in keeping her alive. But at this point, all we could do was hope for the best.
“There you go stealing my good ideas again,” Herod grumbled.
I rolled my eyes. “If we make it out of here alive, you can take all the credit.”
“Tell your little girlfriend good luck for me.”
“She’s not-”
“Found something,” Alec chimed in, raising a hand into the air triumphantly.
Other than his gun and some ammo, the guard we killed in the cell was not very well equipped. I took his protective vest and helped drape it over Tayla’s shoulders. Next, I took the little grenade from Alec and put the guard’s flare gun in my waistband. It would have to be enough.
I peered out the window one more time and saw the guards huddled into a small circle, their heads pushed together and their voices rising and falling as they chatted excitedly. This was our chance to throw them off.
Tayla and Alec were already in position, waiting beside the door for my signal. I nodded at them and they screamed and banged on the walls. They tugged at the door, and I didn’t let them through immediately. I needed this act to be convincing. But after a few more, I stepped back and allowed them to burst into the hallway.
The sudden appearance of the two humans caught the huddled guards by surprise, and they immediately spun around and formed a solid line blocking the hall with their weapons drawn. Fortunately, Tayla was quite the actor because she threw herself at their feet and cast a horrified look back toward the prison cell.
Some of the guards noted her movements and glanced at each other curiously. They clearly weren’t sure whether they should shoot her or protect her.
They formed a tight circle around her. And this was our chance. Together, Herod and I breached the door. We didn’t even pause before setting ourselves into a sprint, thundering toward the crowd as fast as we could. With every step, the wound in my side pulsed painfully and I let out a pained scream, willing myself to keep going despite the agony.
The guards whirled, and they didn’t hesitate to fire upon the two of us. I pulled the pin out of the grenade I’d stolen from the dead guard and waited another second. When the guards turned to fire at us, I saw Tayla and Alec scrambling away from them, turning down another hall and running for their lives. When I was sure they were in the clear, I lobbed the grenade toward the group of men and silently prayed that it wouldn’t kill us all.
The sound of the explosion was deafening in the tight space, but the blast was not as serious as I had hoped. Mostly it filled the corridor with thick smoke and sent the guards scattering, and I realized too late that the device was a flash-bang, not a true explosive. Either way, we had to take advantage of the brief gap we created, so I charged ahead, bowling through the men and throwing them to the ground wherever I could. In passing, I leaned down, snatched another rifle from a guard, and kept running. Somewhere behind me, I could hear the men screaming and preparing to follow us. The only problem was I didn’t know which way Tayla and Alec went, and none of us knew where the exit was.
