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We waited a little while for Ethan to regain his strength. It didn’t take long before he opened his eyes and gave me a concerned look. “You look awful. Are you okay?”
I wanted to laugh, but that would have hurt too much. “Oh, I’m peachy. Bullet in my arm, shattered ankle, broken nose.”
Steel didn’t seem impressed by my sarcastic answer and interrupted Ethan before he could respond. “Can you stand?”
Ethan slowly got to his feet. “Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better.”
“Can you help me get her back out to the front?”
“Yeah.”
I looked up at the ceiling then, realizing I had no idea how Steel had dropped out of thin air. I noticed an open vent cover that was barely big enough for a person to squeeze through.
“Steel. Thank you.”
He lifted an eyebrow at me and then followed my eyes up to the ceiling. He nodded. “I heard you screaming. I thought you could use some help.”
“You were right.”
Steel spoke into his com. Mine must have fallen out because I couldn’t hear anything. “Emerson, is everything clear out there?”
There was a pause, and then he spoke again. “I’ve got Carter and Ethan. She’s pretty banged up. We’ll bring her out front.”
I felt a little more relieved when I realized the fighting must be over. “We win?”
Steel grunted. “Yeah. They have Rodney and one of his other men in custody. Everybody else is dead. Reuben showed up with the rest of the crew. They’re loading up the guns now.”
“Then let’s go. I want to go home.”
Ethan grunted as well and leaned over to help me up. He swayed and nearly fell into me. Steel grabbed his shoulder and pulled him upright. He pushed Ethan gently against the wall. “Easy. I don’t think you’re quite ready to be bending over.”
“Sorry. I just felt dizzy.”
“Understandable.” Steel looked me over and then reached down on my left side to lift me into his arms bridal style. It still hurt and I cringed, biting my tongue, but Steel was being as gentle as possible. The pain couldn’t be helped.
Steel turned to the door, and I remembered the drive. “Wait!” I tried to motion with my head to where the pieces were still lying on the floor. “I need those.”
Ethan carefully and gradually squatted down and retrieved the pieces, putting them in his pocket. I wasn’t sure the drive would be worth anything now, but maybe it hadn’t been damaged that badly.Maybe we can still get something off of it.
“Let’s go.” Steel motioned with his head towards the door, and Ethan slowly started walking in that direction. Steel paused before following him, eyeing his back dubiously. “If you go down now, I’m not catching you.”
Ethan waved a hand over his shoulder at him. I closed my eyes and tried not to feel anything. Steel tried not to jostle me, but it was unavoidable. Pain exploded in batches across my body as different places protested the movement. My ankle was the worst since it had no support underneath it.
I started to feel nauseous, and I leaned my head against Steel’s shoulder, trying to combat the feeling. I didn’t care anymore that he was an assassin, former or otherwise. I didn’t believe he was going to kill me, especially after having saved my life. And, honestly, given how terribly I felt, I wouldn’t have cared if he actually did decide to kill me. So long as I could close my eyes. I didn’t have it in me to pay attention to my surroundings anymore. I didn’t often leave my fate up to others, but I was willing to let Steel and Ethan take care of me for a little while.
We made it back to the main part of the warehouse, where bodies were being piled up and set on fire and the last crate of guns was being carried out the door. With the fight finished, most of the men seemed to be hurrying through a cleanup job, destroying the dead bodies, and doing a sweep to find any weapons left behind.
Emerson saw us and walked over immediately. He frowned deeply at me. “Geez, Carter, you look like you went through a blender.”
“Thanks,” I muttered against Steel’s sleeve. “Can we just get this bloody bullet out so I can get some nanobots?”
Then I immediately passed out.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Julia
When I came to, I was back on the Hawk in the medical bay, staring up at the ceiling. My vision was blurry, and I was pretty sure I was only barely conscious. Everything hurt. I could hear voices, but I didn’t know what they were saying. My right arm throbbed, and I think I muttered something.
