Page 119 of Burn Like An Angel
Xander holds me braced to his side. “The airstrip is coming up.”
Hobbling along, Raine clutches Lennox’s sleeve. “See anything?”
With his guide stick still lost somewhere in a maize field, he’s reliant on Lennox to move safely. We couldn’t locate any of our supplies either before we had to flee, leaving a bloodied graveyard behind.
Lennox scans the distant buildings. “Not yet.”
“Theodore said to meet here,” Xander grumbles unhappily. “He better turn up.”
“He will,” Raine croaks.
I’m leaning almost all my body weight on Xander. Hours of sleepless travel have made an already pitiful situation worse. I haven’t stopped to look, but I can feel how badly bruised my tender stomach and ribs are.
If the mysterious Theo doesn’t show up, I’ll march down to London and tear down Sabre’s front door myself. No matter what happens, the running ends today. We’ve already lost too much.
“Ripley?” Lennox calls my name. “You still with us?”
I feel Xander peer at me, his arm curled around my back. I’ve been silent since my beloved uncle swiftly hung up the phone upon hearing my voice, leaving us stranded with several corpses and a half-alive hostage.
“She’s okay,” Xander answers for me.
I’m grateful. I don’t have any reassuring words for them right now.
“Raine’s ankle is the size of a fucking balloon.” Lennox guides him forward. “We can’t go much farther.”
“The airfield should be just up ahead,” Xander replies.
In the rising dawn, our rendezvous point is eventually revealed. It’s an exclusive, members-only landing strip in the middle of upper-class suburbia. Probably home to all manner of sleazy politicians’ private jets.
Bonus? It’s deserted.
Sabre chose carefully.
The office buildings appear empty at this hour, but the two blacked-out, armoured SUVs pulled into the car park make my hackles rise. Our desperation doesn’t make this last-ditch effort any less risky.
We’ve been alone since escaping Harrowdean. Pinning everything on total strangers is a tall order after everything we’ve endured. But regardless of the lies Warner previously told, I trust his intentions.
“Eyes open,” Xander orders curtly. “Two vehicles parked up.”
“This is a shitty idea,” Lennox mutters.
Raine hisses in pain. “We’re out of options.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like this.”
“When do you ever like anything, Nox?”
Tentatively approaching the car park, we linger outside the gates. The two SUVs are tinted, concealing their occupants. Birds chirping is the only sound for several tense seconds. No signs of movement.
It feels like we’re locked in a tense Mexican standoff. Someone has to make the first move. I shrug off Xander’s support, swaying on my feet for a moment before steadying.
Xander creeps behind me with each step I take, refusing to let me move more than an inch from his side. He hasn’t let go of me since we clambered into the van and fled for our lives.
A car door cracks open, two booted feet hitting the gravel. My pulse races at lightning speed, almost knocking me straight off my feet. When the heavy door closes, I recognise the face that appears.
Thank god.
Overwhelming relief makes my knees knock together. It takes all my mental resolve to hold still instead of melting into a puddle.
