“Close it up!”
“Wait! We don’t know where Mira went!”
“Seven… six…”
“There are too many coming through! Close it!”
“But Kerry’s still down there!”
“CLOSE IT!”
“We’re clear, Gigi!” Kerry hollered.
I was glad he did because his heavy butt had smashed me flat and I couldn’t get air into my lungs for anything. The choking smoke that billowed off us didn’t help.
The racket and tremors came to a stop, and the rotten egg stink began to fade.
“Mira?!” Rome bellowed.
“I’m here!” I tried to yell, but Kerry was taking his sweet time getting up, and I sounded more like a deflated accordion.
Finally,he got to his feet, reached down, and held out his hand. Still wheezing a little, I took it and let him pull me up.
“Gigi did it.” His deep voice seemed oddly weak. “Yay.”
I eyed him with concern as he dissolved his sword, then put his hands on his knees and panted. His shirt and hair were soaked with sweat, and his clothing was in shreds.
He musta fought like a fury during those two minutes he was down there.
“If anyone’s vertical, come give us a hand,” Jax called.
I waved a hand at Kerry as he started to straighten up.
“I got it.”
I went over to where Jax was trying to get Gigi through the hole in the wall. She must have drained every drop of her power because her arms and legs flopped everywhere.
Know how it feels when the dentist numbs your gums and a little of the anesthetic gets on your tongue? That’s how yourwhole bodyfeels when you’re drained. So, yeah, she wasn’t much help.
After we hauled her out, Jax carried her over to the others and laid her on the floor. Blood trickled from her nostrils and her face was whiter than Pepper Crane’s.
“Gigi?” Jax knelt next to her and stroked her curls. “Gigi!”
“I called one of the outpost’s healers.” Titus sucked in his breath sharply as he moved his bloody leg. “Should be here any time now.”
“She’ll be okay.” Kerry came over and lightly ground his knuckles into the top of Jax’s head. “She needs sleep, that’s all.”
Jax nodded, but his brown eyes glowed with worry.
When Rome crawled out of the wall, I knew I was in trouble as soon as I met his arctic eyes. He stalked over and bent his head down until we were nose to nose.
“Next time, tell me what you’re doingbeforeyou do it,” he growled. “I had no idea where you went. How can I make aplanwhen I don’tknowanything?”
I’d learned a lot about him in our short time together, and one thing he did not do well with was spontaneity. He was methodical and liked to calculate odds. He was okay with me jumping into the fight, which was good because I didn’t like being held back, but he wanted to beawarethat I was jumping into the fight.
Since I knew he was speaking out of fear and worry for me, I told him I was sorry and explained about Zick’s bracelet.
“Just … give me some kind of warning next time.” He touched his forehead to mine. “You scared me.”
