“Don’t.” Breath. “Trust.” Breath. “Them.”
“Shh.” Becca sniffed hard. “Save your strength.”
“Stop…Dominion…pl…pl…plan…B. Syn?—”
The rear door crashed open, and Jamie rounded the crates as Nik’s chest hitched violently, and he exhaled his last painful breath. Life leaching from his lungs, his eyes glazed over, sightless and empty before help could reach him.
“No. No. No. Don’t leave me, Nik! You can’t leave me.” Becca lifted her beseeching gaze to Jamie. “Do something, please!”
Urgency gone, he set his medical pack aside and took a knee beside her. A quick pulse check, and he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Becca. There’s nothing I can do for him.”
“Yes, you can! Fix him. Please!”
“I wish I could, honey. But his injury was fatal. There’s nothing anybody could have done. Nik’s gone.”
“Noooo…” Her spirit breaking and grip tightening, she pulled Nik closer. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Set on repeat, she chanted her broken-hearted lament, rocking back and forth over her friend’s lifeless body. “I’m so sorry.”
“This is your fault,” Maya spat, venom coating her words. “All of this is your fault. You should’ve died. You were supposed to die.” She surged toward Becca, and Jay tightened his grip, holding back her attack.
“Shut the—” The comms crackled in his ear.
“Redcon-One. Redcon-One,” Cody snapped in warning. “I have eyes on a fast-moving RHIB—inbound from the east—bearing two-seven-zero, range four klicks, speed high. Multiple pax onboard, posture aggressive. ETA six mikes. Craft profile reads armed insertion.”
“Copy that,” Adam replied. “Enemy inbound. Confirmation HVT is secure.”
“HVT secure,” Jay said, binding Maya’s wrists behind her back with zip-cuffs in preparation for a rapid departure. “We’re good to go.”
“All teams, execute exfil protocol. Rendezvous points apply. Maintain black posture. No deviations. See you on the water.”
A round of rapid-fire acknowledgements came through, and with a new threat on the horizon, Jay dragged Maya over to Becca and Jamie. “I’m sorry about Nik, sweetheart. But we have to go.”
“I can’t leave him,” she wailed, rocking him harder.
Time of the essence, he handed off Maya with a shove. Jamie caught her and gave them some space. “He’s gone, love.” Jay set his hands on Becca’s shoulders and felt her tremors as he slid his palms down her arms to her elbows. “There’s nothing we can do for him now.”
In shock, she trembled at his feet as he gently peeled her away from her deceased friend. “We have to go.” It took little effort to lift her, and when they stood face-to-face, he saw the depths of her sorrow reflected in the deep pools of her eyes.
“It’s your fault,” Maya spat. “Everything—all of this—the end of the world. Your fault. You should’ve died. I wish you’d died.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Emotions swamping her chest, Becca felt herself start to shut down. No. No. No! She couldn’t. Not here. Not now. Jay. Focus on Jay. Oh God! Dead at her feet, Nik’s body demanded her attention.
Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.
“No,” Jay said, cupping her face with both hands and dragging her focus back to him. “Look at me.” He waited for her to comply. “That’s it. Good girl. Now breathe.”
She inhaled, timing her oxygen intake with his.
He exhaled—so she did too.
“Again.”
She did as he demanded, and eyes locked on his, she filled her lungs to capacity. Jesus. Fuck. Every molecule in her body ached with the weight of her despair.
Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.
“We have to go.”
