“They went ahead. Wanted to make sure we got the stuff out of the vault.”
“They left you alone?” I see the fury on her face.
“Not the time.” I urge her up onto her horse, boosting her with my good hand as she struggles to mount him in her panic. Then I climb onto mine, groaning at the way it forces me toextend and rotate my shoulder. The pain radiates through my chest and I nearly black out. I’m having a harder and harder time getting my breath, but I don’t dare tell her that.
“We should put something on that.” She looks across at me as her horse shakes his head impatiently, pawing at the ground, ready to go.
“We don’t have time. We need to ride as fast as we can. They’ll wait a few minutes, but any longer, and they’ll leave,” I warn her. I grab the reins with my good hand and click my tongue. “Let’s go.” I urge my horse on. Zephyrine looks at me, fear and recognition for what I’ve done for her laid bare behind her blue eyes, but she follows me out into the night.
FORTY-FIVE
Zephyrine
We’re racingacross the field to the base of the mountains, and it’s taking everything I have just to hold on to my horse as it breaks into an all-out gallop. I’d been too afraid to practice this speed more than once or twice with the horses at the ranch, and they all felt much smaller and safer than this one. The wind whips through my hair and I swear I’ll be thrown from the saddle with one wrong move.
But I don’t have time to think about my own fate. I’m too worried about Levi as I see his head bobbing from side to side and the way he tries to hold the reins and apply pressure to his wound at the same time. This was an ill-fated plan from the start. My father only making it worse.
I glance back over my shoulder toward the house and don’t see anyone following us. My guess is that even if he did wake up, their first instinct would be to make sure he received medical attention. But it won't be long after that before he has the entire resources of the state hunting us down.
I have no idea how we can escape that. Our plan relied on going in and out relatively unnoticed. Shutting down and rewriting all the camera footage. Leaving no prints or evidence behind. A small security presence. We never had a plan for me stabbing my own father, or Levi knocking him unconscious and having his guards force him into a panic room.
For now, though, all we can do is keep riding. Hoping that we make it to the mountain and up it in time to meet the helicopter. I sneak another wary glance in Levi’s direction. I have no idea how he’ll make the climb. It feels impossible. I’ll never forgive myself if he dies from trying to save me. I should have planned for my father. I should have known what to do. These things were my responsibility to handle, given that it’s my family we’re dealing with. Rowan, Bishop, and Levi handled every other aspect, planned it down to the minute, and I couldn’t even manage my small part in this well enough to keep him safe.
I don’t have time to keep berating myself, though, because I see Levi start to slump out of the corner of my eye. He’s slipping to one side and clearly struggling to stay seated and maintain his grip on the reins. I see the horse start to slow, and I pull back and turn to meet him, thankful when my horse complies readily.
“Levi!” I scream his name as he starts to nod off. “Levi!!” This time, he hears me and sits up straighter. He blinks and shakes his head.
“I’m fine.” He’s barely audible when he speaks; I read his lips more than hear the words.
“Give me the reins.” I reach out as I sidle up next to him. “Hold the pommel so you don’t fall off, and give me the reins. I can pony your horse.”
He starts to refuse, but I can see how pale he is, how exhausted. He’s lost too much blood.
“You have to listen to me right now. It’s the only way. It’s an order not an ask,” I insist, and he finally yields. He hands me hisglasses too, and that’s how I know for sure how dire it really is. He feels his way to another rope, reaching for it and wrapping it around his middle as he winces in pain. He ties a knot to the saddle, giving himself an extra measure of safety.
“Go,” he says, his voice so weak it hurts to hear it.
I tuck the glasses in my shirt before I resituate us both, taking his reins in my left hand and holding mine in my right before I click my tongue to get the horses going again. He holds on to the horn and lets himself settle forward enough that if he nods in and out, he won’t completely fall off. We have a few thousand more yards to go before we reach the tree line, and then I’ll have an entirely different set of problems on my hands.
“Zephyrine!”I hear my name called from just beyond the trees and look up to see Bishop standing there as I try to help Levi down from his horse.
“Bishop!” I shout back, never more relieved to see someone in my life.
“What the fuck happened?”
“He got shot in the upper chest. Through the Kevlar. It’s bad. He’s been close to losing consciousness. He needs a doctor. I have no idea how he’ll make it up the mountain to the helicopter,” I explain, and Bishop steps in to help Levi down.
Levi tries to speak and fails, pale as a ghost and barely able to hold his head up. Bishop lays him out on the ground and pulls off his shirt and bulletproof vest. He wipes the blood away to reveal an ugly wound.
“Fucking hell. It’s a sucking chest wound. We have to get this patched. His lung is collapsed, and he can’t breathe.” Bishoproots through a pocket in his vest and extracts a foil packet. He rips the corner with his teeth and pulls the patch free.
“Will he be okay?” My heart drops to my stomach. I knew it was bad, but a collapsed lung sounds dire. Like he’s about to die, and I cannot lose him. Not now. Not ever.
“He’s gonna be good. We’re gonna get him patched up.” He peels the protective layer off and smooths the patch over his chest, his eyes meeting his friend’s. “I can’t believe you got this far like this. You’re fucking tough as nails. You keep that shit up, okay?” Bishop tells Levi.
But Levi’s lips are turning blue, and his head lolls to the side.
“Tell me the truth.” I look at Bishop.
