Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Harper
My feet are sliced, and they burn as though they’re on fire. I keep a firm grip on Luca, my arms around him as though he’s a physical part of my body, afraid that if I let go, I may still be inside, locked up.
Luca is safe.
Alive.
He kisses my lips, pulls me tighter as we’re huddled behind the dead vehicle.
“The EMP fried everything,” Ashton grumbles as he tosses his dead cell phone into the trunk of the SUV. “If Livia has another team or anyone who survived, we’re an enormous target out here.”
“We’ve been here the entire time, and there’s been no sign of anyone leaving that building,” Sophia says.
“The girls got out on the opposite side,” I say. “They’re fleeing on foot. If any guards survived, they’ll probably hunt them down.”
“Even if Livia is dead?” Liam asks.
Ashton keeps his gun ready, poised if any guards come rushing at us through the thick blanket of smoke. “It’s doubtful anyone survived that second explosion.”
“Including Rhys,” Nova whispers, and her breath falters. Her eyes flicker with pain, like she’s holding back tears.
The sound of rotor blades from a helicopter are heard overhead as I squint and glance up into the sky.
“That’s a fucking Black Hawk,” Ashton mutters.
The helicopter lands a short distance away. There’s no helipad, just dirt. Luca curses under his breath, his brow furrowed with worry.
Ashton glances at me, like I’m somehow to blame for this mess.
One of the pilots disembarks and hurries in our direction. “I hear you need a ride.”
We glance at one another, unsure who sent the helicopter, but being stranded is far worse. “Come on,” Ashton says, gesturing for all of us to follow the pilot as we hurry toward the helicopter.
I keep hold of Luca’s hand as we head into the helicopter, glancing around, wondering if we’re about to be detained for questioning by the government.
“Is this everyone?” the pilot asks as he counts six aloud. “I was told there would be seven.”
“Rhys never came out,” Ashton says, and I wince, the weight of my abduction feels incredibly heavy, as though I’m in part to blame. Had he not come here to rescue me, he’d still be alive.
I glance at Nova as she climbs into the seat across from me, and the guilt consumes me. Her eyes are red, glassy. Ashton steals the seat next to her, buckling in. His hand finds her thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
The moment feels entirely too intimate for me to be watching them, and I glance away. I shift in my seat, my seatbelt tight as I glance at Luca seated beside me. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Coming to get me,” I say.
He laughs and shakes his head. “Do you think there was another option?”
We land back at the airfield and take the private plane back home.
It feels empty, wrong to not have Rhys onboard. The mood is heavy, stoic, and the air is thick, making my heart ache for Nova.
While I didn’t personally know Rhys, it’s impossible to ignore her soft tears and pain-laced tone as she leans into Ashton’s embrace.
He hugs her, pulling her into his lap as we reach cruising altitude on our way home.
I may not be to blame for the abduction, but I still feel the weight of guilt, like it’s my fault, because if they hadn’t come rescue me, he’d have never died.
“You’re quiet,” Luca says, his hand running soothingly up and down my arm, his gaze intent on me, but I’m lost in my own thoughts and Nova’s pain keeps washing over me like a tidal wave.
“Just looking forward to going home, seeing Zeke,” I whisper and force a smile.
“Are we going to talk about what happened in there?” Luca asks, his gaze intent on me, but I can’t meet his stare. I don’t want him to feel pity for what occurred. I’d rather not think about that doctor or the intrusive exam.
Grimacing, I pull my arm away from his touch, folding my arms across my chest.
Luca glances down, his brow tightening as he unbuckles his seatbelt and notices the crimson on the floor of the plane. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing.”
He slowly lifts my ankle, taking a long look at the bottoms of my feet. Luca curses and shakes his head. “You should have told me. I wouldn’t have let you walk at all if I’d known you were injured.”
Luca heads toward the back of the plane, and a few minutes later, he returns with a first-aid kit. He unzips the container, retrieving a handful of items, sorting through them until he’s satisfied with what he’s found.
“Everything okay?” Liam asks, unbuckling his seatbelt and coming to stand with Luca. He squats down to look at the bottoms of my feet and grimaces. “Ouch.”
I snort at his response. “I don’t think it’s hurting you any,” I say and force a smile. I appreciate both of their concern, but it’s unwarranted. I’ll be fine.
Unlike Rhys.
I cast my glance up at Nova. Her eyes are red, puffy, and she avoids my stare. Her gaze is trained on the ground. Ashton’s strong arms embrace her, and he’s whispering something into her ear, holding her against him.
It’s obvious how much Ashton still cares for Nova, even though they’re broken up.
Unless something changed between them. It’s hard to tell from just glancing in their direction. They look so close, tight-knit, but Nova told me how she didn’t want that life after college.
How she wanted someone who wouldn’t become her father.
Luca rests my ankle on his knee while he’s bent down in front of me, inspecting my foot, making sure there isn’t any glass or crystal imbedded.
Liam hands him a set of tweezers, and my eyes widen. “What do you plan on doing with those?” I ask, already knowing the answer. But I want to be wrong.
My feet are sore, but they don’t hurt terribly with my feet up while seated on the airplane.
“You have slivers of glass that need to be removed.”
“Since when are you a doctor?” I scoff and yank my foot away from him.
Liam grabs the seat next to me where Luca was sitting. “We’ve sterilized the tweezers. We need to get the glass out and then disinfect the wound, so it doesn’t get infected.”
“And it can’t wait until we get back?” I huff.
“It can, but are you going to let me carry you off the airplane?” Luca asks.