54. Max
54
MAX
M ax inhaled slowly, steadying his breathing in the aftermath of the battle. His pulse was still pounding from the intensity of the fight, and he was nauseous from the disgusting taste of the Doomer's blood in his mouth.
"Dima, Mehira, Rutza." Jade motioned for them to come forward. "Make sure that no one else is hiding on this floor." She turned to the other two. "Drag all these bodies to a pile somewhere out of the way. There is no need for the freed prisoners to see the carnage."
She looked at the doctor's nearly lifeless body. "What should I do with him?"
"Put him next to the wall over there." Yamanu pointed. "He's not going anywhere." He turned to Max. "Let's check all the cells. Kyra should be in one of them."
With Yamanu, Jasmine and, of course, Ell-rom in tow, they headed toward the row of cells.
"We are all clear here," Jade said in his comm. "The floor is secure and ready for the prisoners to be brought out. My team and I are back to looking acceptable, except for the blood on our uniforms."
Yamanu grinned. "Don't worry about it. I will shroud everyone to look human and hide the bodies, including the blood and gore. There is no reason to distress the prisoners further, or to make them worry about someone getting caught again and having their memories scanned for information on who freed them."
Observing the keypads and scanners at the cells' doors, Max turned around and found what he was looking for in the doctor's pocket.
He returned to his waiting party. "All right, let's get Kyra."
"What do you want to do with the rest of the prisoners?" Jasmine asked anxiously. "Shouldn't we take them as well?"
"We will set them free," Max said. "We are only taking Kyra, but we are leaving no one behind."
Max placed the keycard against the reader, and the locking mechanism opened smoothly. An older man in a rumpled suit stood in the far corner of the cell, trying to melt into the wall. His eyes darted frantically from Max to Yamanu.
" Azadi …?" the man whispered in Farsi, voice cracking.
Max recognized the word for freedom. "You're safe," he said gently, stepping forward with his hands raised to show no threat. "The soldiers are gone." He reached into the man's mind and planted a visual of the rebels coming to free him.
The man's eyes unfocused briefly, and a ripple of calm spread across his features as Max impressed in his mind the notion of safety and freedom.
The man sagged in relief. "Thank you."
Ell-rom came closer, steadying the man's elbow to prevent him from collapsing.
With a nod from Yamanu, he led the guy out of the corridor and away from the gore, then transferred him into Jade's team's care.
The second cell's lock opened as readily and smoothly. The occupant, a young man barely out of his teens, was hiding under the bed.
They repeated the routine from the first cell, and soon, they were on to the next.
Max was almost as impatient and anxious to find Kyra as Jasmine was, and he explained it by his need to bring her to safety and get out of enemy territory.
Jasmine approached the next door. "Three is a lucky number, right?" She peeked through the window. "It's a woman." Her voice cracked.
Max's gut clenched in anticipation as the lock slid open.
A whimper sounded from inside the cell, the sound cutting through Max like a knife.
Dark hair was spread across the dingy pillow, and her face was gaunt, but he knew her instantly.
Kyra .
Even without having met her, he knew. A flood of recognition and an inexplicable pull hit him hard in the chest.
"Dear Fates…" he whispered, swallowing. "What did they do to you?"
Yamanu moved forward and then motioned for Ell-rom to come closer. "We need to snap these cuffs without hurting her."
Max didn't answer, stepping closer.
Kyra appeared barely conscious, lips parted as if she was trying to breathe through a parched throat. Her cheeks were sunken, and fresh bruises colored her wrists where the metal cuffs bit into tender flesh.
"Kyra," Max said softly, crouching next to her and reaching out with trembling fingers to brush the hair away from her face. A raw wave of protectiveness overtook him. He'd never felt anything quite like it, a fierce, almost possessive need to ensure no more harm could come to her. "We are getting you out."
She stirred, blinking up with bleary eyes, pupils dilated from drugs. "Who?" she croaked.
"Don't try to speak." Max leaned in, ignoring the dryness in his own mouth. "You are free."
"Not yet," Yamanu said. "But if you move aside, she will be."
Reluctantly, Max straightened to allow access.
Ell-rom and Yamanu sprang into action. Their formidable combined strength was barely enough to snap the steel links of the chains, which fell away with a harsh clang.
They could now move Kyra's limbs, but the cuffs were harder to snap.
Yamanu decided to take Kyra as she was. "We'll have the tools and the time to deal with the cuffs on the flight."
A soft whimper from behind him drew Max's attention away from Kyra to her daughter.
Jasmine stood in the doorway, her hand pressed to her mouth and her eyes leaking tears.
Max wished he hadn't let the doctor fall into stasis so mercifully. He would have relished the opportunity to wake him up and inflict hell upon him endlessly.
A faint moan escaped Kyra's lips. Then, with what seemed like a monumental effort, she lifted her trembling arms toward Max, voice cracking, "Y-you… came for me…?"
He was confused, but he leaned down and took her into his arms. "I came for you, Kyra. You're safe now."
Footsteps approached from behind, and then Jasmine uttered a choked sob. "So, it's true."
Max had a good idea why Jasmine was sounding so shocked. Kyra looked the same age as her daughter. She was immortal.
Kyra's gaze flicked to Jasmine, eyes widening with a strangled gasp, and then her arms spasmed, and she abruptly went limp in Max's arms.
"What happened?" Jasmine sounded panicked.
"She just fainted," Max said, lowering Kyra gently back on the bed. "Seeing you must have been too much of a shock." His eyes darted around the room, searching for a blanket he could cover Kyra with, but there was nothing, and her skin was ice cold. The only thing she had on was a dirty shift and he suspected she had nothing under that.
He took off his tactical vest and then removed the thick sweater he was wearing underneath, leaving just a white T-shirt. Gently, he pulled the sweater over Kyra's head and then guided her arms into the sleeves. The sweater reached her knees, but he had nothing else to cover her legs with.
He was about to lift Kyra into his arms when Ell-rom reached for her. "I'll carry her."
A wave of frustration mingled with longing coursed through Max. He wanted to hold Kyra, cradle her battered body in his arms, and offer reassurance, but he had no right to her, and Ell-rom was just taking care of his mate's mother.
Arguing about who was going to take Kyra to the helicopters was ridiculous.
Jasmine, tears glistening in her eyes, brushed her mother's hair from her brow. "Dear Mother of All Life, thank you for keeping her alive."
As Ell-rom carried Kyra out of the cell, a stab of jealousy—or something akin to it—twisted in Max's chest, but he beat it down and then strangled it for good measure. Now was not the time for weird, protective instincts to come out and cloud his judgment.