Chapter 31 #2
Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good. Footsteps pounded past their door.
Elliot thanked his lucky stars none of them had the sense to notice the missing guards.
Bellona’s hand weakly squeezed his. Relief pounded through Elliot like a beating drum alongside his staggering pulse as his gaze met Bellona’s hazy blues.
“Wha’s…?”
“Oh, thank Christ. Can you get up? I’ll explain it all later, but we’ve got to get you out of here.”
“Nnn,” Bellona grunted as she struggled to sit. Elliot quickly helped her out of the bed. She leaned heavily on him for support. Even then, she was wobbly.
“Can you transport yet?” He asked as he walked her to the corner of the room where her jacket had been tossed. Elliot leaned her against the wall as he retrieved it and quickly slid it onto her, fingers flying over the buttons as her brow furrowed with concentration.
“No’yet. Hard. Focus.” She shook her head in negation, eyes rolling up slightly as if she was about to lose consciousness again.
“No, no. None of that,” he told her firmly. She blinked hard and her blue eyes fixated on his once more. “Right. There’s a bit of a crisis out there it appears.” He took a pistol from his pocket and placed it in Bellona’s. “The bastards are distracted—this is our chance.”
Elliot darted a glance out into the corridor and found it deserted, he tucked Bellona against his side and helped her along.
The hallway they were in was familiar enough from their first breach of this facility that Elliot was confident he was leading them to the exit, except once there, they’d be exposed.
Could they slip away in the chaos? He doubted it.
There would be soldiers guarding the entrance at the very least. Perhaps a window closer to the entrance wouldn’t be barred?
If he could make better sense of the layout in his mind, he was certain he could find one, but every second that ticked by risked discovery.
“Listen to me,” he said to Bellona. “Can you escape? Just you? Can you get at least enough power for that?”
She glowered at him. “M’not leaving you, Captain.”
“You damned well are if I say you are,” he snapped. His chest felt raw, and his head ached. Warren was probably dead. The rest of the team too. What was the point of him surviving this? Why would he want to?
“Take this.” Elliot once more leaned Bellona against a wall. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the syringe case. “It’s extremely important you get this to HQ, do you hear me?”
Bellona scowled up at him, her ocean eyes glittering. “Don’t make me.”
“They’re all dead. It was…it was a trap.
The whole thing. That bastard fed me misinformation, and I got them all killed.
” Elliot forced away thoughts that wanted to drown him.
He could get one thing right. He could still get this one thing right.
“I won’t get you killed to save myself. It’s…
Winifred, it’s better this way. I’ll draw their attention, you’ll escape. Is that understood?”
“Captain…” Elliot watched the protest forming on her features. She was steaming up to an argument.
He cut her off before she made one. “That’s an order, Bell.”
Her eyes hardened, and she forced herself to stand, her mouth flattening into a line to keep whatever she wanted to really say from spilling out. “Understood.”
“Excellent. And you are not to blame yourself for this, do you hear me? I wanted it this way. Warren and the others…It was my fault. You didn’t leave me behind, you understand? I ordered you to go. Remember that for me.”
Wetness gathered in her eyes, and Elliot swallowed down on the despair suddenly choking him. “At least let me try—”
“We’re not dead, you sapskulls!” Warren’s disembodied voice called out.
Elliot whipped his head around, heart slamming against his ribs, throat blocked off with roaring emotion as Warren appeared out of thin air running toward them.
“Snap out of it!” He skidded to a halt in front of them, boots squeaking against the floor, gaze skipping between Bellona propped against the wall, and Elliot frozen, gaping at him.
“For fuck’s sake! Hoffman, a little help! ”
“Right here.” Elliot blinked as Hoffman rounded the corner, took in the scene and guessed. “She can’t transport?”
“Not more than one,” Bellona said shakily. “Can’t quite walk either.”
“Right,” Hoffman said, glancing between Elliot and Warren. “I’ve got her, you get the captain?”
“Yes,” Warren instantly agreed.
Vaguely, Elliot realized he ought to be the one giving orders, but he was still in shock and couldn’t take his eyes off Warren’s handsome, glorious, animated face.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Hoffman scoop Bellona up, almost laughing at the squeal of surprise she let out and knew he would pay dearly if he allowed that bubble of joy to escape. “You…you’re…”
“Alive,” Warren said tone flat, eyes furious. Why is he angry? “Yes, and we’re going to talk about all of that—” he waved his hand around indicating what had just happened “—later. Right now, we’re getting the hell out of here.”
Warren reached out and grasped Elliot’s hand. Elliot clutched at him, grip too tight. Something in Warren’s face softened. Elliot took in a deep lungful of air. The crushing sensation in his chest lessened. He wanted to kiss Warren rather desperately, but now was not the time..
Instead, he allowed Warren to pull him into a mad-dash, and they made their escape.