Chapter 31
EDEN
I have never felt terror like this. I can’t get the image of Kieran out of my mind, his pale skin turning red as he struggled to breathe. While I knew a dozen different ways to get out from in front of that gun without getting shot, I couldn’t risk him.
That’s why I’m letting Conor drag me from the house, out a side door where the guards don’t see the weapon he has pointed at me, and toward the bridge. I can’t quite reach my gun without him seeing—though I honestly could take his; he’s being sloppy with keeping it aimed at me.
I’ve tucked my knife away, letting him think I’m being cooperative. In reality, I just need to get across the bridge. I’m not willing to fight him on the small walkway where either one of us could easily get thrown over, and I don’t know what other tricks he has if we stay too close to the house.
But on the other side of the bridge, I’ll easily be able to disarm him and rush to Nolan. I’ll be back to Kieran in minutes if I do this right, which means I’m matching Conor’s frantic pace. I just need to get to the other side with both of us alive—so we can kill him slowly later.
We’re nearly to the center of the bridge when a yell freezes us both, my heart leaping in my chest. “Conor!”
Looking back, I spot Kieran rushing toward the bridge. His skin is still red, and his movements aren’t as fluid as they normally are. But he’s still alive, breathing fresh air. And he’s coming for me.
“Fuck.” I barely catch the word before Conor shoves me backward. I’m not ready for the movement—so focused on Kieran—that I stumble and manage to catch myself on the thick metal cables that serve as a railing.
Conor sprints toward the other end of the bridge, and while I could easily catch up to him, I don’t need to. He is rushing toward the only way down the mountain, but there are so many guards on that side that I don’t worry that he’ll be slipping away.
Instead, I run the last few feet to Kieran, who opens his arms as I jump into them. My legs lock around his waist, his arms encircling me as he holds me close.
“You’re okay?” I breathe.
He pulls back, my hands sliding to cup his face. “I’m okay. But I’m going to kill that bastard.”
I chuckle. “Doesn’t Lochlan have the rights to that kill?”
“Not anymore,” he growls, one hand sliding up my back.
I lower my head, about to kiss Kieran when he freezes, eyes locked over my shoulder. I have just enough time to process why as I glance back to see Conor pause to press his hand against a post at the other end of the bridge.
“What is he?—”
I realize the answer to my own question before I even finish the sentence. He was pressing a small detonation device there. One that explodes as he rushes away, snapping several of the supporting cables and severing one side of the bridge from stable land.
With us still standing in the middle.