20. JAX
JAX
Instantly, the pressure dropped and the Viper launched himself out of the plane.
Fucking coward.
There was an explosive rush of air, like a bomb had detonated. My ears rang, my lungs seized. I barely felt Madoc’s body on top of me before he was gone.
The cargo door was a quick-release, meaning there was no slow decompression. It meant that between one blink and the next, a whole fucking hurricane had climbed into the plane.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Already, we were being sucked toward the opening. I rolled onto my stomach and jammed Cockzilla between the metal grating that recently held the large containers in place. Those containers were freeballing it now, shooting like giant death marbles toward the open cargo bay doors.
Then my mind switched gears, reminding me of the greater risk.
Losing Madoc and Olivia.
I craned my neck up, wincing at the ferocious wind as it tore at my face. Through the haze, I saw Madoc. My chest seized.
He was plastered to Olivia, using his body to pin her to the floor. Both his hands were gripping the metal grating.
The wind was howling. The temperature was dropping. Ice webbed across the metallic floor toward me. The moment it reached my hands, my grip began to slip.
I scrambled, trying to keep myself from being sucked out of the plane at thirty-five thousand feet. Madoc’s head was turned toward me. He was shouting something, but I’d all but gone deaf.
The roaring was absolute.
Was this how I fucking died? Bleeding, bruised, and gripping a dildo? My old man would be rolling over in his grave. He’d kick my ass when we reunited in Hell.
Madoc was still shouting. What was he saying? I squinted. Every breath was ice rattling through my chest.
E-something? Over? Override?
Then it clicked.
The emergency override switch. Of course.
Only problem? It was on the other side of the cargo hold, near the cabin entrance.
Because nothing was ever fucking simple.
I twisted around on my stomach and began the agonizing climb toward it. I said goodbye to Cockzilla, who was sucked out like a piece of lint into the night sky.
I thrust my arm up and caught the next grating. I hefted myself a few good feet, then reached for the next one and the next one. I got some good momentum. My lungs and ribs were screaming. There was a deep, unnerving pulse behind my eyes, like my brain was about to explode.
Don’t think about that.
When the grating ran out, I grabbed onto the flailing straps that had long since lost their luggage.
Never had I been so thankful for my impressive upper body strength.
Had I known all those long nights working out, usually after a frustrating call with Preacher, would result in this, I would’ve doubled my reps. Tripled them, even.
A loud rattle made me snap my neck up. One of the death containers was still locked in place, but barely. It was rattling in its cage like I was a magnet, pulling it toward me. Then one of its restraints snapped, and it shifted precariously. Fuck.
Another great cosmic joke. Of course, everything had to go from bad to worse.
I scrambled upwards, using whatever handholds I could to close the distance. Sparks exploded behind my eyes. The cold leeched into my bones, causing each movement to feel like a grind.
I didn’t hear the final restraint snap. But I felt the vibrations through the floor and counted in my head.
Three…
Two…
One…
I rolled to the side, smashing hard into the wall. The container shot past me like a giant cannon ball. A split second later, a second blur followed, and I realized too late what it was.
A person.
The other Viper. Tiny.
I couldn’t tell if he was alive or not when he was sucked out of the plane. Couldn’t say I cared either way.
Every second that passed, the air became harder to breathe. Soon, we wouldn’t be able to breathe at all.
My pulse was deafening in my ears by the time I reached the final leg. The tips of my fingers had turned an alien-blue. I tried not to think about Madoc and Olivia—further down, closer to death—as I squinted up at the ladder and the parallel wall. The controls had to be there.
Where the fuck were they?
I blinked and blinked, straining against the pressure. I couldn’t see anything beyond the white sparks in my eyes. My brain was deteriorating under the immense force. Soon, something inside my skull would give.
We were seconds from death.
Fuck. Not like this.
Digging deep, I screamed through my fucking teeth like a wild animal as I reached for the ladder. My blue fingers locked, stinging harshly against the frozen metal. Then I pulled myself to my knees and searched for the big red button.
Whereisitwhereiswhereisit
My hands slipped.
No.
I gritted my teeth and retightened my grip, just in time. But my legs were ripped out from beneath me.
The cargo bay roared and rattled, a sound like a dying star.
My hands almost slipped again. I could no longer feel them. From the corner of my eye, I saw a red blink. A last, final hope.
Just a few feet away. It was right fucking there.
But there was no way I could reach it. My hands were useless. And if I let go with even one hand to reach for the emergency override, I’d be sucked out of the plane.
I was too late.
They were going to die because of me.
Something moved above me. A violent rush of air. A flash of black. Then a sharp impact against the wall beside my head.
My head dropped between my arms. If my brain hadn’t exploded, my eardrums certainly had.
The roaring stopped.
The silence was so loud it felt like I’d been plunged underwater.
At least death was quiet.
Time slowed. I still felt connected to my body; the harsh pulse in my deadened fingers, the ice in my joints, the stinging skin of my face. The iron fist around my lungs loosened. I sucked in a grateful breath that left me downright loopy.
Then death was suddenly not quiet.
“…ax! Jax!”
That was annoying.
Also, when did my head hit the floor?
I lifted it groggily, wondering when everything had stopped moving.
“Jax!” Someone screamed in my ear.
I winced. Awesome. Not deaf.
A pair of legs crouched in front of me. The voice stirred a new awareness in my mind. I knew that voice. That voice irritated the hell out of me.
“Come on, dude. Tell me you’re not brain dead.”
With a groan, I pushed myself upright with my hands, my vision swimming. When it settled, I stared uncomprehendingly at the dumbass face in front of me.
A face that broke into a sheepish grin.
Nate.