Born of Fire

After all, she was the one who gave them his address.

How could I have been so stupid?

She had destroyed his life. Caused him to be beaten, chased.

And now this.

The one and only thing he valued.

Clearing her throat, she gathered as much dignity as she could and went back to the main room. She pulled the hood off her head and sighed as she surveyed the utter destruction around her.

What had she done?

It had all seemed so simple at first. Hand over a convict and save the four of them. How much simpler could it be?

Only it wasn’t simple. She’d destroyed an innocent man.

No, not entirely innocent, but he didn’t deserve this. No one deserved to have their home ripped to pieces.

Over and over she saw his beaten body, heard the thump of him hitting the prison floor. The sight of his young, battered face in the photograph.

He’d been amply punished for anything he’d ever done. He surely didn’t deserve any more.

At the moment, she hated herself for her part in it all.

He saved my life, took my fear away, and I repaid him by kicking him in the teeth.

Shaking her head to clear her blurry vision, she gazed down at the mess surrounding her and saw a fragment of one of the photos he’d kept inside his prayer box. She knelt down and picked it up. It was his sister. Though the lower half that contained him had been torn off, Talia’s face still remained untouched. Maybe she could find more.

With that thought, she began to hunt frantically through the debris. Granted, it wouldn’t rectify what he’d lost. But at least it would give him something to hold on to.

Just as she found several more pieces, a loud shattering sound came from the bedroom.

What the . . . ?

Terrified that a sniper had shot through the window, she entered the room and saw Syn standing just inside a large gaping hole in the windows, where he’d thrown his office chair through them. The wind rushed in, billowing the white curtains toward him. Papers whirled and danced while he just stared out into the darkness with his hair whipping around his handsome face. He looked primal. Fierce.

Lethal.

A statue of a man ready to take on the universe and destroy it.

Thinking about the trackers below, she rushed to the window. She looked out to see five people running toward the building. “They’re coming for us,” she warned him.

“Let them.” His tone was as sinister as his stance.

She stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

Ebony strands of hair whipped around his face, some catching in his whiskers.

When he looked at her, his eyes were brittle obsidian. Bereft. “I don’t care what they do. I’m tired of running. Fuck them. Let’s fight.”

She was aghast. “Well, you picked a fine time for that attitude, buddy. You know, you could have at least consulted me before you turned suicidal. Especially since my life is currently tied to yours. Thanks a lot, asshole.” Her heart racing, she glared at him. “Stay here and die, then. I’m at least going to try to live through this.”

Syn watched her leave. He tried to tell himself that it was good riddance. Let her find her own way.

But even in his feral and furious state, he knew she wouldn’t get far on her own. And for some insane, stupid reason, it mattered to him whether she lived or died.

Let her go.

He couldn’t. Too weak to fight his conscience anymore, he chased after her.

Shahara heard her pursuer pulling himself up on the rope next to her. Expecting the worst, she looked down ready to fight. Instead of a tracker, she saw Syn climbing up behind her.

As he drew even with her, he grabbed her by the waist and swung her over to another balcony.

“What are you doing?”

“Saving our asses.” With that, he shot the grappling hook toward the roof. She wrapped her arms and legs around him an instant before they shot upward.

She stared at his stern features. “Thank you for not disappointing me.”

His answer was a grunt as he helped her over the lip of the building. Once he was safely beside her, he scanned the rooftop. A strange, throbbing beat echoed around them, shaking the roof under their feet.

Shahara frowned at the noise.

Whatever could it be?

Before she could ask, Syn grabbed her arm savagely and pulled her down to squat behind the building’s atmospheric control unit. He shielded her body with his own and, in spite of the danger, she trembled with the familiarity of his body pressing against hers.

Suddenly, a bright light exploded across the rooftop. Her breath caught in her throat and in an instant, she knew the source of the noise.

They had a rover after them.





CHAPTER 15


Harsh bright searchlights crisscrossed the rooftop, turning the darkness almost as light as if it were the middle of the day. It would be only a few minutes before the craft located them.

Her heart sliding into her stomach, she looked up at Syn. “What now?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Could you think a little quicker?”