The boy looked at her. Dade was surprised he’d heard her, considering her voice was paper-thin. Then Uri snarled, his feeling of betrayal evident with his lip curled and his eyes narrowed. “I’m helping you only because I owe you for Mariah. After this, we’re even. Finished. You have three seconds to get out of my face, or I’ll shoot you myself.”
Pain bloomed on Arden’s face, this time clearly emotional, not physical. She nodded at Uri. Then she lurched forward, half tumbling, into Uri so that she could brush a kiss on his cheek. “I understand. I’ll miss you.”
Dade had kept a grip on her, and now he pulled her back, frightened by the naked hatred apparent in Uri’s eyes.
“We’re enemies now.” Uri gave Arden a penetrating look. “Don’t come back. If I see you, I’ll shoot you on sight.”
Arden let out a long exhale, sinking back into Dade’s side. “I understand.”
“This can’t be forgiven.”
She offered Uri a sad, defeated smile. “I know. It’s okay.”
Uri seemed wrecked by her acknowledgment and forgiveness, like he’d been slapped. Then his face went hard, and he turned his back to them. He shot a few more times at the mercenaries, clearing a path before he leapt over the barricade.
Dade needed to get Arden to safety as well. With Uri gone, there was no one keeping the mercenaries from tearing into them. The task of dragging her across the room seemed impossible. Yet all he could do was move forward. He’d ignore anything that could distract his attention, even Arden’s gurgles of discomfort.
He tightened his arm around her middle, and then began to half pull, half carry her while shooting at anything that moved. He cleared a path like Uri had done, knowing that their escape wouldn’t be as quick. When they got into the open, he pressed his phaser to her temple as he dragged her backward.
She let out a high-pitched mew, choking back a sob. “It hurts.”
“I know,” he said into her hair, just above her ear. “This is going to be uncomfortable.”
Arden tried to help him, seemed to understand this game he played. She scooted her boots along the tile, in an attempt to gain momentum and lessen his burden as he carried the weight of them both through the room. She wasn’t able to keep herself up, though, and her weight shifted, making it painstaking to maintain his hold.
He pulled her tighter whenever he felt her slipping. It lent to the appearance of a struggle, but he hated her cries of agony. Then Arden passed out. He was extremely thankful for that, though it made his progress slower. As much as he had tried to block out her cries of pain, they twisted him up inside.
If he could get them up two floors, there was a forgotten trash shoot that had a steel plate bolted over it. It looked like part of the reinforced walls. But he knew that the sheet only looked like it was secured. Neither he nor Saben had resealed it when they’d left. It was the only bit of luck he’d had recently.
He kept the phaser pressed to her head as he dragged her. He hoped that whoever saw them, from whichever side, would think that she was his captive and not shoot. The mercenaries because Arden was obviously Lasair from the way she was dressed, so they’d assume Dade was working with them. And Lasair because they wouldn’t hurt one of their own.
The plan worked for the most part. Occasionally he traded shots with a mercenary, taking the individual out when he could manage a clear shot. And he hadn’t seen anyone from Lasair, which was worrisome. The bulk of the fight seemed to be moving up the facility, with Dade and Arden following behind.
They moved slower than he wished. Arden hadn’t woken. He couldn’t stop to check her, so he kept going, clearing a stairwell and dragging her up with him. His entire body protested. His muscles were pushed to the limit. He knew he was tiring and didn’t know how much stamina he had left.
An explosion rocked several floors below. The building swayed, the floor unstable. Dade managed to maintain his footing, but he fell heavily against a wall, Arden’s body on top of him. He panted and sweated as he righted them. There’d be more detonations to come. Knowing what little time they had before the entire place imploded spurred him on. Let him gather what few resources he had left and push through the pain.
He exited onto a restricted floor and was halfway down the corridor when a girl stepped in front of them. Her phaser was up, pointed dead center of Arden’s chest. This girl wasn’t a mercenary. She wore the same running suit that Arden sported, though hers was still pristine, with her hood pulled back as if she didn’t care who saw her face.
“Stay back,” Dade said to her as he jostled Arden in his arms, tightening his grip. He kept his phaser pointed at Arden’s head.
“Like you’re going to shoot her.” The girl rolled her eyes. “Do it, then. That’s something I’d like to see.”
Dade blinked. The hand on his phaser hesitated. Wasn’t this girl part of Arden’s gang? She wanted him to shoot?
Arden opened her eyes on a gasping sob. She wheezed, “Kimber.”
Kimber grinned, raising her phaser higher. Her finger tightened on the trigger, her stance determined. “So glad you’ll be awake for this.”
She was really going to shoot them. This girl was crazy, and they had nowhere to hide. If he had to shoot her to get to the end of the hall, he would. Though he worried that Arden would never forgive him.
A shot rang out.
Dade jolted, frozen for a moment before realizing that it was Arden who’d shot. The phaser shook in her hand as she sent blast after blast the other girl’s way.
Kimber ducked. She slunk to the end of the corridor, seeking cover.
Dade arced his phaser, following the path Kimber took, his shots joining Arden’s. He didn’t have anywhere to go except to head for the door at the center of the hall. There was nothing to hide behind, and they had no more than this one chance. He had to make it before one or both of them got shot. He moved quickly, pulling Arden along while shooting, filling the hallway with enough blasts to keep Kimber from returning fire.
He dragged Arden into the room, shooting out the hand scanner at the entrance before setting her down inside to barricade the door. The thin heat shield wouldn’t hold out against repeated fire blasts, but maybe it would last long enough for them to get out of the building or for that Kimber girl to be taken out by someone else.
Arden groaned. Her body was slumped half against the wall, mostly falling onto the floor. She’d curled into a fetal position, protecting her injured side.
He put his hand to her face, feeling her cold skin. If she had a head injury, he didn’t want her to sleep. “Stay awake.” He shook her as gently as possible but allowed no argument to his request. “Arden, open your eyes. I want to see them.”