Page 14 of Secret Mission

“I’m so tired. Did my arm get ripped off?”

The bones are intact. There’s no new blood. Thank fucking god.

“Nope. All arms accounted for.”

“Oh, good,” she whispers in a slur. “I need them for my job.”

Then she goes out. Her head rolls to the side, and I nearly choke on the jagged pain in my throat.

But my shaking hands find her pulse.

One. Two. Three. It’s strong.

Breath rolls in and out of her slowly. No rattles. No overworking chest or abdominal muscles.

This is good.

She’s not bleeding.

Allison is safe.

I didn’t let her die.

I collapse onto the embankment with my lungs stinging, my heart lurching an erratic rhythm, and a thank you prayer on my tongue.

“Thanks, God, for getting me this far, but that better be all the excitement for one day.”

I didn’t kill her by dragging her off the cliff.

I didn’t shoot her.

I just hope there’s no third strike.

Because I’m not a lucky man.

Watching Allison sleep is a special kind of torture. I have time to look at her.

The slender arch of her neck, the delicate but capable hands tucked under her cheek.

Those pale, soft lips pinched together in a determined line. As if the troubles of her world haunt her dreams too, just like they do mine.

It’s a wonder she’s not having a nightmare after the shit that just went down.

I’m braced for what’s coming when she wakes up. So, when her eyes flutter and she looks around, I’m close.

Shaded under the heavy leaves of a palm tree, I brush the heavy clump of her damp hair back, feeling twitchy as fuck. “Hey, ‘bout time you woke up.”

Slowly blinking, Allison raises her head. “Did I… did I pass out?”

I nod awkwardly, my neck as tight as banjo strings. “A deep sleep. You crashed after the adrenaline faded.”

Watching her pretty, soft gaze flicker with panic makes my skin tighten. “You’re safe now.”

The way her throat works is a testament to the building storm inside her.

When both her hands fly up to cover her eyes, my gut twists into a knot.

“Oh god.” A tiny voice works its way between her fingers. Then, the wracking sobs quickly come.

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