Page 109 of Pride
For some stupid reason, it was the deep timbre of his voice that threatened to undo Alice. He would do everything in his power to save his family… and she was part of it. She almost choked on her next words. “Parker is stuck down a drain with Daisy. I don’t know where they are. I have his arm. I’m on a borrowed cell. Julius… he—I don’t know if they’re okay.”
“I’m on it.” A long, drawn out pause. “AIMI said he’s about a block east of you. Keep me on the line.”
They jogged down the street in the direction Flint gave, talking as they went. “Is anyone back from the mission?” Alice asked.
“No. But all are safe. All are on their way back.”
“And the Sinners?”
“Safe too. Alice… it was a success.”
She swallowed as she ran. Hopefully this would be too. She turned a corner and Flint shot out. “You’re about five feet away from the tracking beacon in his watch.”
She searched the street. Traffic was low because of the rain and most people were indoors, but the storm was easing and a few were coming out of the residential buildings. It should have been easy to spot Parker.
“He’s not here,” she said.
“The drain.” Axel pointed.
At the corner of two streets was a cast iron grate with puddles dribbling into it, and three sets of fingers gripping onto the bars. Alice’s heart surged in her chest. They were alive. But as they ran, water bubbled up and over from inside the grate. They wouldn’t be alive for long if they couldn’t open it.
“Parker,” Alice shouted, dropping the cell and running to him. Two pale faces tilted to the grate, trying to breathe through the water gushing around them. There was too much for him to talk clearly, but she saw the relief in his eyes as she arrived. “I’m here.”
Placing the bionic arm down, she gripped the grate and pulled, but it was stuck tight. Axel joined her and yanked as hard as he could. She unsheathed her sword and stabbed the edges, trying to break any attachment between the iron and the asphalt, but her attempts were in vain.
“It’s no use,” Axel said, pushing to a stand. “It’s welded shut. I’ll see if I can get an angle grinder from a resident.”
“Parker, you need to push!” she shouted into the drain. “Push as hard as you can, just like you did by the ocean.”
Doubt flickered in Parker’s golden eyes and Daisy spluttered, choking as water entered her mouth. Alarmed, Alice slammed her fist on the grate and lowered her face until she was inches from Parker. They locked eyes. She touched his fingers with her own, seeing the visible reaction come over him as his internal sin equalized.
“I know you want to suppress that part of you,” she rasped. “But you need to use it. Forget about how it made you feel in the past. Look forward, not back. Use The Beast, Parker. Even with one hand you have the strength to bust this wide open. Stop holding back andusehim. You still owe me flowers, damn it!”
Claws sprung from Parker’s fingertips. His eyes glowed as he unleashed a wet snarl.
“That’s right, baby. More. Let him in more. You know I love him too.” Parker startled. He blinked at her through spiked lashes, and she realized she’d said she loved him. She loved all of him. And she loved how right those words had felt.“Come on!”
Alice planted her feet, looped her fingers around the grate and when Parker’s growl became a restrained roar, when she heard the iron groaning in resistance, she added her strength, as meager as it was because she knew they would always be a team. If he went down, she would too. They’d fall or fly together.
Daisy’s pale, slender fingers slotted through the gaps and pushed. Axel came running back, minus a grinder, and skidded to his knees. Together, they all strained against the barrier.
And then it broke.
More than break. The iron grate exploded outward, throwing Alice and Axel backward. Axel shoved the bent and twisted grate aside while Alice scrambled to her knees and reached down into the water to grip her lover under the shoulders. Axel did the same for Daisy. The rising water made the lift easy and before long they were all lying on the street, lungs heaving, staring at the rain trickling from the sky.
Alice gripped Parker’s face between her hands and kissed him, tears in her eyes. Then she showed him the bionic arm. “I brought you a hand, but you didn’t need it.”
Parker Lazarus blushed. Heblushed. Affection washed through his expression, and he stroked her cheek before leaning forward to kiss her again. When they pulled away, he rolled to check on his sister.
Alice couldn’t believe it. No gloat. No snide comment, something like “I know I’m the best.” Just a humble blush and a kiss. Her heart melted.
“Daisy?” Parker’s tone held a note of strain.
Daisy lay in Axel’s arms, staring up at his face, her breath a wet wheeze.
“You,” she whispered. “I remember you.”
“Get away from her.” Parker went for Axel’s hand, but Daisy stopped him.
