Page 43 of The Vigilante's Lover
Once we’ve climbed a little way, it’s fully dark. “How are you even going to see to get out of here?” I ask. I’m not loving trying to feel my way in the pitch black on a slippery ladder with a long fall if I miss.
My hand brushes against his shoe. He’s stopped.
“They can shoot up this ladder, you know,” I whisper.
“We’re at the hatch,” he says.
He moves around a little, then I see a strange rectangle of light with a few images on it. It’s his sticky tape he’s been putting on all the doors. I guess he got to keep one toy.
“Go back down about six rungs,” he says.
Going down is way worse than going up. I fish around with my foot to find each bar, terrified I will lose my grip.
“Any day now,” he says, his voice low and angry.
Above us, an electrical flash momentarily blinds me.
“What was that?” I squeal.
“Trying to break the latch seal,” he says. I hear his shoes clanging on the metal as he goes back to the top. The device still emits a bit of light, enough to see shadows.
Jax grunts, pushing up on the hatch. After a moment, a rim of light appears around the edge, then it widens.
I see sky.
“Oh, my God!” I say. “We’re out!”
“Take care,” Jax says. “They may be ready for us.”
I clutch at the ladder. I’m so glad I’m away from those people and back with Jax, I could cry.
Jax crouches on the ladder, then springs up and out in one powerful movement, like a lion.
I pause, waiting for the sounds of fighting or gunfire. Nothing.
He peers back down. “Come on. We’re clear, but they have our heat signatures again, so they’ll be here any minute.”
I hurry up the ladder. The feel of dirt and rocks beneath my fingers as I stumble out is amazing. We’re back in the woods. I want to kiss the ground.
“They can’t get a visual in the trees, so keep moving.” Jax grips my arm as we race ahead.
“But they can follow our heat,” I say.
Jax races toward a huge boulder. I don’t know why he’s dragging me that way. It’s wide open, without any trees to hide us.
“Not for long,” he says. Without warning, he scoops me into his arms and races across the stone surface.
Then we’re falling.
I clutch at him. The air is cold on my face as we hurtle down. I try to open my eyes and look at him. What has he done?
Then we’re underwater.
I break away, fighting for the surface in my heavy sweater dress. I’m dragged down by the weight of it. I haven’t been swimming in years, not since my parents died. After their boating accident, I didn’t go into the water anymore. I thrash around, panicked.
Strong arms come around me.
My face bobs above the water. Jax holds me against his chest, kicking us closer to the shore, working with the current.
