Page 59 of The Last True Hero
"Tell her I love her and that we'll get her out," Mia whispered.
"I will." McClain handed her the holster. "The gun's loaded. You have any hassles here, then don't be afraid to use it."
"I won't." Mia caught his hand as he turned to go. Breaking into Vex's complex took dangerous to a new level. And he'd done more than enough for all of them. "Watch your back."
McClain's face softened, as if he saw something in her expression that she couldn't quite hide. "I'll be back for you, Mia. I promise." His voice was rough sand, and he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
A thousand thoughts sprang to mind. A thousand words she didn't think she could say right now. Instead, Mia lifted onto her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. "I'll hold you to that promise," she told him. "You and I.... It's the worst time in the world to start anything, but I think we've already passed that point. I want you back, and I want you unharmed. Got it?"
His warm palm caressed her jaw, and his breath whispered over her lips as he turned and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Got it."
Then he was gone, vanishing into the night as if he owned it.
Mia settled in to wait.
* * *
The climb gavenew meaning to the word “brutal.”
Adam's shoulders ached as he finally cleared the ledge just below the first barred window. The past few days were starting to catch up to him, and he'd need to get some rest tonight. Even a warg had limits.
Pressing his back against the wall, he scanned the streets below. Nothing moved. He couldn't see Mia, but he knew where she was. And if he couldn't see her, then neither could anyone else.
Scenting the air, he eased his way along the narrow ledge. The rough walls scraped his skin through his shirt, but there was nothing to hold on to here. Two more steps until he reached the first window.... Adam reached for the bars, his shirt flapping in the warm desert night breeze.
Made it. His fingers curled around the bars and he hauled himself closer, taking a good look down. The distance to the ground blurred. He looked up sharply. Heights were one of the few things that made his balls tighten.
He'd caught just enough of Sage's natural odor at the arena that he thought he'd be able to track her. Hunting like this played up his other senses, ones he'd denied for far too long. For the past nine years he'd fought too hard to smother all of his otherworldly instincts. Now he needed them, and it was strange to admit that.
The warg inside stretched, intrigued, as he loosened the reins of control he strapped it down with.
Come on, he snarled at it.Find me the girl.
The warg lived for pure instinct alone. Blood, flesh, hunger, need. He'd never tried to steer that instinct before, and it felt like wrestling with himself. Sweat dripped down his forehead as heat filled his eyes. Every shadow around him suddenly grew clearer, and he could feel his vision growing stronger. Scents exploded to life around him as his body made minute changes. His muscles quivered as he stood on the edge of total transformation. His body wanted to push further, to complete its monstrous act, but he needed his brain to be in control. Not the warg.
It was harder than he'd expected to hold himself there. If he could just bloody operate like this, it might almost be worth it.
With the partial change he could experience the world better, his senses coming to life like a barren desert after the rains, but with that came the rest of it. The heat in his mouth. His teeth threatening to burst through his gums. He'd seen others lost to the monster within, hunting beneath the moon. It terrified him so much that he couldn't force it now. It was either lock it down tight, or let it take over, and he couldn't do that.
Adam slumped back against the wall. The warg receded. His vision faded again. Still better than human, but nowhere near what it could be.
Fine. He'd do this with his own instincts. The ones that made him the man he was.
Scent filtered through the open window behind the bars. He didn't think it was the right cell. Someone slept on the narrow bed in there, but the musky fragrance of a man made him withdraw. The last thing he needed was someone crying out in surprise.
He moved on, placing foot over foot on the narrow ledge. Nothing to hold on to up here, not until he reached the next window. Wind whispered through his clothes, reminding him of just how open this position left him.
Cold sweat poured off him. He snatched for one of the bars at the next window.
"Hello?" someone whispered fearfully. "Who's there?"
Scent shifted past him. Pure and clean. "Sage?" he breathed.
A pale face swam into view. Sage peered at him hesitantly, then glanced over her shoulder. "Who are you?" she whispered, crossing swiftly to the window. Recognition dawned. "You're the man who was with Mia, Ellie, and Jake." Her eyes narrowed. "I've seen you before. In Mia's bar. You're her McClain."
HerMcClain?
He'd heard Mia mention a sister, but he'd spent most of his time in Salvation Creek sleeping off a hangover. He'd never noticed a redhead there, and probably wouldn't have presumed the pair of them were related. Mia had kept him well away from her private life. "She talked about me?"
