Page 123 of The Mech Who Loved Me
Something loomed in front of her; something falling. Ava screamed, and then a hand on her back sent her sprawling. A heavy weight hit her in the back. Part of the roof? A timbersupport?
"Kincaid!" She pushed herself off the floor, dislodging several timberstruts.
Kincaid strained beneath a heavy roof beam, the steel in his armor buckling, and his knees shaking as he ground his teeth together. "Get outofhere!"
No!"Not without you!" She tripped on her skirt as she leaped to his side, trying vainly to help him shift the beam. The stupid fool! He'd tried to protect her from the worst of it. "You're not invincible, not even in yourbloodysuit!"
His arms shook. His ruined hand was peeling in on itself, unable to support theweight.
"Ava!" She saw the whites of his eyes starkly against his sooty face—the look in them. "Get out. Get out before it'stoolate."
And suddenly she knew what he wastellingher.
The heat drained out of her face, a shiver of horror trailing cold fingers down herspine.
"No," she sobbed. This wasn't happening. "I love you. I'm not going to leave you here allalone!"
"Don't let me die here knowing I've brought you down with me. You've got a whole lifetolive."
"Malloryn!" she screamed. "Malloryn,help!"
"Curse you!" Kincaid ground his teeth together, forcing his knees tostraighten.
She could see the strain in his face. Flames licked up the wall nearby, the heat drying her eyeballs. There was no hope, no matter where she looked. Kincaid was trapped, and if he moved then this part of the roof would collapseuponthem.
If he didn't... then they'd burnalive.
Ava's head spun. There was another beam nearby. One that might be able to support the one that was threatening to crush him. She darted for it, grabbing hold of the hot end and burning her hands. Withdrawing them with a flinch, she looked around. Nothing to protect them. No time to worry about it. Ava ripped shreds off the bottom of her dress and wrapped them around her palms, then grabbed hold of the beamagain.
She put her back into it, all of her weight. It barely shifted. "Damn you!" Her hands were blistering hot. Pushing and shoving, she tried everything she could to get ittomove.
"Ava, go! For the love of God, get out of here!" He startedcoughing.
"I. Am.Not.Leaving.You.Here!"
Another explosion ripped through the factory, the hot rush of wind sweeping her skirts out behind them. Balls of flame whizzed pastherear.
"No!" Ava screamed, as the ceiling fell downuponhim.
Twenty-Nine
"KINCAID! KINCAID!"SHE screamed, staggering through the murky dark as the dust finally stoppedrainingdown.
He'd been there one second. Gonethenext.
Ava coughed, fighting her way overrubble. "Liam!"
Then the duke was there, materializing so suddenly she almost screamed. "We've got to get out of here," Malloryn said grimly. "That explosion took out the support beams in the roof here. They missed some of the blood vats, but I don't like our chances that the rest of the roof won'tcomedown."
"Malloryn?"Gemma called through the listening device inAva'sear.
"Alive! I've got Ava. We'll meet you out the front," hecalled.
Ava dug her heels in. "No! Not withoutKincaid."
"Ava." The duke grabbed her by the arms, shaking his head apologetically. "Ava, sweetheart, I'msorry—"
She didn't want to hear it, and fought him until he was forced to let her go. "He wouldn't leave me behind. Please.Please.He savedyourlife."
