Page 131 of Hunted to Be Mine
The moment broke. Programming slammed back in. His eyes went flat. He lunged for my throat.
The damaged valve tore free.
Scalding steam exploded between us, a white roar swallowing everything, even the alarm. Heat seared through my sleeve. My arm came up to cover my face.
Through the blast I saw him stumble at the edge. For a second, our eyes met. Clear. Human. Afraid.
Then I dropped with him.
Chapter 30
Selina
“No!”
Everything inside me seized as Wolfe and Blackout vanished into the whiteout.
I lurched out of the control room, my cast catching the doorframe hard. The jolt sent pain up my ribs. I half ran, half stumbled down the metal stairs, each step a fresh flare along my side. By the time I hit the catwalk, the fog had thinned enough to show the brutal break where the platform had sheared away.
The sight turned me cold. Wolfe hung by one hand from the jagged lip, body swinging above churning channels and grinding steel. His fingers clamped a twisted shard of metal, tendons stark under skin.
“Wolfe!” My voice cut through the factory’s roar. I dropped to my knees at the brink and reached with my good arm. The cast dragged against my side, heavy and useless when I needed both hands.
His gaze locked on mine, features taut with effort. “Stay back.” Strain roughened his voice as he tried to muscle up.
The distance felt impossible. Even if he reached me, I couldn’t haul his weight with one working arm. Helplessness burned through me.
“Hold on.” I scanned wildly for anything that could help. “Just hold on.”
His grip slipped a fraction, the jagged edge biting into his palm. Blood slicked the metal. Below, water slammed through concrete channels, dark and violent. The fall alone might spare him. The current or the machinery would not.
A heavy cable dangled from a wrecked control panel a few feet away. I snatched it with my good hand and yanked. It resisted, still caught inside the housing. I braced and tore at it until it gave with a harsh snap. Please be long enough.
Dragging the line back to the brink, I leaned out, ribs blazing. “Take this.” The cast pressed awkwardly against my chest as I lowered the end toward him.
He reached once, missed, then caught the cable. He didn’t try to climb directly. Using it for balance, he swung his weight sideways, legs searching.
His boot found a jutting support four feet down. He shifted onto it, easing pressure on his bleeding hand. Slack rippled through the line as he stabilized on the narrow beam.
“Can you make it?” I watched him test the beam.
He didn’t answer. Using the support as a springboard, he hauled to a higher ledge and then over the lip beside me in one brutal, efficient motion.
We crashed back, dragging in air. Blood ran freely from his palm, a deep gash crossing it. His chest lifted hard as he wrestled his breathing under control.
He was here, solid beside me. Alive. The realization hit like impact.
I went to him without thinking, hooking my good arm around his neck as my immobilized one wedged between us. He caught me, pulling me tight enough to hurt. Warm streaks from his palm smeared my back.
“Don’t you ever…” The words broke. Wet blurred everything. His heartbeat thudded against me, fierce and immediate. “I thought you were gone.”
His breath shuddered against my hair. His hold tightened. I didn’t care. I needed the press of him, proof he’d survived.
“Selina.” The whisper rasped, and he tucked his face into my neck.
Still shaky, I drew back just enough to see him. My fingers traced his jaw, the hard line of his cheek. I let the tears fall. Not hiding from him. Not anymore.
“I can’t lose you,” I said, voice low. “Not after everything. Not when I’ve just found you.”
