by Bec McMaster
“You’re one hell of a woman,” Wade murmured, his eyes alight with a silvery glow. He stepped closer, hands cupping her face. “I’ll make sure you get out of this, Riley. I promise.” Then he kissed her, slow and deep. A kiss that promised the world and more.
When he drew back, her fingers tightened in the collar of his shirt. Just for a moment. She didn’t want to let go, because she had the horrible, sneaking suspicion that this just might be the last time she ever got to touch him.
Don’t think like that. This isn’t the worst corner you’ve both been backed into.
She took a deep breath, slow and steady, her fingers unlocking from his shirt. “Don’t get yourself killed.” Voice huskier than it ought to be.
His hand came up, brushed her cheek. A considering look in his eyes. “This was easier last time we had to do this.” He let out a slow breath. “Don’t get bitten.”
“Or you’ll shoot me yourself?”
The look on his face showed her he found nothing to laugh about at her black humor.
Riley sobered fast. “Okay. How do we do this? We start shooting, and we’ll bring the whole molehill down upon us.”
Wade stared down the left tunnel, his nostrils flaring. “Got an idea. Wait here, I’ll check out if my hunch is correct.”
“Awesome,” she muttered, her hands sweaty on the shotgun. “I’ll stay here. In the dark. With the revenants.”
* * *
Something groaned in the darkness. Riley tensed, but that had sounded almost metallic. Not something that probably wanted to eat her.
Shining the flashlight down into the tunnel, she let out a relieved sigh when the silver-shine of Wade’s eyes lit up. He was pushing a heavily laden trolley cart up the short incline, using the old rail tracks. Muscle strained under his shirt, proving just how heavy the trolley was.
“Son of a bitch.” Riley stepped back, eyeing the cart, which was full of gasoline tanks. “Guess you found a supply station.”
“Cane’s, by the look of it,” he agreed happily. “Had a chance to have a look around. Don’t think he trusts his reivers enough to leave fuel out in vulnerable places. This was all locked up in a caged storeroom back there.” He jerked his head back over his shoulder and eased to a stop beside her.
“They’re going to know we’re here,” Riley reminded him. “This is going to go boom in a major way.”
Wade’s teeth flashed white in the darkness. “You have no idea. Guess what else I found. Check my pack.”
Riley unzipped the bag over his shoulders and whistled under her breath. “Dynamite?”
“It’s old,” he warned. “No leakage, so it must have been turned frequently enough. Found it in Copperplate’s stockroom. Might even be pre-Darkening.”
“It should still work.” She zipped the bag back up. “You’ve got a plan.”
“I’ve got a plan,” he agreed. “Stealth was never going to work anyway. So now, we’re going to create a hell of a lot of confusion and use it to cover our tracks. First though, I need to do some scouting. Find out where they’re holding Lily.” He looked at her. “Do you think you can start some minor preparations while I’m gone?”
Alone. Riley swallowed.
“I had a look around,” he said quickly. “This tunnel loops back on itself. In the middle’s an enormous pit, where they keep the revenants. They’re trapped down there for now. Didn’t want them free to wander, is my guess. You won’t come across any, and I’ll be quick.”
Riley nodded. She was starting to feel a little numb to it all by now. And fear would keep her sharp.
“Good.” He kissed her swiftly. “Here’s what I want you to do….”
Five minutes later, she was swiftly laying out the cord to the dynamite along the edges of the pit. Wade had been right; below, she could hear the rasp of clothing and clawing fingers scrabbling at the sides of the pit as the revenants reached for her. A quick sweep of the flashlight gleamed off dozens of opaque eyes.
“Fuck,” she whispered. “Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck.” They're down there, you're up here. Stop sweating it, she told herself.
One misstep and she’d be down there with them.
"Thank you, optimism," she muttered. Swiftly, she bound the cord together and began stepping backward, toward the main tunnel.
“What the hell’s going on here? Colton?” The voice came out of the tunnel.
Riley froze. A flashlight gleamed in the tunnel, bobbing as it came toward her. She could just make out the heavy set of a pair of rugged shoulders, and a black felt hat. Shit.
The other warg.
And she was standing on a narrow ledge with no place to go.
A quick glance over her shoulder showed the gaping maw of the tunnel on the opposite end of the ledge, the one she hadn’t had time to check out. Riley darted toward it, flicking off her flashlight as she pressed her back against the cold cave walls inside the shadowy tunnel. Her heart was pounding through her chest, so loudly she almost thought the strange warg might hear it over the sound of the revenants’ sudden frantic shuffling below.
A rock skittered against her boot. Riley knelt down and palmed it, licking her lips. What the hell was she going to do? Run deeper into the mine? Who the hell knew what was down there? With her luck, she’d probably come out right in the heart of the pit below.
The warg flashed his light over the revenants as he stepped free of the opposite tunnel. “What’s set you bastards off, huh?” He spat over the edge. “Creepy fucking deadheads.” He glanced down, and she stiffened as she saw the moment he realized someone else had been there.
“Or maybe something else?” he muttered, kneeling down and picking up the cord she’d been fusing together. Tattoos swirled on his bare arms in the light. Slowly, he looked up, silver-shine creeping through his irises. He sniffed the air, a smile crawling over his fleshy mouth.
“There you are,” he whispered. “Almost didn’t smell you over that stink.” He stood up, gaze searching the dark and locking on her tunnel. “Pretty girl,” he whispered. “I smell you.”
One step toward her. Another. His heavy boots crunching on shale.
Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Riley stuck the flashlight in her pocket, then hefted the shotgun. No way he’d think she’d attack.
She stepped out of the darkness with the shotgun lifted high. The warg’s eyes widened in surprise, his flashlight dropping as he tried to catch the shotgun butt. He grabbed it with both hands just as Riley stepped in to him and thrust a boot into his chest.
Wrenching the gun from her hands, he fell backward with a surprised “Oof.”
Riley didn’t waste time trying to get her gun back. She leapt over him and ran, reaching down to snatch at her pack from the shadows of a rocky outcrop as she darted across the ledge. Beneath her, the revenants hissed.
“Bitch!” The snarl came from behind as the warg found his feet.
Riley flicked her flashlight on and sprinted. Or tried to. Everything hurt, and she wasn't anywhere near fast enough. Shit. What the hell was she going to do? She was only halfway through the setup Wade had asked of her. He’d taken half the charges to plant on his way, but there’d barely been time for him to get them in place either.
A shotgun roared, pellets spraying the walls beside her. Riley screamed, throwing her hands over her head as she ran. Bastard was shooting at her!
Ahead, the trolley loomed, stacked high with gasoline tanks. She had the matches in her pocket, old ones Wade had found in the storeroom. A quick glance showed the warg stalking up the tunnel behind her, feeding two shells into the shotgun with steady hands.
Riley skidded to a halt beside the trolley. She could run, but she wouldn’t get far. Not once he got those shells in. Fingers scrambling for the matches, she ripped them from her pocket and jerked one free of its pack. “Come on, come on….” Bloody fingers. So frigging useless all of a sudden. She dropped the pack, and half of the matches spilled across the ground.
Bending down, she scroun
ged for the matches and swiftly lit one. Where the hell was Wade? Surely he’d heard that shot. Surely he’d come for her….
Until then, she’d just have to deal with this herself.
Looking up, she met the warg’s eyes, just as he pumped the shotgun. Riley flicked the match inside the trolley, and it exploded into flame from the gasoline she’d poured over the jerry cans.
Scrambling behind it, she yelped as the shotgun roared again, pellets pinging off the heavy metal cart. Setting her shoulder against it, Riley pushed hard. A second where its weight resisted, then it moved a fraction of an inch. Faster. Gaining momentum. She felt the moment that gravity kicked in, and the downward velocity of the rail tracks caught it. Suddenly, it was racing down the tunnel toward the warg, picking up speed as it went. A raging inferno of flame with enough spare fuel to really kick off the party once the jerry cans exploded.
The warg’s eyes widened, and he slammed his back flat against the wall. It wasn’t enough – his size worked against him. The trolley would clip him, possibly tip off the tracks, and he knew it. Glaring at her, he turned and ran, tossing the shotgun aside carelessly.
The burning whoosh as the cart hit the end of the sheared-off tracks and soared out over the pit echoed in the narrow tunnel. Riley took a step back, her eyes glued to the spectacle as the trolley launched into space, leaving its fiery afterimage burned into her retinas.
A lingering moment of quiet.
Then the sudden coughing roar as a fireball bloomed. Shit. She hadn’t quite counted on that, hadn’t….
The dynamite.
Riley’s eyes went wide. She spun around and raced up the tunnel, fists pumping at her sides, the flashlight’s beam bobbing sporadically in front of her, and the pack slapping against her back. Her ribs gave an aching squeeze, but adrenaline had kicked in, dulling it to an almost tolerable pain.
Light gleamed off a warg’s cat-shine eyes, and then Wade was sliding to a halt in front of her, relief taking the sharp edges from his face. “Riley.” Hoarseness turned his voice to granite-edged tones. “What the hell?”
“Run!” she screamed.
He glanced over her shoulder, grabbed her wrist and turned, sprinting at her side. “What did you do?”
“There was another warg.”
The explosion ripped through the world, like a massive hand shoving her in the back. Both she and Wade went down hard, Riley grimacing as the pain in her side gave a sharp aching stab. Ears ringing. Hair whipping around her head as debris rained down, and the earth beneath them shook.
Then suddenly a heavy weight settled over her. “—iley–”
And fire bloomed.
It rolled over the top of them in an enormous fiery cloud, sucking all of the oxygen from the air, searing her lungs. The hard body covering hers flinched.
Seconds that seemed like hours. Then she could breathe again, her lungs dry-baked, coughing, racking, choking for air—
Wade shuddered and threw himself off her, rolling onto his back. The flames in his clothes smoldered out, and Riley lifted her head, fingertips grazing the floor. She blinked hard, trying to get some moisture back into her eyes. “You okay?”
Wade bared his teeth in a grimace. “Becoming a spit-roast is not exactly what I had in mind.”
The tunnels trembled. Riley pushed herself to her knees somehow. Her hands were shaking. “Sorry. Didn’t have much time to plan that.” She held out her hand to him, and he dragged himself upright with a wince.
The stink of burnt flesh stained the air. Riley reached for his shoulder. “Let me—”
He shook her off. “No time. I’ll heal.” A quick glance up the tunnel. “We need to get moving. Set off the rest of the charges. I know where they’re holding Lily.”
Riley bit her lip. Stubborn ass… She held out a hand to help haul him to her feet.
Wade gave her a look that seemed to say, Takes one to know one. Then he pushed himself upright. “Where’s the shotgun?”
She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Probably melted into the stone right now.”
With a grunt, Wade settled a hand in the small of her back. “Remind me not to leave you alone again.”
Riley flinched. Like she’d fucked up. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Wasn’t talking about that,” he replied gruffly. His fingers flexed on her back. “Heard the shotgun go off. Gave me a minor heart attack. I’m not cut out for this shit. It was so much easier without a partner.”
So much easier not to care.
Riley bit back her retort. He was struggling with this so much more than she was. But then, he’d never expected to find someone to care for. Neither had she, but she’d at least hoped.
“Cut the light,” he instructed curtly, leading her to an intersection. A warm hand slid into hers. “You’ll have to trust me to lead you. And keep your voice down, we’re getting closer to the surface.”
Blackness veiled the tunnels as she followed Wade with careful steps. Shouts came from nearby. Confusion.
“Good,” he whispered. “Got ‘em all on the run. Let’s stir the ant nest a little more.” He fiddled with something in his jeans pocket, and a little box rattled. His matches.
The darkness began to yield to faint light. Cool air on her face, like a ghostly whisper. The tunnel mouth yawned ahead of them, the sky a fading patchwork that melted into indigo in the east. Stars flickered.
Wade stopped her by the tunnel opening and knelt down, gesturing her close to his side. The spicy warmth of his scent curled through her nostrils. “Lily’s being held over there,” he said, pointing to a small adobe building that melted into the cliff. The entire cliff face was pocked with small caves and adobe structures that had been built into the sides of the actual mine.
Reivers ran across the open ground in front of it, thundering up the scaffolding that led to the upper levels, or scrambling up rope ladders. Riley had never really seen them so closely, only through the sights of a rifle, or howling across the bloodied sands toward Haven, and even then she'd been concentrating on other matters. Like the best place to drill a hole through one of them.
It was easy to pick the strata among the pack, just by their clothes. Reivers worshipped strength, and several big men roamed through them, lashing out here and there with chains, and wearing their leather and metal-plated vests like a crown. Others wore open, crusted sores, scraps of rags and leather, and the bare patches of their skin revealed concave chests. These were the mongrels who fed at the edges of the pack. Clothing and weaponry was scarcer among them, and they were easy to pick out by the smearing of red clay across their skin, to protect it from the heat. Red dogs some of the Wastelanders called them, the howling, maniacal reivers who attacked first and were often cut down in the first flight. Bullet fodder on motorbikes. The ones in leather were those to be found in the jeeps, where they had slightly more protection – and authority.
There were several women among them too; some were chained to the iron-link fence along the cliff face, their bodies naked, and their shoulders drooping in dejection, as if all the care in the world had been crushed from them. Slaves. Others strutted the sands like their male compatriots, their heads shaved on the sides, and fierce plaits running down the center line of their scalps. Where the male reivers were a mixture of prime fighters and mad lackeys, the female reivers were all hard, their gazes showing a specific flatness, as if, to survive this world, they'd had to give up any concept of emotions or weaknesses.
Dozens of rusted jeeps were parked haphazardly below, with gun turrets gleaming in the dying light. Wade talked Riley through the layout of the compound. The circular cliffs provided a natural barrier with only one way in. “They know we’re down here now though,” he murmured. “Give me a moment to set the charges to confuse them. Then we’ll make a direct hit on the building holding Lily.”
Riley surveyed the compound. “There are dozens of reivers. What if they recover?”
“Then I’ll kill them.” Matter-of-factly.<
br />
Plus two wargs, and God knew how many guns.
Riley bit her lip and pointed. “That jeep there. See the gun turret? Someone’s left the ammunition belt there.”
“Lazy bastards.”
“Reivers,” she said with a snort. “Not known for hygiene, sanity, or discipline. Let me take the jeep. I’ll keep anything off your back while you go for Lily.”
He considered it, a dark look creeping into his eyes. “Don’t like it,” he finally said, but a quick glance at the skyline and the dawning crimson colors there revealed his unease. Night was starting to beckon.
“But you know it’s the smart option.” Riley leaned close, brushed her lips against his. Anything to take his mind off what was coming. “Whoever would have thought the cold-hearted warg who kidnapped me would be so protective?”
The kiss deepened, turned smoldering. His hand cupping the back of her nape, his tongue darting over hers. Just enough to set the slow burn in her blood, then Wade drew back, his breath whispering over her cheeks.
“I love you, Riley Kincaid,” he whispered in her ear. “You gave me a piece of myself back. Just you remember that.” Then he was stepping back, melting into the shadows. All business, while she was still trying to process the words he’d whispered. Had he really whispered them, or was it just her imagination? “Let me set the charges. Then run for the jeep when everything goes off. Try not to draw attention to yourself until then. I’ll meet you by the jeep with Lily. It’ll give us something to escape in too.”
Her heart leapt, then squeezed. Again, it sounded like he didn’t think he was going to get out of this. Like hell.
She grabbed a handful of his hair, stepped in to him. Her desperate mouth seeking his in the semi-dark. Drinking him in, fists curling in his hair, tongue toying with his own. They were both breathing hard when she stepped back, the press of his erection against her midriff.
“You get in, and get her out,” she whispered, voice smoky-rough. “Then come back to me. That’s an order.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his voice just as rough as hers.