Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,33

knotted hair as he looked down at her through the visor of his gas mask.

"Don't stop fighting now, siren," he commanded and she shook her head minutely as she held his gaze.

"Never," she swore.

Saint nodded once, giving me a look that said he was trusting me with her then strode into the cockpit, taking a pistol from one of the dead guards as he went and pointing it at the guy's head.

"You can't kill me," the pilot gasped, seeming to realise that he was the only one left, though while we were fuck knew how high up above the city, he couldn't exactly get out of his seat to try and fight us off. "You need me!"

Saint sighed like his patience was being tested beyond measure and I got the terrifying impression that he was about to do something insane as he gave the control panel a considering look.

I sat down quickly, strapping Tatum into the seat beside mine before buckling myself in too and winding a protective arm around her as she leaned her head against my chest.

"I knew you'd come for me," she murmured, seeming to fight for every word she spoke.

"Always," I agreed, holding her as tight as I dared while she was so frail. I was so fucking relieved to have her back, so glad to be touching her, holding her, it made everything else pale into insignificance.

“For so long I thought the only real meaning my life held was in seeking revenge for what Troy Memphis did to my family,” I said to her in a low voice, not even certain she could hear me over the roar of the helicopter. “But I was so fucking wrong. So, so wrong, Tatum. Because fearing for your life almost destroyed me. It made me realise that I have so much more to live for than some vendetta. I love you. I love you with everything I am and everything I’ll ever be and I’m sorry if I didn’t make it clear how strongly I felt that before now, or if you ever felt you ranked below my desire to-”

“I love you too, Nash,” she replied, her voice stronger than it had been up until this point and I looked into her blue eyes, wishing I could rip this mask off and just fucking kiss her. “And don’t worry. Because we are absolutely going to get that revenge.”

Saint fired his pistol before I could reply and the entire helicopter lurched violently, nosediving towards the ground and making me yell out in fright. He killed the fucking pilot! Holy mother of fuck!

I wasn't afraid of much in this life or the next, but falling out of the sky and being incinerated in a helicopter crash was a pretty fucking terrifying concept.

"Saint!" I bellowed as my gut plummeted and I twisted my head to see him ripping the pilot's corpse out of his seat behind the controls.

"Calm down," he snapped back, like we weren’t moments away from colliding with one of the many towering buildings below us. "I am more than capable of flying a basic model like this."

I just fucking gaped at him as he took the pilot's seat, grabbed hold of the joystick looking thing in front of him and began to battle against the tailspin we'd begun to fall into.

My heart raced and thrashed in my chest as I saw my death flashing before my eyes and Tatum's hand found mine, squeezing tightly for a brief moment before falling slack again.

We lurched to the left then somehow the helicopter righted itself and we were soaring away across the city.

As I tried to catch my breath, I brushed Tatum's hair out of her eyes and found her struggling to look up at me as she seemed on the edge of passing out.

"The vaccine," she breathed, her voice so weak I could hardly make out the words. "In the silver box. It works."

Her gaze flicked to the far side of the helicopter and I followed her line of sight to a silver box which was strapped to the wall there.

"Well, fuck," I breathed as I stared at the most valuable commodity on the planet right now, tugging my girl closer as I bathed in the feeling of her body against mine and Saint flew us towards the crescent moon in the distance.

What the hell were we gonna do now?

"W e've got her," Saint's voice came over the comm at last and my heart soared as I took cover behind