Ash Princess (The Deviant Future #6) - Eve Langlais Page 0,70

He whirled and drew a bead on the other soldier, who ducked behind a machine before he could fire.

“Come.” He held out his hand to Kayda, who grabbed it without question.

As she rose, he fired left, right, keeping the enemy pinned, but even better, he hit something that pierced with a hiss, and the room filled with smoke. It covered their retreat to the door, the coughs of the soldiers following them until they shut the portal behind them. With nothing to wedge it closed, that wouldn’t give them much time.

So he held it.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure they can’t follow. Watch the stairs and let me know if you hear anyone coming.” He’d yet to discern any kind of alarm. However, the soldiers who’d just ambushed showed the base was on alert. He handed her the gun. “You know how to fire it?”

She snorted. “I’ve been firing weapons for twenty years. What do you think?”

“That you’re pretty when riled.” He winked.

Not the right time or place, and yet he liked how the simple gesture calmed her. She took up a position where she could see around the first bend in the stairwell. The elevator was on the other side of the building alongside the stairs that led to nowhere.

Definitely not what he’d hoped to find. He held the door firm as there was a yank on the other side. Even with the seal, a faint hint of smoke oozed from the edges. The yanking turned to pounding. Kayda glanced back at him.

“Watch the stairs,” he reminded her.

It wouldn’t be long now. Either the soldiers would drop of smoke inhalation or they’d use their heads and escape via the elevator. If they did, then the entire base would be waiting to pick them off.

When a minute passed of no one trying to yank, he finally pushed away from the door. “Let’s go.”

He jogged up the stairs, letting her keep the gun. At the next level—with the abandoned offices—he indicted the hall.

“Aren’t we going up?”

“We are. Just not that way.” He led the way to the far end and the elevator, noticing the car for it was at the second-to-last level. Good. It took but a moment to pry open the doors. He gestured. “Come on.”

“We’re climbing?” she asked, poking her head inside.

“They won’t expect us to be in the shaft.”

“What if the elevator comes down?” she asked with a crease of her brow.

“Think skinny thoughts and hug the wall.”

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” She was slim enough. He, on the other hand, might be in trouble.

She began to climb, and he followed only once he managed to close the doors. He wondered if anyone had noticed the stutter in its ascent. It would depend on the kind of observation systems they had in this old installation. It was a wonder so much of it still worked.

At the second level, and huffing heavily, she paused. “I hear something.”

So did he. The ominous clanking of gears. “Let’s get inside.”

He quickly wedged opened the doors and literally dove inside, landing and rolling to his feet, gun outstretched. He heard Kayda scrambling to join him. She kept hidden behind him.

A good thing, too. Markus and the other soldier they’d met were at the far end of the hall about to enter the stairwell. While Markus yelled, “The fucker is behind us,” the smart soldier grabbed his communicator and spoke into it. “They’re on level two.”

Cam ran for them, using his body as a distraction, yelling because, for some reason, it freaked animals and people alike right out.

Startled, Markus jerked as he fired, and missed. The other guy fumbled the communication device, meaning he was slow to draw, and Cam had time to plow into Markus. It felt awful nice to punch him in the face and hear things crunch.

Cam threw himself to the side as the other soldier fired. He popped to his feet and landed a jab to the man’s ribs. Then his jaw. Another blow to the gut folded him, and the knee to his face took him down.

Through a broken nose, Markus exclaimed, “Die, bast—”

Bang.

Markus wavered on his feet. Gaping. Not understanding he was already dead. The hole between his eyes made sure of that.

Cam glanced over his shoulder at Kayda. “Nice shot.” He snared the gun from Markus’s slumped body. By the time Kayda joined him, he’d stripped the other soldier, too, but left him alive. He dragged the guy into a room, one with a lock on