High Flyer - Michelle Diener Page 0,29

light, and she felt a prickle of awareness down her spine.

Iver.

He took a step toward her and something too big for her body unfurled in her chest as she ran, full-tilt, toward him.

His hands were behind his back, so it was she who gathered him in her arms, her hands running over his wrists so the restraints fell away.

Then his arms were around her, his mouth on hers, and she felt the tears she hadn't cried at the thought of his death earlier run down her cheeks.

"Shh." He nuzzled her neck. "What's wrong?"

"I thought they'd killed you. That I was too late."

"No. And I knew you'd come back for me. I realized a few minutes into my escape that I was running away from where I needed to be."

She tried to laugh, but it came out garbled. "Good thinking."

He pulled back a little, brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm full of good ideas."

She leaned on his chest and his hands came up to tangle in the hair at her nape.

He tugged a little. "So are you going to tell me how you can release restraints with just a touch of your hands?"

She went still, then gave a sigh.

"And can come out of a SAL sedative well before anyone else? Or hear a runner from miles away? Or find a tracker under someone's skin also with just a touch of your hands?"

She buried her face deeper in his chest. "I'd rather not."

He gave a chuckle. "Linnel says you're the product of an illegal army experiment. That they conducted banned genetic engineering on you."

"Did he?" She lifted her head, surprised. "That's actually not a bad guess."

She saw his face and shook her head. "It's wrong, but it's not as strange as I thought he would get."

"And what is the truth?"

"Do we have to do it here, in an alleyway next to our enemies' headquarters?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You keep putting this off."

"People keep trying to kill me." She shrugged, unrepentant.

He shook his head. "You have me there." He let her go, and she suddenly wondered if she should tell him, just to keep his arms around her a little longer.

"Coming?" he asked, putting out his hand.

She put her hand in his and followed him through the shadows.

The sun had sunk down behind the Spikes, and the lights of Touka City were coming on in their usual kaleidoscope of colors.

The bridges lit up first, the warm colors playing across the water, and then the buildings began their nightly display, images and patterns swirling from one high rise to the other, jumping streets and climbing towers to end in a spectacular finale, only to start again elsewhere.

Iver moved a little closer to the edge of the ledge that gave them a view of the council building at the heart of the city. It was Iver's favorite design in Touka. He had personally overseen the plans and he knew the building inside and out.

Hana was pressed against his side, her head resting against his shoulder. She seemed reluctant to be out of touching distance, and he was fine with that.

They still hadn't had their talk, but even he knew now wasn't the time. She'd need time and safety to talk about whatever secret she seemed to carry like a load around with her.

He would make sure there was time later, though. They would not sleep tonight until she shared that burden.

“Looks like the whole city is down there.” Her voice was weary, and he realized he felt the same.

They had been on the run for nearly three days straight.

The lights in the city suddenly stopped moving, dribbling down to the ground as if a sprinkler had been turned off and then they winked out.

A projection of the head administrator of Touka City, Moiri Tanek, standing on the council building's steps, blossomed on the front of the building.

The crowd standing in the street at the foot of the stairs stepped closer.

“I can confirm the runner bringing Iver Sugotti to Touka City was shot down. I can also confirm a second runner, potentially containing Sam Lancaster--Sugotti's head of security--was also destroyed. We do not know if anyone perished in the blasts. We are waiting for the VSC fleet to send down specialist forensic investigators, and we are doing everything we can to look for survivors, although the strength of the magnetic fields beneath both points of impact mean our runners are forced to fly high to scan for life. We're sending