Riding The Edge - Elise Faber Page 0,51

in Ava’s eyes outside the compound, the way she’d pushed me to leave her, and the relief in them when I hadn’t. I wanted to tell Laila about the pain on Ava’s face after she’d taken the shot that killed her father and how she’d let me hold her hand in the dark cell, allowing me in past those walls, just the smallest bit.

I wanted to tell Laila about Ava’s determination.

To not let her father break her. To stay strong even though the odds were against us. To make whatever sacrifices were needed in order to get me out.

Of course, I’d rather Ava be that determined to get herself out, but I was just as stubborn, could go toe-to-toe with her when it came to her safety. I’d make any necessary sacrifices to help her in any way.

Because we were more than teammates.

She’d let me in, and I wasn’t going to allow her to wall me back out.

That was what made me certain that the bond we’d formed was permanent.

I was in. Because she’d let me in.

And I wasn’t going backward.

“I know it,” I said. “I know we’ve crossed the first hurdle. She cracked open the door, and I’m in.”

There was doubt written across her face. “Dan,” Laila said on a sigh. “I don’t know that you can honestly get into someone who’s done everything to keep everyone out.” Her lips pressed flat. “If she doesn’t want someone in, it doesn’t matter how persistent or stubborn you are, you aren’t getting in. She’ll rebuild those walls, and they’ll be a hundred times stronger.”

“It’s not like that.”

A nod. An expression that told me Laila was unsure, even in the face of my determination and stubbornness. “Sleep, Plantain. Everything else will hold till you’ve had shut-eye.”

More arguments on the tip of my tongue.

More arguments I knew wouldn’t change Laila’s mind, nor what would happen between me and Ava.

More arguments I swallowed, pushed down, ignored for the moment.

Because Laila was right.

Ava might have let me in, might have allowed me to see a part of her that the rest of the world wasn’t privy to, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to keep the walls down, the castle gate flung wide. She would retreat.

I just needed to make sure she didn’t retreat from me.

Which meant I needed to be conscious and well-rested if I had a hope in hell of winning the battle that lay ahead.

Twenty-Four

Northeast England

KTS Headquarters

19:47hrs local time

Ava

The first thing I was aware of was the noise.

A steady beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep. The woosh of a fan. Quiet footsteps as water turned off then back on.

“You should go sleep again,” came a soft female voice. I swam through the fog, tried to place it. Everything was soft and fuzzy and heavy and slow.

“Not yet.”

“Dan.”

“I’ll rest soon,” he said. “I promise.”

Dan.

Dan.

The memories poured back into my brain, as quickly as the bullets had flown in that compound, as quickly as our tide had turned at the hotel—

The shipment.

Kids. Women. Men.

“I’m worried about you,” Olive—yes, the fog had cleared enough that I recognized Olive’s voice. “You’re hardly eating or sleeping. You need to rest soon, or I’ll pull rank.”

“A few more hours then I’ll rest.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“Roger, Dr. Evil.”

A sigh. “Shut it, you.” Footsteps moving away. “I’ll see you in two hours.”

The door opened and closed with a soft click.

Warm fingers covered mine. “I know you’re awake.”

My eyes flew open.

I was in a clinic, and though the initial glance didn’t tell me where in the world I was, it was enough for me to grasp that we were in one of KTS’s buildings.

“Headquarters,” Dan said, and my gaze flicked to his. “It was touch and go there for a bit, so Olive flew you back here.”

“That’s why I feel like I got hit by a truck?”

“A gunshot, a broken ankle, and a knife wound will do that to a girl.” His fingers convulsed lightly in mine. “You in a lot of pain? Need me to go get Olive?”

“No,” I said. “No more pain medicine. I need my head to be clear.”

Already, tendrils of pain were threatening to pull me back under, but I needed to know. “Ryker and Laila? Are they okay?”

“The team is fine. No one was injured aside from you.”

“Your head,” I said, trying to lift my free arm to point at the fading purples and yellows on his temple and cheek. “Your ribs.”

“Only a mild concussion and bruises.”

“What about the shipment?”

His face clouded.

Fuck.

“The teams were in position, but