Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“We were supposed to be together.”
“So it is my fault.” I knew it. This is the guilt I’ve carried all along. “You killed them so you could have me.”
“Yes,” he says softly, and it hurts so badly knowing the truth. I’m the reason BK murdered them.
“We have a connection,” he says, and I want to deny it. But I know it’s true. We’re connected in so many ways. He was there when my psychic ability awakened. He was the reason I am who I am today.
And now we’re going to die together. I couldn’t kill him the night he first came to me, but I can now.
Before I can grab my gun and rush him to end this, a new voice rings out.
“No, Inara is mine.” And Rex steps out from the shadows.
The gravel crunches under his boots. He looks larger than life in his dark suit, but all I can think of is how he’s bulletproof but not bombproof.
“No, please.” I hold out a hand to stop Rex from moving forward. “Wait,” I say to BK as much as I do to Rex. I step between them, like I’m protecting one from the other. I’m not sure who I’m protecting from whom.
Rex speaks over my head. “It’s over, Dennis. You’ve lost.”
BK tries to say something and starts wheezing instead. His hand trembles around the trigger.
“Stay back,” I say to Rex. “He’s rigged to blow.”
“It’s okay,” he says to me. “We got the family out.”
Relief weakens me, making me bow forward. I did it. They’re safe.
Rex looks back at BK. “The only victim tonight will be him.” He makes a move toward BK, and I panic.
Rex is going to try and take BK down, but BK isn’t bluffing. Rex will get blown to bits.
I can’t let that happen.
I have to stop it.
And I know how.
“This ends now,” I say to them both. Before they can react, I stride to the edge of the roof and jump onto the ledge. The wind whips up from several stories below. I don’t look down, though, because I’ll get dizzy.
“Inara, no—”
BK wheezes something. He lifts his hand, wiggling the trigger at us. He’s seconds away from killing us all, I can feel it.
It’s now or never.
I face Rex. “I love you,” I mouth to him and leap into the night.
22
Inara
* * *
I’m falling from a great height. There’s no sound, only the sensation of surrender. Everything will be over soon—
A blast of excruciating heat hits me. I scream, feeling like it’s searing my skin from my bones.
My eyes are closed against the stinging. This isn’t a dream. It’s happening. It’s real.
“Inara!” someone shouts. Something hits me hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. I wheeze, choking, but the arms around me squeeze tighter.
“I’ve got you,” Rex growls in my ear. His grip is painful, and it feels so good. I’m alive. So is he.
I crane my head. Behind us, fire blooms, eating into the night.
The Bondage Killer blew the roof.
I’m with Rex, and we’re flying through the air somehow.
“Hang on,” Rex says.
There’s a jolt, and my heart flips with a swooping sensation. Whatever’s keeping us in the air adjusts. Rex and I drop together, but then he gets one arm under my legs while his other arm cradles my back, carrying me bridal style. There’s a dark shape overhead—wings, maybe—and a whirring sound that tells me this is another expensive bit of tech.
Behind us, the warehouse is gone, collapsing in on itself. The sight makes me gasp, but I remember what Rex said. He got the family out. He saved me, and now we’re airborne, soaring over the city.
I glance down and grow dizzy at the sight of rooftops and streets below. My stomach catches up to all the jerking movements of the last few seconds, and I clutch Rex’s neck, seeking something stable to lock onto. BK is gone and his answers with him. I wish I could’ve gotten more out of him, but I never expected to survive.
The helmet’s faceplate retracts, and Rex’s breath hits my cheek. “Inara?”
“I’m all right,” I find my voice. It’s scratchy from the ashy air. “I knew you’d catch me. You’d never let me fall.”
“Never,” he tells me. The vow reverberates through me, warming me to my toes.
We’re alive, and we’re together. That’s all that matters.
Fresh air streams over our faces. I breathe it in along with Rex’s scent, clearing my lungs.
The city lights glitter like jewels. From this vantage point, New Rome is so beautiful. There’s even a glimmer of gold on the horizon, although I might be imagining that. Even if I am, I know the sun is ready to rise.
I switch my gaze to Rex. His jaw is clenched, his eyes fixed ahead, and there’s no softness in the sober angles of his expression. But his face is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.