Chapter 28

“What did you do that for?” Dante said.

“What?”

“Cut the rope. We still have to get across the rocks.”

“Oh, fuck,” Tinsley said.

She reached out to grab the rope, but he was already on it. He tied the knot quickly and told her to hold on to it. They started across the rocks.

“Why isn’t there an alarm?” Tinsley said. “I mean I got the guy right in the eyes with the pepper spray.”

Dante was about to answer, but just then the rock he was on shifted, and he almost went down. His loss of balance jerked the rope enough to make Tinsley go down. The small cry she let out was like a knife in his heart.

He had to keep her safe. Instead, he was tripping her and throwing her off buildings.

“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out a hand.

“Fine,” she said. “Just a stubbed toe.”

He wasn’t sure he believed her.

“If we don’t make it…” Tinsley said.

“We’ll make it.”

“If we don’t…”

“Don’t say that.”

“You’re faster than me.”

“You want me to carry you?” he asked and crouched down. “Climb on.”

She swatted at him. “We don’t have much time,” she snapped. “You have to get to the ship.”

Dante started to realize what she was saying, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“I’m not leaving you behind.” He spoke firmly.

“You told me to cut the rope to save myself, remember? And I agreed.”

“I also told you to let go, and you didn’t listen,” he reminded her.

“Surrender now,” a huge voice boomed.

Tinsley jumped. The voice repeated itself with translations of the message in every language Dante knew as well as some he was only vaguely familiar with.

“Took them long enough,” Tinsley said.

Dante was pretty sure the Jorvlen she had sprayed would have been loath to admit he’d been bested, not just by a female, but a human. But that was the Jorvlen’s problem, not his.

“We’re wasting time,” Dante said impatiently, looking around.

Another thing he knew from their surveillance was that the only entrance and exit they could see was on the opposite side. They had some time. With some luck they could both make it if they left right then.

“Dante,” she said, taking both his hands. “You have to get away. I’ll be okay. It’s not just about me. We have to get all those women out of here. That’s going to take…significant reinforcements.”

“All right,” he said.

“Promise me.”

“Okay, I promise,” he lied. “Let’s go. But the Jorvlens know we’re here. They know where we are. We have to run.”

With another quick swipe of her knife, she cut the rope connecting them. Dante felt a fleeting bit of despair, but he made up his mind as they took off running. He would not leave her.

He stayed close to the wall. He hoped anyone looking out from the top would not bother to look directly down. There was no indication the Jorvlens had found the Thunder Bolt. If it had been breached, his comm would have alerted him.

They reached the corner of the building, and Dante stopped. Tinsley stopped behind him and put her hand on his back. He reached back, grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. Then he pointed at his eyes with two fingers. She nodded.

He poked his head around the corner. It was clear, so far. They ran down the length of the building. He could tell Tinsley was getting farther behind him, so he stopped to wait for her.

“Why are you stopping?” she hissed when she caught up with him.

He glared at her. She glared right back. Then she put her fists on her hips and lowered her eyes.

Do you know how much I love you?he asked her silently.

No way could she have heard him. He reached out and stroked her cheek. Her look softened, and then she pointed seriously. He grabbed her hand and they ran the rest of the way to the end of the building.

“Shush,” Dante said, putting one finger to his lips and the other to his ear.

The alarm was still blaring. It went for about three seconds and then was silent for one. That was all Dante needed. He listened carefully. He was sure that when they came out from around the building, they would be seen.

The whole property was fully lit now. Dante held out his hand, using his skin as a makeshift map. He pointed to himself and Tinsley and then to the spot where his hand met his wrist. By his thumb he made an X indicating the ship. Then he drew the Terran number 7 to indicate they should not head straight for the ship.

“That will be our best chance,” Tinsley said. “If we can make it to the woods.”

“We’ll make it,” Dante said.

His voice didn’t waver. Inside, just about every cell of his body was shaking. He couldn’t lose her.

“On three?” she asked.

“Now,” he said.

She put both hands on his face, and he kissed her quickly.

That will not be the last time,he thought fiercely, and then they took off running.

Dante counted in his head. When he got to ten, he chanced a look back. Tinsley was falling behind him. He slowed down, just a little bit. Then he stopped.

“Why are you stopping?” Tinsley said, running past him.

He didn’t answer, but the reason was he had been sniffing. What he smelled was the fading scent of the laser trips. The waning smell indicated that the Jorvlens must have turned the grid off. That was good because it meant Dante and Tinsley wouldn’t trip them, which otherwise would have made it very clear where they were. It was also bad because Dante was pretty sure they had done that because a whole lot of guards were probably about to fan out across the property.

He started running again. Tinsley was up ahead of him, but he knew he could close the gap in no time. He squinted. She was definitely limping.

“Shit,” Dante said.

She must have hurt herself when he dumped her on the rocks. He caught up to her and picked her up.

“No, Dante,” she said. “Put me down!”

“We can make it.”

“You have to let them take me. They don’t know there are two of us, maybe. You can get away. Get help.”

“No,” Dante said.

“Put me down now!”

He stopped and set her on her feet. She kissed him, hard and long. Then she pushed him away, and he let her. He turned and ran for the woods. He couldn’t look back. He made it to the woods and leapt up into a tree.

From his perch, he heard the disgusting snorting sounds Jorvlens made when they were happy. Dante turned around and saw them catch up with Tinsley. His heart caught in his throat as he watched them pick her up and start back toward the building.

“We got her,” one of them yelled.

“Turn off the fucking alarm,” the other said.

Dante held his breath and counted. The alarm sounded, then again, and then once more before it went silent. He sat there until they rounded the building with Tinsley. Then he heard the distinctive click followed by a hum. The sharp smell of the laser grid heated up hit his nostrils. Things were back to normal as far as the Jorvlens knew.

He made his way back to the ship. He hesitated, but only for a second, before he punched in the command to open the hatch. He had to leave Tinsley behind. It was the only way to save her.