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“I can see you are going to be a handful,” he answered, edging her forward until she could peek down to see for herself how far away the ground was.

Far.

Really, really far. Like to the moon and back far.

He must have depth perception issues. She was about to tell him as much when he said, “See? It’s a seventeen, maybe eighteen, foot drop, Tildi, twenty tops. I’m going to lower you down as far as I can. Between our two arm lengths, that’ll take at least fourteen feet off the distance. So, you’re only going to drop four or five feet, six feet maximum.”

She gave him the “you’re crazy” look he clearly deserved. She, however, was perfectly sane. “So, just to make sure we are on this reality’s page, I’m going to drop seven to eight feet, minimum.” There was no way that was only twenty feet. She spun around to move away from the window and ran into his solid, muscular chest.

“Look at me, babygirl,” he said in such a deep, stern tone her body obeyed automatically. “That’s two. I’ve already warned you about your tone of voice.”

There was nothing that could erase the shocked look from her face, and if her princess parts vibrated any harder she was going to bounce across the floor like one of those crazy Bumble Balls she’d seen toddlers chase around the room. She wasn’t going to ask what happened when he got to three. She was pretty sure she knew.

Instead, she sputtered, “You… but… I don’t think going out the window is a good option.”

“You may be right, but it’s the only option we have. Didn’t I promise I’d keep you safe?”

Her mouth was so dry at the idea of going out that window she could do no more than nod.

“I always keep my promises. You’ll want to remember that,” he said, softening his words with another of his incredible, crooked smiles. “Now, keep your feet and thighs pressed together hard, and bend your knees. When you land, let your knees collapse and roll when you fall.”

“What if I don’t fall?” she demanded. He looked at her as if her words were ridiculous, which they were, but she was terrified. “Okay, so I’m gonna fall. I’m not the one who’s the super soldier air commando guy. Sorry, security specialist guy. Why don’t you jump first, and then you can catch me?”

“I’m going to answer that, then if you don’t jump out that window with no more lip, I’m going to tan your hide.”

Her bottom clenched, but she managed to keep from covering it with her hand. At least that cleared up what the countdown led to.

He continued his speech. “First, I have to detonate the explosives on the door and make sure it takes out the bad guys so they don’t come after us. Second, I don’t believe for one minute that if I go first, you’ll actually jump. Now get back to the window.”

Tildi then stomped her foot for the second time that day, adding a growl this time. Then she skittered back to the window before he could swat her bottom.

Boone helped her up onto the sill, grabbed her arms just above her wrists, and told her to do the same to him.

She grasped his arms just above his wrists as commanded. And then she made what Boone might call a grave tactical error. She looked back over her shoulder to the ground.

It was one thing to talk about a twenty-foot drop. It was another thing entirely to see the ground so far down she couldn’t make out the details, at least not in the middle of the night.

Spinning back to face him, she blurted out, “I have to pee!”

He scowled. “You’re going to have to hold it, little girl. We don’t have any time left for potty breaks.”

“I have to!” she cried. “If I don’t, I’m gonna pee myself.”

Boone seemed in a state of disbelief. Apparently, super soldier commando dudes didn’t have bladders that overreacted when facing terror.

“You’re going to that corner and pee in a bucket with me standing here?”

That was an excellent point. Darn it.

“How’s this?” he said. “You hold tight, and you’ll be able to pee in private soon.”

She nodded and tried to calm her racing heart. She could do this. Not that she had a choice. She tried to take a deep breath but couldn’t. It was as if her lungs already had too much air.

No matter how she tried to breathe out, it didn’t help. Her lungs burned, and spots began to float in the air between Boone and her. Her lungs were too full of useless air to take in the good stuff. She was going to pass out. Time seemed to slow as she tried to decide how she felt about that.

Then Boone’s deep voice broke through her mental gymnastics. “Tildi, breathe with me. You’re going to pass out if you don’t slow your breaths. Breathe in through your nose for a count of five. Slowly. Slower. Good, now out for a count of five. Good girl. Again.”

She followed his breathing, never breaking eye contact. Her heart rate slowed, and she could breathe normally.