Page 39 of His Asset

I stalked forward, stopping where he’d been standing.Then focusing on my voice, I commanded again, “Shutters up.”

I gaped when they rolled up with a smallclick-clack-clickuntil they disappeared into a niche above the balcony walls.Adrenaline poured through me, my entire body tingling.I was tempted to dance, to celebrate my victory, but time was precious and the distraction of the other escapee from the facility wouldn’t last forever.

Retying my hair up into a bun, I pulled on my panties and the jeans that Adam had dragged off me.My throat dried, but I refused to think about the pleasure he’d given me...or the pain.

I managed to put on the bra and manipulate its straps beneath the base of my wings, then pushing my feet back into my boots, I stalked into Adam’s walk-in closet and grabbed one of his large, black dress shirts.It’d be easier to carry than the T-shirt and leather jacket I’d worn here, and its color would help conceal the shape of my wings beneath.

Crushing the fabric to my face, I inhaled his unique spiced scent with the faintest hint of lime.I jerked my head back with a curse and bunched the shirt in one hand, then ran toward the balcony.I pushed on the door, but the handle didn’t move.Of course it didn’t.I’d already guessed the balcony door would be locked.

There was only one thing for it.

I stepped back, then opened my mouth in a silent scream, my echolocation at the highest intensity I could manage.Though Adam had used steel shutters to keep me inside, the glass might still be reinforced.

A crack fissured across the glass, then another one.When the entire balcony pane cascaded to the floor, an alarm immediately blaring, I couldn’t help but smile a little before I flicked a finger up at the camera high on the wall opposite, its red light flashing.

My boots crunching on the glass, I stretched my wings out either side of me as I exited the penthouse and stalked across the balcony.Daylight was fading, the sun halfway down the horizon.Even with the blaring alarm I paused, blinking as I took in the vista spread out below.

Steel and glass buildings rose into the air in all directions around me.Further out, houses ceded to farmland and eventually mountains that were covered in trees.I narrowed my eyes.Somewhere out there Adam’s house was nestled amongst the trees, hidden in plain sight.

His home that’d been my prison for a year.

I climbed the balcony’s railing, Adam’s shirt tucked under one arm as my outspread wings fluttered in the breeze, pulling free strands of my upswept hair.I swallowed back sudden fear at how high up I was.Adam’s penthouse was on top of one of the tallest apartment buildings.It would easily be over a hundred meters tall.

I drew in a steadying breath.I mightn’t know yet how to fly, but I could glide to where I needed to go.My wings would keep me safe.

I looked away from the richer, modern part of the city and set my sights on the broken down, poorer parts, where I’d find Reuben.I paused for just a second as sudden doubt surged through me.

Can you really trust Reuben?You let yourself believe in Adam and look where that got you.

I jumped, my wings spreading out either side of me as I fell.The initial drop stole my breath, my stomach lurching as gravity pulled me down, but then my wings caught the air currents and suddenly I wasn’t falling, I was gliding, buoyant and weightless.The city spread out beneath me like a map as adrenaline poured through me, making me feel truly alive.

I glided past another balcony on the other side of Adam’s building, where I glimpsed a woman standing behind the railing in a floral dress and heels, a glass of wine tilted to her red-lipsticked mouth.She froze as her eyes connected to mine.I’d already gone past when I heard her shriek, her glass shattering.

I smirked.What’s wrong bitch?Never seen a winged freak before?

I dipped my left wing, then pulled away from the building.Despite my sadness, my grief at leaving Adam yet again, a laugh burst from my throat as I soared through the air.

How many humans, even those with their manmade apparatuses, could say they could fly,reallyfly?I might be soaring more than flying, but I was still traveling through air to where I needed to go.There was something liberating in that I was equipped to do what no other human could, at least, none who were ordinary human.

I glided lower as a cloud moved across the sun, instantly darkening the sky as the dingier parts of the city appeared directly beneath me.I resisted turning back the way I’d come.It was too late to change my mind now.Adam would never forgive me after escaping from him twice.

I snorted.He’d brokenmytrust over and over again.Each and every time one of my kind were subjected to a new experiment or a new drug, or worse, a new torture to see how far they could push us mentally and physically before we broke.

I drifted lower.When I didn't recognize anything familiar below me, I sent out a long, wide echolocation ping.The signals bounced back, mapping the streets and buildings until finally I detected the familiar shape of the alleyway, and Reuben’s crumbling building I’d been looking for.

I changed direction even as my breath caught.What if Reuben had decided to continue going to the place he’d planned to take me?What if he wasn’t even in the city anymore?

I scrunched Adam’s shirt tighter under my arm.It was too late to back out now.I’d rolled the dice.I just had to trust fate was on my side.

I scanned the area ahead, ensuring no one was around before I swooped low, my wings outstretched as I took a couple of carefully timed, running steps before I stopped, this time without having to roll to break my fall.I smiled.Holy crap!I’d done it!Though this was only my second attempt, I was getting better at this flying—gliding—gig.Perhaps next time I’d give flying a real crack and move my wings.

I glanced around, my keen eyesight picking out the exact same area where men had accosted me, and where I’d sent them flying against a wall.Smears of blood discolored the brickwork, dried bits of powdery mortar on the ground.

I shivered.I wasn’t a killer.I abhorred violence.But it’d been them or me, and I’d chosen me.

I looked away even as I tucked my wings behind my back.Then pulling on Adam’s long, button-up shirt, I stalked forward, taking the alley that went directly to Reuben’s building.