Page 84 of Rogue Mission

“How long?”

“Maybe sixty seconds.”

Justice nods, even though Ryker can’t see him. Then he looks at me, and something shifts in his expression.

“Listen to me.” His hands frame my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I love you. I’m going out there, I’ll clear the way for us to get out.”

My throat closes up. I almost faint from the pain slicing through me.“Justice?—”

“You can handle this.” His thumb brushes my cheekbone, and despite the cold, I feel warmth spreading through me. “You’re the bravest damn woman I’ve ever met.”

The lights cut out.

Darkness swallows the storage room, and the guard outside curses loudly. The hum of the freezer goes silent.

“Now!” Ryker shouts through the comms.

Justice yanks open the freezer door, and we burst out into the pitch-black room.

I can’t see anything. Can’t hear anything except my own ragged breathing and the guard shouting into his radio. Until the sound of fists on flesh stops me cold in my tracks.

It’s Justice, clearing the way.

My god, how can he see?

I press myself against a lab table, holding on for dear life as bodies crash to the floor around me.

“Let’s go!” Justice’s hand locks around mine, dragging me forward. We’re moving blind, and I catch my toe on something that squeaks. “Ryker, we’re clear for now. One guard out temporarily. Over.”

“East wall,” Ryker directs us. “Emergency exit. Fifteen feet straight ahead.”

We run.

Our boots pound against the tile, the sound impossibly loud in the darkness. Behind us, another guard is yelling, a flashlight beam cutting through the black.

“Stop! I will shoot!”

Justice shoves me ahead of him, putting his body between me and the threat. “Go. Go. Go!” He growls, the stomp of his boots sending fire and ice crackling along my spine.

The beam of light finds us, causing even more panic to erupt inside of me. Run.Just run!

Then my worst fear happens. A gunshot cracks through the air, and Justice grunts.

He stumbles, but he doesn’t stop moving. “Keep going,” his voice is tight, almost choked. “Go!”

He slams me into the emergency exit door. It flies open in front of us, cracking against the wall as we tumble into the hallway beyond.

“Fast!” he roars, breathing raggedly.

Oh my god.Oh my god.We sprint down the corridor, more footsteps thundering somewhere behind us.

Ryker’s voice is in my ear, calm and steady despite the chaos. “Second door on your right. Service stairs. Go!”

Justice yanks open the door, and we plunge into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time, him hot on my heels like a hulking human shield.

“Don’t touch the railing.”

“Not ever doing that again,” I gasp between chugging breaths.