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“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.
