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Behind them, Tanner heard the retort of a mini rocket launcher. The shoulder-held device Dawn and her women carried would pack a punch if one of them managed to hit the heli-jet. The problem was aiming at a moving target and managing to hit it before the rocket’s safety primer self-detonated in the air.
“Jonas, I want Tamber’s body back at Sanctuary,” Tanner snapped into the earwig. “Take no chances that she’s carrying any info. ”
The
re could be hidden chips or any manner of other ways of hiding sensitive information on her body. “I want a complete examination and autopsy of her body. ”
“Got it,” Jonas snapped. “Just get Scheme and David out of here. Go. ”
Tanner was going. An enforcer tossed David to the pilot while another braced Tanner as he jumped into the cockpit. The doors slammed closed as the chopper was lifting into the air, angling sharply and rising above the trees.
Checking for the heli-jet, Tanner watched in satisfaction as one of Dawn’s rockets hit the tail, swinging it off-kilter before it righted itself and banked away from the area, shuddering before the pilot managed to engage one of the jets.
The heli-jet was still in the air but unable to fight now. It surged around the mountain, disappearing from sight as the Breed chopper maneuvered around the opposite hill and headed back to Sanctuary.
Shaking, Tanner stared down at Scheme, smoothing her hair back from her pale, bruised face as he realized his tears were staining her face.
“She was very brave,” David said beside him. “But you need to train her. She doesn’t know how to fight, Uncle Tanner. ”
He didn’t want to train her, but he knew he had to. If she woke up. God, if only she would wake up. He wanted to protect her; he wanted life to be secure and happy; he wanted the threats she faced gone forever.
“I love you,” he whispered against her ear. “Don’t leave me, pretty girl. Please God, don’t leave me. ”
It was like being buried alive. Scheme fought for consciousness, moaning as she felt her body being jostled, firepoints of pain erupting along her arms, ribs, legs.
“Easy, Scheme. ” Ely’s voice was soothing, comforting as her gloved hands pressed against her stomach. “I just want to make sure there’s no internal bleeding. There are no broken bones, though there’s a hairline crack in your left arm. You took a beating. ” Her voice was soft, though husky, as though she had been crying. “I’ve given you more of the hormone to allow for the exam and to give you time to heal. ”
Scheme struggled against the blackness surrounding her, a whimper leaving her lips.
“You’re not buried, Scheme,” Tanner whispered at her ear again. “Ely had to place coverings over your eyes while she swabbed around them. They’ll be off in a minute. ”
She tried to shake her head. Now. She wanted them off now.
“Easy, pretty girl,” Tanner crooned at her ear. “Would I lie to you, baby?”
In a heartbeat, if he thought it was for her own good.
He chuckled huskily. “I would never lie about this, Scheme. ” A light touch to her cheeks, beneath her eyes, her forehead, proved his words. “See, you’re fine. Just in Ely’s lab. You took a beating, baby. ”
“David. ” She managed to push the word past her lips.
“Safe and sound. ” His lips brushed over her ear as his hands smoothed to her bare shoulders. “Tamber is dead. We got to you in time. ”
Did he? She couldn’t see; she couldn’t be certain. She whimpered in dread, terrified it was another trap. Did Cyrus have her again? Was he tricking her somehow?
“Take the coverings off her eyes, Ely,” Tanner ordered. “Now. ”
Soft latex brushed her cheeks, and an instant later the pressure was gone. Her eyes flickered open as the lights dimmed in the exam room.
“You look like shit,” she whispered as Tanner’s face came into focus.
He looked haggard. Pale, his face streaked with grime, his hair tangled.
“Keeping up with you is hell on my appearance,” he said, his amber eyes gleaming with…love. They were filled with love. Soft, warm, rich with emotion.
“I love you,” she whispered then, her lips trembling as his hand clasped hers and he bent closer to her. “I was so afraid I couldn’t come back to you. ”
She had been terrified. In the midst of everything rushing around her, in the back of her mind, the awareness that Tanner could be lost to her forever had been more horrifying than the thought of being buried.
