The guard who had been holding Summer’s arm regrouped, snagging the skittering gun and sent another shot my way. It grazed my shoulder, and the surprise of the shot and the searing heat twisted me, making me lose my balance. As I shifted, my foot caught on a piece of metal sticking up from the roof and sent me careening over the edge. I reached out with my hands, grappling for a handhold. I cried out as pain shot through my injured arm as it scraped along the ledge. There was only the asphalt below me. With a final burst of energy, my fingers snagged the edge of the building. I pulled hard, trying to get my injured arm to allow my hand to grab the roof, too.
It took more strength than I thought I had, but I managed to keep hold of the lip of the roof, first with the tips of my fingers and then to my second joint. I hung there, feeling spent, but dug deep, reaching inside me for strength. Not for myself, but for Summer. I had to help her. One guard was out, but there were still two others who could overpower her. I pulled hard, sucking breath and crying out, trying to use my screams and grunts to give me more power, more ability.
As my eyes crested the lip of the roof, I could see a body coming toward me. Summer. She must have overpowered the two guards. Good for her. She walked, slowly, carefully. Her eyes met mine, and they narrowed. I grunted with the effort of keeping my fingers rounded over the edge. She reached me and I lengthened my arms, knowing I was about to find relief. It didn’t come. She looked over the edge at me, her ponytail hanging nearer me than her face. I tried to find purchase with my toes, but could not.
“Summer. Please.”
She sat on the edge. “You know, I could let you fall, and no one would be the wiser.” Her voice was soft, silky, evil.
My heart sank. She did want me dead.
“It wouldn’t reflect poorly on me, and you’d have a hero’s funeral.” She closed her mouth and took a deep breath through her nose. “It’s a win-win.”
I kicked at the wall, my fatigue and panic preventing me from getting what I wanted. What I needed.
“You let him take me,” Summer said, looking off at nothing. “You had the shot, and you chose to let him take me.”
“I didn’t have a clear shot. I saw your reflection in the mirror and you were blocking most of the guard.” I grunted against the pain. “I could have killed you. I had the shot to save Jeremy. I took it. I turned to you second, but you were gone. I didn’t abandon you.”
“I felt abandoned. I think Josh felt abandoned. Do you feel abandoned? Do you?”
“I do.” I knew it was what she wanted to hear. Sweat dripped from my chin, and my fingers started to feel slick. If my feet did not grab something soon, I would fall with certainty.
“You’re not a murderer, Summer. Help me.”
“You don’t know what I am.”
“I do.”
She stood up and screamed. “No! You don’t. You are not the star child. You don’t know everything. You are not special. Life is uncertain, but death is not. We all face it. Perhaps this is your time.”
A shadow grew over us. Someone was there. “Summer!” I yelled. “Behind you!” My toes finally found purchase as a rush of adrenaline coursed through me and catapulted me over the ledge of the roof. I lunged directly into the knees of one of the guards. We toppled to the roof, his head slamming into the rocky base. Still brimming with power, I bludgeoned his head until his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness. I twisted and looked back toward the other two guards. They did not move. Summer had completely disabled them.
I looked up at Summer, who remained still on the ledge of the roof. Fierce anger boiled inside of me until I saw the tear drip from her chin followed by more, and then her whole body shook with sobs. I would have moved to her and consoled her had I been able to, but it seemed the adrenaline rush had passed and left me near-dead. Instead, I joined her, tears trailing down the sides of my face too.
Chapter 19
I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, frozen, mourning together, but separate. After what seemed forever, an extraction team took us from the roof into a helicopter and to a hospital where we joined the rest of the team, injured, frazzled, and completely drained.
At some point, I startled awake. I was dying of thirst. I looked around the room. Definitely a hospital room. It was only me. The visitor’s chair was empty, and no one stood around my bed gawking at me. It was dark; only a thin light came from the moon outside and the crack under the door. An IV dripped something into my veins from my scraped up hand, and something was clipped to my index finger—a pulse monitor. I went through my own little health check, starting at my head and moving to my toes, wiggling and moving all my body parts. While I was sore, certainly not pain free, I felt surprisingly good.
“Agent Hadden?” A voice came from the door.
“Director.” My body tensed as she entered. I wasn’t sure what Siron was about to say, but I wanted keep my temper in check so I could ask some questions.
“I’m so glad you are safe. And, I owe you an apology. I’m sorry. I was wrong about Jeremy and the
