“Oh, God.” She pushed backward and already felt Dom moving. He gripped her armor, yanking her back.
The bird launched forward again. Arden raised her legs and kicked the creature.
Before it could attack again, a body moved past her. Dom’s knives flashed in the light. With no fear, he dodged the sharp beak and spikes, and stabbed at the bird’s underbelly.
In that instant, the Hawk turned abruptly, tilting to the left. Arden, Dom, and the Gizzida bird started sliding…right toward the open door of the Hawk.
A scream caught in Arden’s throat. Instinct had her scrambling to grab on to something. She watched as the Gizzida bird flew out of the side of the Hawk with an awkward flap of its wings. In the air, it tried desperately to right itself.
Then in horror, she watched Dom slide out right after it.
Tane lunged for him and missed.
“Dom!” Arden slid closer to the edge, horror and pain exploding inside her. Her eyes stayed glued to her man, watching as he plummeted through the air, away from the quadcopter.
“Dom! Dom!” Her voice broke. No. She couldn’t lose him.
She was about to shoot out of the Hawk herself, when Tane grabbed her with one strong arm. He yanked her back, gripping the edge of the door to keep them in place. He was looking grimly at Dom’s falling form.
“No.” Arden shook her head. “No.” Hysteria welled. “Help him.”
“I can’t.” Tane’s words sounded ripped out of him.
She averted her eyes, unwilling to watch Dom fall, and her gaze snagged on her combat drone still resting on the seat. Her eyes widened. She wouldn’t lose the man she loved.
“Drone, activate.”
Lights blinked on.
“Retrieve!” she yelled. “Retrieve Dominic Santora.”
The combat drone lifted, then shot out of the Hawk, almost brushing her hair as it moved.
She saw it in the clouds, then it swiveled and plunged downward through the sky.
Dom. Please. Please. The words became a prayer, echoing in her head.
Arden didn’t look away. She knew this was a long shot. The combat drone wasn’t designed to carry the weight of a full-grown man in armor.
She gripped Tane’s arm. She’d lost sight of Dom, but she kept staring at the open air below.
Dom. Please. Please.
The Hawk leveled out and there was a silence in the back of the aircraft.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Indy asked.
Arden’s throat closed. She couldn’t speak.
“Dom fell out of the Hawk.” Tane’s voice was harsh.
“No,” Indy whispered.
Arden stared at the clouds below, waiting, waiting.
“Arden, come away from the door,” Tane said quietly.
No. Dom. Please. Please. A tear tracked down her cheek. She couldn’t handle the loss. She couldn’t handle having her heart ripped out of her chest again. Not when she’d only just put it back together with Dom’s help.
“I can’t lose him.” She met Tane’s deep-brown eyes, full of his own shadows. “I won’t survive it again.”
He pulled her closer. “Whatever life throws at you, however hard it grinds you down in the dirt, you keep getting back up. That’s all we can do.”
She shook her head, a sob breaking out of her.
She looked back at the empty sky. Dom.
Suddenly, something shot up out of the clouds. She gasped, and heard Tane suck in a sharp breath.
Like it was drunk, the combat drone wobbled, heading back toward the Hawk. Below it, Dom dangled, hanging on, his face strained. The drone flew in through the side of the Hawk and Dom let go. His body crashed into Arden, and they slid across the floor.
She clamped her arms and legs around him. “Dom, oh, my God.”
“Fuck,” Griff bit out.
“I never want to do that again,” Dom said quietly.
Arden couldn’t hold back her sobs. She held onto him tighter.
“I’m okay, bella. I’m okay.”
Tane slammed the door of the Hawk shut. His chin dropped to his chest. “Hell.”
Then Griff was there. He grabbed Dom in a hard hug.
Arden refused to let him go, holding onto him tightly. His heart beat firmly in his chest, and she clung to the sound. Her sobs morphed to silent tears.
Tane dropped heavily into a seat. He shoved the combat drone onto the seat beside him. “Finn, how we doing?”
“The Darkswifts shot the pteros out of the sky,” the pilot reported. “Alien birds disappeared. Squad Nine is headed back to base with the other Hawk.”
“Thank fuck,” Hemi muttered.
“Dom okay?” Finn asked.
Tane glanced at Dom. “Doubt he’s planning to take flying lessons any time soon.”
Arden felt Dom’s fingers flex on her. Hysterical laughter welled in her chest. Trust the berserkers to make a joke about a life and death situation.
“Get us home, Finn,” Tane said.
Dom scooped Arden into his arms and she buried her face against his neck. He sat with her in his lap.
“Thanks for rescuing me, bella.”
A half laugh, half sob ripped out of her. Something in his tone said he wasn’t just talking about saving him from the fall.
Then he sank a hand in her hair and tipped her head back. She stared at those dark eyes, that handsome face. Hers.
“I love you, Dom.”
Something flared in his eyes—a volatile mix of emotion.
“Before, I had a safe, easy, predictable life. I loved it. I loved my husband and our children. Now that life is gone. I’ll always remember it, cherish it. But life moves on. The sun still rises, babies are born, people die.” She cupped his stubbled cheek. “I want to wake up with you every day. I want to make a life with you that’s anything but safe or predictable.”
He dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her.
And he kept kissing her. Long, drugging kisses.
Both of them were heedless of the laughter and wolf whistles around them. There was only the two of them, and they took their time.
When Dom did lift his mouth from hers, Arden felt more than a little lightheaded. She saw Griff was grinning widely at them. Nearby, Selena had a small smile on her face that looked almost wistful.
“I don’t know much about
