Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) (45 page)

Once again, I was reminded of her loyalty to Leo. She must love him something fierce to risk dying for him.

Preparing mys
elf mentally, I stalked forward toward the base
and ultimately
my death.

CHAPTER 26

Three
days had do
ne nothing to calm the civilian
s
’
protests. If nothing else, they had grown in number and seemed even edgier than they were before.
Unfortunately
because of that
,
the size of the guard lining the outside of the base had doubled.

I allowed Arika and Leo a few seconds to stand there and gawk at
the base
before getting down to business.

“How are we going to get in?” Leo said.

“We wait for an opening,” I said grimly, getting comfortable. Who knew how long it would take for that to happen.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes passed before a ground-shuddering boom rang out behind us, distracting the crowd and the guards for a few seconds. A column of fire erupted about half a mile away.

The promise of rising violence somehow sent the crowd into a crazed frenzy
; they o
bviously thought it was proteste
rs laying siege to the base
. Shouting louder than ever, they start
ed charging the shielded guards. S
ome went down completely as the angry mob pulled them to the ground, practically trampling them as they fought to get inside the building.

“Now’s our chance,” I said, “while t
he guards are, well
caught off
guard.
”

We took off for the base, racing for the back of the mob.

Arika looked like she was going to puke
or maybe pass out.
I could sympathize with her. It was how I felt when I first learned I was surrounded by vampires the night I’d been brought here.

As we forced our way through the crowd,
with
me in the lead,
Arika
kept glancing around her. I suppressed the urge to snicker when
ever
someone bumped into her and she jumped.

By the time we got to the front, someone had already grabbed a downed guard’s badge and had swiped it
in front of the scanner that locked the doors
.
The light flashed green
and the doors swung open.
A veritable floodgate opened up as everyone tried to cram inside the building. It was all the guards could do to manage the mob; they were way outnumbered.

I kept my head down as I passed through the doors, trying to stay hidden in the chaos so nobody would recognize me.

Things were just as chaotic inside the lobby. The siren was going off, and someone was shouting instructions to the guards over the intercom. The secretary was cowering in the corner, trying to keep from being noticed.

“We don’t have much time,” I said as Leo and Arika looked around. “They might be overwhelmed now, but that won’t last for long. Reinforcements will be here soon.”

I heard a click and whirled around. The mob had managed to get the double doors leading to the hospital wing open, but enough guards had followed them in that they were having a hard time getting past.

“Cover me,” I said, yanking off the insufferable heels and throwing them to the floor.

“You got it,” Leo said, getting his gun ready. It was empty but would still make a great hard object to bludgeon someone with.

I sprinted toward the doors. A guard came up, ready to block me, but Arika came around the side and hit him hard in the back of the head with the
pommel of her sai. He staggered
then went down, at which point Leo hit him again and he went completely limp, knocked out. I leapt over
the body
and burst into the hall.

Medical personnel were running around, frantically shouting to one another and wheeling patients about, trying to evacuate them. Everything was bathed in shades of red, thanks to the
flashing
siren
s
.

I grabbed a nurse by the arm as she ran past. “Where is Captain Knight?” I demanded.

She obviously hadn’t been here long enough to know who I was by face recognition alone. Sweeping over my ruined gown in confusion, she pointed and stammered, “Down the hall and to the left. They’re getting ready to move him.”

I sighed with relief.
So he wasn’t
dead.

“Thank you,” I said, then bolted down the hall.

As I ran, it dawned on me that I was finally here, that my quest had come full circle. Everything around me slowed down
,
and I lost sight of anything but my goal. The only sound I could detect was my own racing heart.

I flew around the corner and started walking down the hall, looking into open doors. Arika and Leo trailed behind me, ever alert.

Another type of high-pitched beeping was going off
in
the room at the end of the hall. Doctors and nurses were flying in and out, shouting instructions to each other.

My frown deepened. A
den wasn’t to be found in any of these rooms.

As I neared the last door, I was able to place the frantic beeping.

It was a heart monitor alarm.

A tall woman with messy auburn hair strolled into the room, yelling directions at her staff like a commanding officer.

I gasped. “Paris.”

The heart monitor. Paris’s presence. That could only mean one thing.

I shot toward the door, grabbing the frame as I swung into the opening.

There were so many people flitting about in the room, I almost didn’t see the sweat-soaked figure spasming on the bed. Blood spurted from his mouth as one violent cough after another shook him.

Everyone had on a mask; they flinched at the sight of his blood flying all over his hospital gown, as if afraid to go near him.

I started to go in
then swore.
There was no way I could let Leo walk into this mess and potentially contract the virus. He was, after all, my responsibility now.

Whirling on him, I grabbed his shoulders. “Listen, it’s important you stay as far away from this room as possible.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

Without another word, I marched into the room
– at the same time the heart monit
or flat
lined
.

My heart nearly stopped beating too.

One of the other doctors immediately moved toward me. “Ma
’a
m, you can’t be in here. I have to ask you to leave now.”

Pushing past him, I ran straight to the bed. Aden looked even worse up close. Big purple veins ran under his skin, making him look like he was already dead.

My mind raced through options. I gripped the
bed
railing for support, to try to stop myself from shaking apart in a panic.

I was too late. Paris would need at least a week – if not longer – to make a cure. And I was running out of time to make a choice.

It was like I was in the nightmare again, with my world falling apart around me. Staring at Aden’s face, so lifeless, I had a crazy idea. I lifted my wrist to my mouth and bit down hard, not giving myself enough time to rationalize th
e ludicrously of this decision,
or
the likelihood it would not work.

“What are you doing?” Paris shouted as I sucked in a mouthful of blood.

Snatching the bottle out of
my bra
, I popped the end off and dumped most of its contents into my mouth, swirling the liquid around. It tasted different, my blood a
nd my brother’s mixed together, like sugar and sunshine and hope.

Shoving the
half-empty
syringe at Paris, I leaned over Aden and pried open his mouth.

Sealing my
lips
to his, I let the blood mixture drain into his mouth. I closed my eyes as a stream of blood escaped, dribbling down the side of his chin onto the pillow.

I had
never prayed so hard for anything in my life, except maybe Orion’s safety when he was attacked by the Rogue three years ago.

We all saw how that request turned out.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to push the negative thoughts aside so I could focus.

None of the doctors moved as I at last straightened
, my mouth empty. I stood there panting
as I watched, waiting, wishing, and hoping for the impossible. Even Paris was leaning over the bed, gripping the rail with white knuckles.

A few minutes passed with no sign of life from Aden, and my hope began to crumble.
It felt like a black hole had opened up right inside my chest, sucking away all my dreams and wishes.
Throat tight, I fought back the swell of rising tears, feeling my face burn for being so foolish to think something this stupid would work.

It was no use trying anymore.
It was worthless pretending
everything was going to be okay, because it wasn’t.

Aden was dead.

CHAPTER 27

Every part of me felt numb. Inside, I shut complet
ely down. I knew if I thought about anything,
then I would immediately
think of Aden, and the horrible
black feeling would continue eating away at my core.

Even when Paris put a han
d on my shoulder,
I didn’t flinch. I just stood there, unblinking, staring at the man
who had
shared a part of my soul.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Sorry” didn’t cut it. “Sorry” couldn’t bring Aden back.

I finally blinked when my eyes began to burn. The sensation brought on a wave of tears. A rising sense of hysteria fought to break free, but I kept it at bay as I leaned over Aden and delicately brushed a stray bang from his
forehead
.

I blinked and a tear fell onto his face.

I couldn’t say it out loud, couldn’t formally acknowledge I had failed.

Closing my eyes, I leaned o
ver him, resting my head on the pillow beside his
. I squeezed his gown in my fist
s
, shaking.

Maybe if I hadn’t been such a total wreck, I would have noticed the subtle rise and fall of his chest.

I froze, thinking at first I had hallucinated, that my brain was just refusing to
accept his death. But as I lay
there, not breathing, I heard the gentle intake of air as he took his first breath.

I bolted upright so fast my head almost smacked in
to Paris’s nose.
“Do you mind!” she hissed, ducking out of the way.

I didn’t care what she said. Nothing else mattered.

I leaned over the bed railing, wide-eyed. Slowly, Aden’s everblue eyes opened and found mine. “Hey, angel.”

We stared at each other. So many things flew throu
gh my mind; elation, hope, fear, and l
ove. Real,
burning
,
honest-to-G
od love.

“Aden,” I breathed.

He smiled slightly. “
I
t’s good to hear you say that. F
or real, that is.
”

Blinking, I smiled so wide my face hurt. I bent over the bed, hugging him gently for fear I would break him. “I can’t believe it worked. You’re alive.”

“Thanks to you,” he said softly, wrapping an arm around me and holding me close. “I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“You don’t have to,” I said, at last sitting up.

You already did by coming back to me.

Still smiling, I tentatively reached out, intending to brush my hand along his cheek. Instead, Aden caught my hand and pulled it to his mouth, brushing a butterfly kiss across my fingers.

Heat rose in my face.

“Glad to see you’re back, Captain,” Paris said, winking on the last word.
Her body looked more relaxed. She and Aden had been good friends for a long time. I imagined this must have been hard on her too.

Aden dropped my hand,
smiling tiredly
. “It’s good to be back, Doctor De Lange.”

I rushed to help
him sit up. He smiled at me, letting me know he was fine, and I forced myself to back away.
He wasn’t
going to break.

“I should start working on a cure right away,” Paris said,
her face
all business as she stared at the vial. “But first –” her eyes caught one of the nurse’s – “send word to Frost.”