Focus on the prize, Ward, and worry about finding answers later. If Millie didn’t make it to the west side of town, she’d lose her chance to see the reserved and powerful man. Not that she wanted to see his brown eyes flecked with gold again or his broad shoulders. Or, to find a way to break his control and see the man hidden beneath the mask.
No matter how much she wanted to find out more about Giovanni, her curiosity was secondary to her ultimate goal of handing Gio over to Millie’s boss and resident crazy lady, Neena Chatterjee.
For once, Millie wished the DEFEND co-founder would show up wearing a cape and offer one of her bags of trail mix. Neena was eccentric, but bloody good at getting people out of scrapes. Very few knew of Neena’s powers, but Millie was one of them—Neena’s foresight ability was helping DEFEND win the battle against the AMT Oversight Committee.
Even so, success wasn’t guaranteed. Millie would just have to try her damnedest to escape unscathed. After all, the AMT would only be destroyed if individuals took initiative beyond Neena’s predictions. The future was uncertain, but Millie was determined to rid the world of the AMT prisons. Just remembering her brother’s screams at being touched sent a rush of anger through her body. They’d put him through a series of psychological tests, which was just a fancy way to say they’d scared the crap out of him in the name of research.
Garrett wasn’t the only one suffering, though. The AMT system was little more than an excuse to experiment on innocents. Many more inmates remained trapped inside and needed rescuing.
Her resolve to succeed strengthened, and Millie stopped in front of a low wall to wait for Petra and Will to catch up. She noted Petra holding Will’s hand, but didn’t comment. The teasing would come later. When they were close enough, she said, “This is the fastest way. However, there may or may not be a slight drop on the other side.”
Petra raised an eyebrow. “Then climb up and find out.”
Millie raised her brows. “Hey, you’re not the boss of me. If anything, you should climb up.”
Will tugged his hand free of Petra and stood between them. “I’ll do it.”
Before either she or Petra could reply, Will reached the top of the wall and pulled himself up with ease. Damn, the man was strong and sexy. If only Petra wasn’t clearly still in love with the bloke, then Millie would probably try to lure him into bed. Her dry spell was approaching the year-mark and she wanted some release not brought on by her own hand.
Will lowered himself back down and turned toward them. Millie snapped back to the present when he spoke up again. “There’s a ledge about twelve inches wide from the wall. However, there is a thousand or more foot drop beyond that. Provided we’re careful, twelve inches is enough space to land without trouble.”
Millie snorted. “Says the man who probably has a price on his head by now. If they start firing guns at us, twelve inches won’t be enough if we need to jump without taking our time.”
Petra pushed Millie aside. “Ignore her. She just likes to whine. We can do it, no problem.”
Petra reached for the top of the wall, but before she could jump, Will had his hands on her waist and lifted. Maybe later Millie could lock the pair up in a room and let them hash out their issues. Despite all of Petra's badgering, Millie was starting to like the mercenary. If she played her cards right, she could get Petra and Will to join DEFEND.
Yes, that would be brilliant. The look on Millie’s older brother Jaxton’s face at netting a healer and a former mercenary would be worth all of the hassle.
Petra scaled over the wall and released her hands. The soft landing didn’t result in screaming, so Petra had to be safe. Millie approached the wall and jumped before Will could reach her. Sitting atop the stone structure, she looked down at Petra, noted the woman wasn’t in any danger, and then scanned the surroundings. The mountains dropped several thousand feet to a basin below. Falling meant death, but at least the sheer drop protected them from an attack on this side of the wall.
Well, provided the AMT enforcers didn’t have a helicopter.
Millie scaled down and landed with a soft thud. She pointed to her right. “This way.”
Petra muttered, “Sometimes, I wonder if you chose the hardest path on purpose.”
Millie shrugged. “As long as we’re quiet and don’t fall down the side of the mountain, we should be able to circle the city and reach the west side in no time. Maybe even undetected.”
Will landed gently behind Petra. “Then can we go already? I’m not a fan of heights to begin with and only the adrenaline in my body is keeping the panic from creeping up.”
Waving toward the basin floor, she murmured, “It’s only a one or two thousand foot drop. Calm down.”
Turning around, she walked at a brisk pace. Petra would ensure Will followed. All Millie wanted to do was catch Giovanni Sinclair and she wasn’t about to give the bastard enough time to flee.
~~~
Will kept his breathing even and steady. As long as he didn’t look to his right, to the valley below, he’d be fine.
Or, so he could try to convince himself.
Despite his various attempts to erase his fear of heights over the years, Will had failed. Watching his brother fall out of the tree as a lad had done its damage. The fact Henry had been confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life hadn’t helped, either.
Leyna glanced over her shoulder. “Hydrogen, helium, lithium.”
Her words brought him out of the memory of his brother’s fall and back to the present. The corner of his mouth ticked up. “You remember our distraction game.”
“Hydrogen, helium, lithium,” Leyna repeated.