“The Drone got away.” His voice pulsed against my neck, arms banded around my waist.
“I know. But so did I.” I pulled back, met his eyes. “Thank you.”
Footsteps approached. He looked behind me, the moment gone. “We need to go.”
Our cavalcade comprised of the Humvee and two Harley Davidson army bikes. Roark’s eyes narrowed on Cliff, who straddled the enduro that had carried us from Lloyd’s pub that cold night six months prior.
I nudged his arm. “If you wanna ride, kick him off.”
He pinched my chin, gave it a jerk. “Naw, love. I stay with ye.” He pushed me into the back of the Humvee with Darwin and all our gear then climbed in the front with Michio behind the wheel. Tallis mounted the other bike.
The minute the engines turned over, my insides jerked in the toils of vibrations. The pounding of boots neared my open door. Jesse fell in, bow arched, and landed in my lap. “Step on it, Doc. Go, go, go.”
A claw followed him in, attached to his leg. Then the aphid was on us. Its jaw snapped open and the spear shot toward Jesse’s chest. His arrow released, sunk a bulging eye, and exited the back of the head.
I kicked at the torso skipping over the cement with the Humvee’s momentum. It let go and I slammed the swinging door, longing for the safety of the boat.
The whine of the enduros led the way. Aphids scurried from crowded high-rise buildings and spread over the lot. Darwin barked, claws curled against the rear window. Jesse climbed into his own seat and spit arrows out his window. Roark and I used our side-arms to pick off the aphids blurring too close to the bikes.
The bounce of the Humvee over debris and bodies jostled our aim. I needed Yang. Next to me, Jesse’s arm flew in a stream of arrows. His back muscles waved through the movement. It probably wasn’t the best time to explain why he and I needed to remove our shirts and press up against each other.
I switched to the carbine and held it steady at my shoulder. Exhale. Squeeze. Squeeze. Bugs squealed and rolled around us.
When the enduros zipped far enough ahead, the swarm fell back. Gravel shot up from our tires. Soon, the only thing trailing us was a haze of dust. A collective sigh washed through the Humvee.
A few minutes into the drive, I turned to Jesse. “Tell me what happened with the Drone.”
Roark stirred in the front seat. Jesse didn’t budge his head from the feather he was attaching to an arrow shaft.
“Jesse?”
He frowned without looking up. “What do you want to know?”
“You can start by telling me how he got away.”
He tossed the arrow aside and raked a hand through his wavy russet hair. “I cornered him in the chamber at the top of the main tower. His army was barricaded outside. I was feet away, arrow nocked…” He palmed his nape.
I waited several heartbeats then cleared my throat.
“What do you want me to say? He just disappeared. It was dark as shit, but I know there was nowhere for him to go.”
“But up?”
He stared at me.
“You were in my chamber. It has open rafters.” I met Michio’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “He flew away.”
Jesse blinked, his lips in a thin line. “When he disappeared, the aphids scattered, wandering mindless without his control. Maybe one of my arrows hit him after all.”
“He was on the yacht last night.”
His face turned scarlet. “He what?”
“He slipped in while we slept.” Michio’s tone was cool as he walked through the event and brushed over what we knew about the Drone’s metamorphosis.
“And where the fuck were Reynolds and Dilman?”
“The Drone sneaked into the stateroom,” I said. “Came after me while I slept between two capable bodyguards.”
Jesse dug a fist into his brow. “This is unacceptable. I hired them to do a job. Either they do it or I’ll—”
“You’ll do what? While we’re on the subject of threats,” I said, “you need to stop. Scalping, strangulation, castration?”
“They’re not threats.”
I groaned. “I don’t understand you. You’ve been pissed at me since the day we met, yet you spent the last year and a half protecting me.”
He steepled his fingers over the bridge of his nose and stared at the back of Michio’s head.
“Then you told Tallis I was…” What would I accomplish by embarrassing him?
“Breathtaking,” Roark supplied from the front seat.
I softened my tone. “Breathtaking. Is that what you think, Jesse?”
He closed his eyes.
Fine. I’d break down that wall another time. “What are you doing with Darwin?”
He dropped his hands and met my glare with his own. “When you left West Virginia, I followed you by car to Boston, but I knew I’d be tracking you on foot. I brought Darwin to help.” He scratched him behind the ears and Darwin nudged his big head into Jesse’s lap.