Page 72 of Us Deadly Few
“Takeshi.” She shook her head, her body refusing to move. “I c-can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” he stated emphatically, his faith in her outweighing the belief she had in herself. “I’ll be right beside you the entire time. Do you trust me to keep you safe?”
Thunder rumbled overhead, and the rain seemed to fall in slow motion. Her heart hammered as she stared into his steady black eyes, her only anchor in the storm.
And she knew, in a split second, what the answer was.
On the surface of the Earth, there was no one she trusted more to keep her safe than Takeshi Steele.
Khalani nodded, and his expression solidified with determination, as if her trustmeantsomething to him.
He intensely scanned the area, palming his dagger, transforming into the deadly Captain he was trained to be.
“Keep your head down and run. Understand?”
She nodded, rearing back when an arrow landed mere inches from them.
“Go!” he yelled.
She bolted forward, flinching as the rain suddenly intensified, stinging her face like icy needles. Her pulse raced erratically as her legs beat against the wet concrete, faster than she’d ever run before.
A symphony of yells, gunshots, and screams echoed throughout the storm, but she kept her head down and raced forward.
Takeshi didn’t leave her side for a second. He kept a large hand on the back of her neck, pushing her forward.
“Help me! Help me!” A middle-aged woman in a beige garment ran toward Khalani and Takeshi, pure terror etched on her face.
Khalani skidded to a stop, reaching out to pull the woman to safety. Their fingertips almost touched when an arrow plunged straight through the woman’s chest. Khalani froze, her vision tilting as the woman’s eyes bulged in disbelief before crashing to the ground.
It all happened in a span of a second—a lifetime—before Takeshi grabbed Khalani’s arm and pulled her toward the yellow house. He all but broke down the front door and shoved her inside.
The house was eerily dark and quiet compared to the chaos outside. Her entire body trembled as she flicked on the light switch, but nothing happened.
“Takeshi?” She breathed faster.
“Someone cut off the power.” He clutched the blade tighter, peeking through the blinds.
“Who’s attacking?”
“I don’t know.” He started removing various weapons from his body and handed her one of his knives. “Maybe it’s the othertribe they were talking about. The Sinners.”
Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered the Chief’s haunting warning. That the Sinnersatepeople.
Khalani’s entire body stiffened as she remembered.
The others were in the food hall, unprotected.
Winnie was alone.
“We have to go back. We need to grab the others.” She ran to the door, but Takeshi immediately stood in front of it like a barricade.
“Absolutely not.”
“Get out of my way, Takeshi! I’m going out there.”
“Over my dead fucking body.”
“If you don’t move, I will—”