Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
I stopped beside his thigh and dropped to my knees. Just as I was about to reach out and touch him, I slapped my palm down on my own leg and leaned over the man trying to breathe.
He was struggling.
“Oh, fuck me,” I muttered to myself before setting my hand gently on top of his. “Hey.” His skin was so hot it was almost uncomfortable, but I really didn’t like the look on his scrunched face. Much less the state of the rest of him. “Are you okay?”
Broad fingers flexed in mine, almost more convulsively than on purpose, and The Defender tried to take another breath that sounded like a wheeze.
I wasn’t even sure he knew I was there.
“Do you want me to call 9-1-1? Or… or is there a hotline to call the other members of the Trinity?” I was trying my damn best not to panic. Normal people could go to a hospital, but this man wasn’t normal. What was a hospital going to do for him? He was missile-proof, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t like a tiny little needle or even a big-ass needle was going to pierce his skin.
What do I do?
His face scrunched up, and his eyes squeezed closed. “No… hospital,” The Defender grumbled in a voice that was barely audible. “No… one….”
Oh god, he was talking to me. He was actually talking to me. And I didn’t like what he was saying.
“You don’t want me to call anyone?” I tried my best not to shriek.
His fingers jerked in mine, and I barely heard him, but I managed to catch just enough to hear him whisper, “No.” His throat bobbed. He gasped, then groaned. “In-inside….”
Inside? My house?
This was the last thing I needed. The absolute last thing. There was the last thing, and this would have come after that.
The Defender let out another rattling breath; it was the most pained sound I’d ever heard.
Focus, Gracie. Focus.
I could go back in and let him deal with his situation on his own. Technically, this wasn’t my responsibility… but that wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be. It was the opposite of the kind of person I wanted to be. Okay, okay. Don’t panic.
He didn’t want me to call 911, and he wanted to go inside. I could do that much.
I had to.
Lifting my hand off his and sounding almost calm, even though part of me wanted to cry, I said, “Okay, okay. There’s no way I can carry you. I think I have a wheelchair, but I need to get it. I’ll be right back, okay?” I couldn’t believe this shit was happening.
What might be the strongest person in the world—it was widely debatable among the Trinity—groaned again, and I took that as an okay. It wasn’t like we had another choice. There was no way I could carry him, and I wasn’t positive what he could manage. Not much from the look or sound of it.
He also didn’t want to be out here for a reason, and I had to fight the urge to look toward the sky again. If there was something up there…. Fuck, I didn’t want to know.
Fuck, fuck, fuckkkk.
Okay, calm down, we’d figure it out. I would figure it out.
I jumped up, and even though my legs were worn out, I ran as fast as I could toward the outbuilding where the owner had left some things stored. I pushed in the code to the keypad and waited for the lock to turn. It was easy to find the wheelchair in the corner; I hadn’t put anything new in the shed. Covered in dust and spiderwebs, I pulled it out anyway, figuring a little spider bite wouldn’t do shit to a man who was immune to radiation. I was going to have to gamble it, but that was the least of my worries. It might be a blessing to get bit by a brown recluse right now. It’d be an excuse to get the hell out of here without feeling like a total piece of shit. I hated how much of a coward that made me, but it was the truth.
Picking it up and out the door, I set it down outside. Spreading it, I tipped it backward and pushed it all the way back around the house. I was panting by the time I made it to those damn dwindling purple fires. Then I stopped.
Because The Defender wasn’t where I’d left him.
He was on his hands and knees. The man who was so much more than a man, who could break my neck just as easily as a twig, was crawling. Even in the dark and at a short distance, I could tell his entire half-naked body was shaking.
The sight of it stunned me.
I had never seen any of the Trinity even stumble before. Never, ever, ever. Hadn’t I seen him carrying a fully loaded tanker?