Vin's Rules (Outer Settlement Agency) (11 page)

So they ran.

All of them. Allie called out directions as best she remembered, using the last of the stars to orientate herself.

The older women fell along the wayside first.

Vin didn’t stop.

She tapped him on the shoulder, but he didn’t answer and didn’t look back.

She tapped again. Harder this time. “Stop.”

“Can’t.”

“Vin!”

Still at top speed, he labored for each breath, coughing and grunting but still running. When he spoke, his voice was raw and cracked. “Cover fire. If I can get the shuttle, I can at least provide cover fire. It’s the best way to save those people.”

She didn’t trouble him anymore.

The space between the groups of survivors grew until only the strongest and the loved ones they carried were within eyesight.

That, she was pleased to note, included Poppy and her mother. Life as a Blue hadn’t been easy on the older woman, but it had made her tough. And though they were now specks on the horizon, they were armed and still moving. She knew they’d make it.

More time passed.

More fields came and went.

But the specks were still on the horizon, and Vin was still running.

Not nearly soon enough, the beautiful shield of the agency shone through the foliage. Vin dropped to his knees and emptied his stomach between gasping wheezes. Sweat sluiced off of his heaving body in waves. On all fours, he jerked his head toward the hatchway.

“What are you doing?”

“Letting you go.” His lips descended on her head for a moment, then he pulled away for another deep gulp of air. “Stand up and get in the shuttle.”

“I am not leaving you behind!”

“Damn straight you’re not. But you will fly this thing and make sure the folks at the very back of the pack are protected. Shoot anything that threatens them. I’ll cover the ground and run back to gather as many as I can.”

“You can barely stand up. Let’s just take a minute to think this out.”

“I need you to fly.”

“But—”

“Call for backup. Give them our location and fly, Allie. I need you to do what Ert’zods were born to do.”

“I will.” She knew he couldn’t stop until he’d done his job. He wouldn’t rest until those people were safe. Arguing would only delay what must be. She closed her eyes and with a heavy heart, turned away.

From inside the cockpit, she saw him clutching his chest as he ran back in the direction they’d just come from. How or where he found the strength was something she’d have to ask later.

For now, she got the bird off the ground, called OSA’s nearest base on the communicator, and flew over her staggering man below.

Leaving Vin, seeing him so small below her hurt. Twice she almost went back—alternating between anger and guilt that he still suffered.

Discovering that he’d been right eased that. Within a few minutes of flying she spotted three rovers filled with armed men behind the last of their group.

She took a deep breath and readied her weapons. Abhorring violence and being sickened by blood was one thing. Letting that stop her from ending continued violence was against her nature.

Sights narrowed in, she squinted for a clearer view, counting one by one each person she was about to kill.

Seven this rover.

Five the next.

She started counting the people in the third, snapping each of their faces for OSA’s files.

Cheering faces.

Grinning faces.

And one so like Poppy’s that it caught her breath. Next to the woman, a beaming Mike, cheering the day and waving like a child on the last day of school. Through her tears and laughs, she retracted the weapons and flew on.

She followed the trail to the road, the road to the city and the city to the compound. Hands steady for the first time since arriving in this place, she sighted her targets.

Using sensitive scopes, she figured out the patterning of the nearly invisible protective netting and zeroed in on an empty space between two slightly glittering lines.

Her thumb pressed down, and one precise laser fired through the doctor’s office, eviscerating the work that kept this hell intact.

The streets filled with people pouring out at the massive explosion.

Good people.

Joyous people.

And not a trace of Graham among them.

T
hree days later

Allie checked the latest report on her omnitablet. Per OSA’s stupid regulations, Vin stayed behind after their rescue. From what little she was able to glean, he and Mike had been the ones to find Graham hiding in a foxhole on the far side of the compound.

The report started to skip around a bit at that point. It ended well enough. Vin had emerged, dragging the corpse of the bastard behind him in the sand. Medical reports noted that Graham had been found with knife in the skull.

Additional teams arrived to handle the little pest problem.

After that, nothing.

She sat through two days of debriefing, spending the time in a near constant state of worry over a man she’d hated, unhated, mated, and now longed for.

Time was running out for any sort of natural rendezvous. Her stay at this base was just about done as OSA expected her back in her home station by the end of the week.

Stupid regulations.

So when the knock came to her door—an actual knock and not a notification ping—she pretended her heart didn’t lurch out of her chest.

Running to the door? Check.

Allowing it to open? Nope.

Having the nerve to look in the vidlink to see who it was? No again.

She’d fought monsters and oppression, yet here she stood in front of a closed door biting her nails.

“C’mon, Ert’zod. I know you’re in there. No one’s told me to shut up lately, and I kinda miss it. Umm... hello? How about a celebratory drink at least? Unless...” His voice trailed off, and when she finally looked over at the vidlink screen, he was already turning away, head down.

“Wait!” The door
whooshed
open, and she stepped into the silver- and blue-lit hallway as the man in front of her skidded to a stop. “I don’t think you have a head for drinking. Last time you—”

He swung around, sucking in air between clenched teeth. “I mentioned something about your hair and... uh... other... things.”

“You remember that,” she asked, clicking her tongue and very, completely, totally unsuccessfully holding back her grin.

“I am an oddly aware drunk. Sucks.  Plus it wasn’t just the alcohol. I had to play it up for the audience.”

“We were alone by that point in the evening.”

“Maybe from your end. I wasn’t. I distinctly remember there being two of you. Pretty awesome when you weren’t yelling.”

“Not sure you distinctly remember anything. You passed out, you big troll.”

He crossed his arms, propping one elbow atop the other. “That’s a fairly legitimate charge, but I also remember being held tight in safe arms that night. Thank you, Allie. Again.” His voice had gone soft, no more than a whisper. No more laughter either. He’d been through hell and back, yet here he was at her door to thank her.

“I’m glad you’re here, Vin.”

“Well I live here. This is my base, remember?”

“And mine is—”

“Just a shuttle ride away. And shuttles get faster every day.”

“Barring any unexpected side trips.”

“No more of those in my future. I promise. Unless, you wanna maybe go see
The Lana
sometime
?
My offer still stands. Care to do this the right way, Inspector Ert’zod? I mean, unless it’s against the rules.”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure, Security Officer Dhoma. You see, I lost my omnitablet during a thing a few days ago.”

Her laughing giant pulled an omnitablet from his pocket and winked. “How about we follow my rules this time?”

***

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