Lace & Lead

Instead he ran into her and for a moment her body moulded to his. Goosebumps rose on her arms and a shiver of awareness shot through her. He felt good.

“Fuck,” he snarled under his breath, against her hair. His hand shot out, gripping her waist. His fingers tightened, pulling her back against him...

And then he pushed her forward, sending her stumbling toward Douglass.

“Whoa,” Douglass said, catching her before she hit the ground.

She spun back to Taggart, aware he couldn’t see her well in the darkness. But she was still able to make out the darkened outline of his hulking body. “What was that for?” she demanded.

He didn’t respond, so she closed the distance between them and pushed him in the chest. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”

Pushing against him was like pushing against a mountain: utterly futile. She prepared to push him again, planning to put more weight into it, but he caught her hand before it connected with his body armour. “You need to stop doing that,” he said conversationally.

“Let go!” She fought him, but his huge hand was gripping her tiny wrist lightly, just enough to prevent her from getting out of his grasp.

“River’s coming up,” he continued, as if she weren’t struggling. “That means we’re almost out of this hell hole. I’d prefer that those assholes who are following us don’t know where we’ve gone.”

Now he released her and she stumbled back a few steps. “Kai, leave a present for our friends. Make sure it throws them off.”

She could hear someone move past her in the dark and knew Kai was working his way back down the tunnel to lay the trap.

“Douglass, let’s see if the rafts are still there.”

Taggart brushed against her as he moved away. She shifted awkwardly in the dark. “What should I do?”

“You really want to help?”

“Well...yes.”

“Stay here until I yell for you, shut the hell up and stop being such a goddamn distraction.”

She listened to him move off in the darkness, toward the faint sound of water. She felt appropriately cowed, but was reeling even more from his unintentional admission. He thought she was a distraction.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on her,” Douglass admonished him.

Peirce muttered something foul under his breath. But Douglass didn’t let it go.

“It’s not her fault.”

“I know that,” Peirce agreed, pissed that he was so irrationally irritated. “It’s her old man’s fault but it’s our job to get her out and deliver her back to him. Besides, it’ll be nice to see his face when I tell him our price has gone up.”

The river was nearby. Peirce could hear the water lapping against the limestone, hoping that the emergency rafts he’d put down there would be enough to get them all out.

“Have you told her yet?”

He stiffened at Douglass’s question. Gritted his teeth. “No. I haven’t told her.”

“Why not?”

He unstrapped his light from its leg holster and

took a quick look around the small cavern. The rafts were still there. He started to unpack them, prepare them for inflation, but Douglass hadn’t moved. He just stood there like a dark cloud with crossed arms, watching Peirce avoid the real issue.

Peirce sighed and focused on undoing the straps. “What’s the point in telling her that her old man sold her to some Traverian sex trader to pay off a debt?”

He heard Douglass’s low oath. Peirce’s back straightened and he closed his eyes. “She didn’t follow orders, did she?”

“No.” Emmaline’s voice was quavering but clear. “She didn’t.”