For the first time since running them, the four flights of stairs became a little daunting. Shoving those snakelike thoughts away, I pumped my arms harder to gain the momentum I needed to push myself, to take the pain and turn it into the tenacity that got me through every other tough situation I’d faced. In training or on the battlefield, once pain was harnessed, you could surpass your bodily limitations and enter a body-less realm where pure instinct took over.
Arriving at Avery’s floor again had me momentarily pausing for two breaths. The interruption to my movement created a tiny crack in the iron casing that running four levels of stairs three times over took to create. I whipped the door open and took off sprinting down the corridor. I’d do shuttle runs for hours if that’s what it took to keep my mind vacant until Avery arrived.
“Move!” I screamed when a woman emerged from a doorway.
She pressed herself to the wall as I sprinted past, yelling some kind of exclamation that I didn’t comprehend. Nothing could penetrate the space I was in. Nothing—except for Avery’s yelled voice chasing me down.
“Hallie!”
I skidded to a halt and froze. The only part of me that moved was my chest surging for oxygen. I didn’t turn. Didn’t dare relax. In my mind I did, but my body refused to respond until Avery called my name again.
“Hells!”
My feet pivoted of their own accord as if commanded by the magnetism between us yet didn’t propel me forward.
I stood rooted to the spot, arms hanging at my sides and my lungs pinched tight. I held my composure as Avery rushed toward me. My resolve held firm against the worry set tight into his expression.
I stayed strong until my face was cradled between his two warm palms and three aching words whispered from his mouth.
“Jesus Christ, Hellcat.”
Chapter Ten
Avery
Hallie’s voice immediately turned the dread in my stomach to stone. Never, and I meant fuckingnever,had she shed a single tear in front of me, let alone sob uncontrollably into the phone. And for her to outright blurt through that emotion that she loved me, really fucking hit hard.
The raw vulnerability in her cry for help stunned me for a second, completely stealing my words until I replied with the only thing I could: I loved her too. Undoubtedly, yet secretly, and had so for years.
Urgency had me briefly explaining the situation to my class commander, then sprinting across the base parking lot to my car.
My driving back to the apartment was nothing short of impatient and risky, but the void in Hallie’s voice had me spooked. Something had gone terribly wrong for her to call me like that.
Barely pausing to turn the engine off, I threw open the driver’s door and ran for the building entrance while yelling for the elevator to be held. The couple halted the closing doors, then pinned themselves to the wall as I rushed in and stabbed the fourth-floor button.
“Rough day at the office?” the guy drawled.
“You could say that,” I panted, managing to force a quick smile while catching my breath.
He eyed my uniform from head to toe, then back up again. “We’ll wait until you get off at your floor before coming back down to ours. You seem more harried than we are.”
I nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“No worries, and thank you for your service,” he added as the elevator cruised to a stop.
Giving him a curt nod of acknowledgment, I ran forward then slowed when I saw Hallie tearing down the corridor in the opposite direction.
“Hallie!”I yelled sharply.
Her footsteps stopped, but she didn’t turn, and I could see her heaving for breath. I swallowed and hastened forward.
“Hells!”
Inch by excruciatingly slow inch, she turned with her arms hanging limp at her sides. The blank look on her face made my heart drop and propelled me toward her faster.
Eyes, once filled with vibrancy and determination, stared as if vacant. I took her face in my hands and studied her while my heart broke. The pieces fell to my stomach where they tossed and turned, making me panicked and nauseous.
“Jesus Christ, Hellcat,” I murmured, looking her over.