Without Hesitation by Talia Jager (english reading book .txt) 📕

Chapter Twenty-Two

Everleigh

The door closed behind us and Kaci immediately took my hands. “What’s wrong?”

“What happened today…”

“Everyone is okay.”

“You were in danger, Kaci.”

“All of us were.”

“But you don’t deserve it.”

“That’s over. We got away. Let’s focus on what we have to do now.”

I didn’t know if I liked that she brushed it off so easily or if it infuriated me. “It should be a simple in and out.”

“You’ll come back?” she said.

“I will.” I really wasn’t the least bit scared. She seemed more than just worried about me. “Is there something else on your mind?”

“I kissed Huxley.” Guilt flashed in her eyes.

I held back a chuckle. “You did?”

“To get him out of there. It was just a cover though, I—”

I cut her off mid-sentence with a kiss. She instantly kissed me back. Hungry and deep kisses. My hands found the small of her back and pulled our bodies flush against each other.

“Anything else you want to get off your chest?”

“Just this.” She pulled her shirt over her head.

My eyes mapped over her exposed flesh and rested on her beautiful breasts. “Damn.” I bit my lip. Unable to control myself, I lunged forward and seized her lips in a heated, feverish rush.

My hands roamed the vast expanse of her back and traced her curves. Her skin was smooth and warm. Pulling away, my eyes locked with her bright blues. I ran my thumb over her swollen, moist lips.

I kissed along the side of her neck, memorizing the smell of her hair and taste of her skin. Pressing her up against the wall, I moved my thigh in between her legs. She gave a low hum of approval and grinded her body against me, which set my body on fire. Her hands went under my arms and her fingernails dug into my back before she pulled me closer. Trailing kisses along her jaw, under her ear, and across her chest, I led her to my bed where I lowered her down.

After a while, we stopped kissing and she curled up in my arms and fell asleep. I held her all night, hardly sleeping. My mind was in overdrive thinking about how we barely escaped the Authority. They weren’t someone we could kill to keep them from coming after us. We couldn’t pay them off either. To them, we were criminals. It was either stay on the run or be locked up. I knew I should keep my distance, but I couldn’t. She smelled like the most perfect day, a dream come true. Happiness. I knew I was being selfish. I just didn’t know how to stop.

Morning came too fast. We dressed in silence while Nero chased around this stupid toy Briar had bought him at the space station. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of my way. “Food?”

“Too nervous,” Kaci answered.

“You should have something.”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“There’s really nothing to worry about,” I tried to reassure her.

Our eyes met and she nodded, but something made me think she wasn’t just worried about me planting the bomb.

“Is there something else going on?” I asked.

“No. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t.” It wasn’t a lie. I was hers. I would always be hers. Whether or not I could be with her was another story.

Over the intercom, Briar’s voice told us that we were close.

“Go,” Kaci said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Zabe walked onto the bridge with a sleek silver canister in his hand. “It’s finished.”

“It’s so small,” Kaci stated.

“This gorgeous thing will destroy the ship.” Carefully, he placed it on the table. “All you have to do is get it to the core of the ship. It’s magnetic, so you can attach it to pretty much anything there. Then you get out of there. Briar can set it off remotely as soon as you jump back. We’ll then have thirty seconds to hightail it out of the way.”

“Let’s do this.” I picked up the device.

“They will be able to detect us. We won’t stay stationary, we’ll have to randomly move around, but we’ll stay in jump range,” Huxley said.

“Almost through his security,” Briar reported. “Caspar upgraded since the last time we hacked in, but I’ve got this.”

I didn’t want to say anything to Kaci. I knew if I did, she’d worry more, but I didn’t want to go without a single word just in case something did happen. Apparently she felt the same way because she closed the space between us and planted her lips on mine for a long minute. It wasn’t a passionate or gentle kiss, but it was one that left my lips wanting more.

Glancing at Huxley, I said, “Keep your hands off my girl.”

He let out a loud laugh and Kaci turned bright pink, while the other two looked confused.

I stepped into the jump circle, keeping my eyes on her, and when Briar gave the okay, I pushed the button. Suddenly I was in the core of Caspar’s ship.

With no time to waste, I wove in between the machinery and placed the device right on the central computer. Just like Zabe said, it stayed there. Easy. With a nod of satisfaction, I placed my finger on the jump device, but before I could press the button, a voice came through my earpiece, “Ever?”

“Yeah, Briar?” I whispered.

“Akacia took the other jump device. There’s a gun missing, too.”

“Fuck.” What was she thinking? That was a stupid question. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Revenge. Personal revenge. She wanted to be the one to actually kill him.

This was what she was holding back.

I should have seen it coming.

“Can you tell where she is?” I asked, desperate.

“Not for sure. My guess is she’s going for the bridge.”

“I’m going after her.”

“Be careful, Ever,” Briar said.

Seconds later, I heard gunshots.