Kay sprang out of the chair and ran to him and he caught her, held her. He buried his face in her hair, feeling her warmth all along his body.
He imagined what it would have been like, burying her. All that warmth and beauty and intelligence-lost forever. He held her even more tightly, resting his cheek on the top of her head for a moment.
Whoever was after her was smart and with resources. They had to get going. But he needed this-just for a moment.
Kay pulled away and looked up at him.
"You made it back! Thank God. What happened up top?"
"Drone," Nick said. "Big enough to carry a missile. And it had a machine gun."
Her face had gone pale, eyes huge. "Is-is it still up there?"
"Nope." Nick shook his head. "I shot it out of the sky. Felicity and Metal are keeping an eye on the sky but there's no guarantee that another drone might not be coming. So, we gotta go. Now."
Kay searched his eyes for a second, then nodded. "Will we ever come back here?"
"Maybe." If he had anything to say about Kay's life after they nailed the fuckers who'd attacked her, she'd never leave his side again. "Definitely. We need to go now, fast. Can you run?"
She smiled. "I can run. I can't outrun a Navy SEAL, but I can run for a while. I won't hold you back."
He smiled back at her as a wave of … something washed over him. Something hot that made his knees weak. This was some woman. This was his woman. She wasn't complaining, she was doing her very best.
Well, he'd do his very best by her.
"We're going to run down a long tunnel and through two huge server farms. The tunnel's going to be fairly dark and the server farm will be cold. But we'll exit pretty far away from here. When we exit, a guy will meet us. That guy I told you about."
"Matt Walker? The one who broke the jaw of the pedophile warlord?"
"That's the one. He's been taking some time off, but ASI contacted him and he'll be waiting for us. So-ready?" He held out his hand.
She put her hand in his, that beautiful face set and fierce. "After we get clear, I am going after whoever is behind this. I have an idea, but I wasn't able to finish the files. If what I suspect is true, he is going down if I have to take him out with my bare hands."
Whoa.
She must have seen the alarm on his face. She squeezed his hand. "Let's go, Nick."
She was right. They had to go. He took off at a jog. They had several miles to cover, but he didn't want to exhaust her right away. To his surprise, though, she kept up.
The living complex was huge. They ran down its entire length to a small door at the end wall. Nick keyed in the code and entered the dark corridor at a run when the door slid open.
It was designed to be traversed by automated cars and was dimly lit. The cars for this stretch weren't yet installed. At least it wasn't dirty and cobwebby. Automated sweepers cleaned it every week.
They reached the end of the corridor and entered into the server farm, which was kept at a constant forty degrees. Their heads were wreathed in the white condensation from their breath. It was like running through snow in winter. Nick ran them down the big central aisle of the server farm, heading straight for the opposite wall. He glanced to his right. Kay was breathing hard but keeping up. He wasn't running flat out, but that was okay. They were making good time.
At the other end of the huge server farm, Nick entered another code and the door slid open. Kay was about to sprint forward but he held her back.
"This next part will be easier," he said. Behind the door was an electric cart sitting at the end of a corridor so long the other end was lost to view. He opened the palm of his hand. "Madame, your carriage awaits. Hop on."
As soon as they were both settled, Nick switched the engine on by a button. No need to steer, it was programmed to shuttle back and forth down the three-mile corridor. It wasn't fast but they wouldn't have to run the distance.
The temperature was dry and very cold. Perfect for computer equipment, bad for people. Not many people used the shuttle.
Kay shivered and leaned into him. He reached into the back. "Here, honey." Two super-warm blankets. He placed one across their knees and the other across their backs then put his arm around her shoulders.
"Thanks." Kay looked around, in back of them and in front. From whatever the angle, the view was the same. A long, featureless corridor, dimly lit. "What is this?"
They had time. They were still in danger, but there was nothing they could do until the shuttle reached the end of the corridor.