The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(103)

Unable to shoot, Torran attempted to get close enough to strike Franklin. The taller, stronger woman saw him coming and thwarted him by using Lindsey to block him again. Dragging Lindsey about, Franklin used her former friend as a shield. Ignoring the pain in his arm, Torran stalked after them with the weapon raised, waiting for a chance to shoot.

Lindsey planted her feet on the floor and drove Franklin backward. Propelling them both across the hub and into the entrance, Lindsey scrabbled at the hand clutching the dagger. Franklin seized Lindsey’s long braided hair with her other hand and wrenched her head to one side.

Torran finally had a shot, and fired. The bullet ripped through Franklin’s shoulder, stunning her. A second later, Lindsey hit the controls and the door Franklin was sagging against snapped open. Her own weight carried her out of the entrance, but the fingers wrapped around Lindsey’s hair dragged the blond woman after her. Torran shouted in terror.

Lindsey’s fingers hit the controls, and the door banged shut as rapidly as it had opened. With a painful sounding thud, Lindsey smacked into it. Caught by her braid, Lindsey slumped against the doorjamb.

“Ouch,” she said in a very deadpan voice.

Torran almost laughed, but the seriousness of the situation stole the inclination away. Setting the weapon aside, he hurried over to help her. The golden braid was partially severed by the door and unfurling down along her neck.

“Your hair is still caught,” he said.

“Well, don’t open the door. Just find something to cut it off with.” Lindsey sighed and wiped a tear away. “Fuck.”

Torran searched the kitchen area first and found a pair of scissors in a utility drawer. Rushing back, he saw the agony in Lindsey’s eyes.

“I’m sorry about Franklin,” he said, then carefully snipped through her braid.

“Fuck her. Fuck all of them. I won’t lead them to Maria.”

The thick blond braid unraveled in a ragged wave across her shoulders, leaving the rest in the door. As she straightened, Lindsey raised her hands to her hair. Huge tears formed in her eyes, but she obviously tried to fight them. Feeling awkward, Torran handed her the scissors.

“I swore I would never cut it,” she said with a break in her voice. “I promised my father when he died I wouldn’t cut it. I know it was dumb, but...”

“He’d understand, Lindsey.” Torran rested his hand on her slumped shoulder and squeezed.

“Is she dead?” Lindsey looked toward the console and the security feed. She obviously wanted to change the subject.

Torran reluctantly left her side to check the external security cameras. The outside entrance was empty. Only the tip of Lindsey’s braid was sticking out of the door.

“She fell. That’s a long fall. If she didn’t die on impact...”

“She’s a Scrag.”

“Yeah.”

Nodding with satisfaction, Lindsey opened the door to the sanitation unit and stepped inside. She didn’t shut the door, so Torran had the heart-rending view of her cutting her hair until it was even. It now fell to her chin, but the shorter cut didn’t detract from her beauty. Sweeping her shortened locks behind her ears, Lindsey stood, staring at her reflection.

Torran leaned in the doorway and tilted his head to gaze at the mirror. “It looks lovely.”

With a bitter laugh, Lindsey finally looked at him. “You’re a flatterer.”

“That’s why you like me,” he answered with a faint smile.

Returning her gaze to the new hairdo, Lindsey shrugged. “My father probably would’ve liked it.”

“Probably.” Torran tugged at his own spikes along the front of his hairline. “So, here is my hair secret. My mum loves my cowlick. Loves it. My whole life she always ruffles it whenever she sees me. She hated it when I had my hair all buzzed down when I was in the Constabulary. So when I enlisted with the SWD, I let it return to its unruly ways. So that’s why I have horrible non-regulation hair.”

The smile on her lips made the heaviness inside his heart more bearable.

“The things we do for the ones we love, huh, Torran?”

“I would do anything for you,” Torran said, meaning every word.

“Including leaping out of a tiltrotor into a Scrag infested river.”

“And I would do it again.”

Lindsey flung her arms around his neck and dragged him down to her eye level so she could stare into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said, her lips soft against his.

Torran clutched her slim body close to his, relishing the strength of her grip. “Like I said... I’ll always come for you.”

“ So Gaia Cult, huh?”

“You heard?”

“I sneaked out to spy.”

“I noticed. Thankfully. She might’ve gotten me otherwise.”

“I’ll always come to your rescue.”

Torran tenderly slid his fingers along her cheek. “I know.”

“So… the Gaia Cult is still around.”

Torran exhaled slowly. “Yeah. And Solomon is part of it, too. And probably someone else on the tiltrotor that didn’t survive. And at least one mechanic at the SWD who helped sabotage the ship.”

“What are we going to do?” Lindsey asked. “We’re stuck out here. We can’t get home. What do we do?”