Adam by Eve Langlais Page A

followed the same layout as the doc’s. Small entranceway opening onto the living room area and open kitchen. He ignored the décor and zeroed in on the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony.
    In case anyone was listening, he sent one brief mental shout, which included his coordinates.
    If anyone’s listening, I’m coming out hot. Hot and bloody. The second he could kind of fix. A row of jackets and sweaters, even some ball caps, hung on hooks by the door. He snagged the largest one, which was thankfully black. It wouldn’t do anything to clean the blood from his back, but it would at least hide the damage from any cursory looks.
    Given it wasn’t exactly balmy outside, he tossed a smaller navy blue coat at the doc, who snagged it one-handed while the other hand shoved her glasses back up on her nose. She stared at him then the jacket she held.
    “Put it on.”
    To his surprise, she obeyed his request without question, but that didn’t stop her from asking and repeating others. “Where are we going? What’s happening? Is this related to the threat on CyberGlys? Shouldn’t we call for help?”
    Having stepped over to the sliding glass doors, which he opened and dared a peek outside, he answered her over his shoulder. “Listen, Doc, I don’t have time to play a thousand questions. You’re just going to have to trust me to get us out of here alive. Can you do that?” He turned to face her.
    For a moment she stared at him, vulnerable in the oversized coat, her hair straggling out from its ponytail, her cheeks smudged with soot and even spots of blood, his he’d wager since he didn’t spot any fresh wounds on her.
    It didn’t take much deduction to read the fear in her gaze or the will it took to keep her trembling from turning into tears and hysteria.
    She kept her spine straight and her tears in check. His doc was made of stern stuff. She might eschew adventure, but when it came into her life—and shit blowing apart—she took it in stride with a bravery he admired.
    She nodded. Then gasped as he swung her into his arms. “Hold on tight,” he advised. She wound her arms around his neck. “Oh, and don’t look down.”
    As she opened her mouth to say, “Why?” he pressed a hard kiss on her lips. Maybe their last.
    It all depended on timing.
    And luck. Something cyborgs didn’t truly believe in, but his human side was counting on it.
    With one last mentally shouted, Here we come, Adam ran at the sliding glass doors.

Chapter Nine
    Trust me, he says. Trust him to kill us both.
    The screen door popped as Adam hit it and took them outside at a sprint. As Adam ran at the ledge rimming the outdoor balcony, she wanted to scream at him, but terror stole her voice. With a leap, he balanced on the parapet. Given their distance from the ground, she couldn’t help but shut her eyes tight.
    This isn’t happening. Maybe she dreamed. Maybe this was all a nightmare, a production of her overworked mind.
    “Don’t let go,” he advised. As if she would. She clung tight to his neck, especially when one of his arms moved away from her upper body, leaving only a single one to support her legs. Forget further warning or time to prepare, or protest. He jumped, and they were airborne.
    Oh my god —who probably wasn’t listening, given she’d written a thesis disproving his existence— we’re going to die.
    Her head snapped as their descent was abruptly halted. Given the screams and sirens and the air whistling by her head, they weren’t dead. Yet.
    She opened one eye to peek.
    It appeared they were floating or flying or something because they certainly weren’t standing on solid ground—which she intended to kiss if she made it out of this insanity alive. The odds truly weren’t in favor of survival, not given they hung suspended at least two stories or more in the air.
    Using only one hand, Adam held on to a braided cable, displaying a strength she hoped wouldn’t fail them, especially since it seemed his