Avenged (The Altered Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

exhaled, closed his eyes, and offered a silent prayer of thanks to the guy upstairs.
    That a girl.
    In the moonlight, he watched her slight form descend toward him, and he caught her, holding her for a moment, his hands curling instinctively. He allowed himself another breath in, his relief overwhelming.
    “You did it. Way to go.” He couldn’t help the pride.
    “You told me it was the only way down.” Still defensive and prickly.
    Why couldn’t she take praise? “Yes, but you could have decided not to do it.”
    “I wasn’t staying there.” She pushed out of his arms. The angle of the cable forced her to stand on her tiptoes as she attempted to get away from him. He tried not to let that bother him, but it did. He dropped his arms.
    She’d just left a horrible situation. She needed patience.
    “Let me help you.” He pulled his knife out of his pocket and cut the cable. She dropped to the ground as the line returned up the hill. When he’d requested equipment, he’d insisted on the retracting cable wire. That way, they wouldn’t be able to track them as easily.
    “Thanks.” She didn’t sound appreciative, though.
    He sighed. It sure would be easier if she didn’t have a chip on her shoulder.
    “I don’t have a chip on my shoulder.”
    Christ. “Right. Sorry.”
    Focus. There was no time for this conversation. Time to go up another tree.
    She glanced up. “We’re going to climb the tree in the dark?”
    “So much doubt.” He wished she could give him some credit, at least for a minute. “I’ve already attached handholds to this tree and three others. We’re going to do this same maneuver, three more times, until we get down the hill. We’ll stay at a camp in the valley there until we can be extracted.”
    “We’re going to zip-line three more times, after we climb three different, very tall trees?”
    “Yes.” He glanced down at her stark face in the moonlight. He reached for her, gripping her shoulders. He squeezed softly, and his eyes held hers. “Listen. You can do this. You’re strong, and I’m going to help. But you have to be in this with me. Are you here with me? Because I can’t get you out by myself.”
    Her eyes flickered back and forth between his, as if she was searching for something. This was probably the most terrifying thing about Kitty. She could see into a person’s soul. For real.
    He forced himself to remain reassuring, to put his confidence in the forefront of his mind.
    It must have worked, because she nodded. “I’m here, right?”
    He squeezed again, exhaling. “Yes, you are.”
    In the distance, he could hear the sound of motors. Damn it. Were they already out looking for them? He did his best to cover up the equipment he’d used to anchor the zip-line cable. Pushing it aside for the moment, he turned to the tree. “You first, lady.”
    He pointed out the handholds, and she nodded, scurrying up with more agility than he’d expected.
    “I grew up in the mountains, Nick.” Her snarky whisper rent the air. “I’ve climbed trees.”
    He chuckled to himself. That’s what he got for assuming.
    He followed her, removing each of the handholds as he went. Kitty sat perched in the tree next to a zip-line mechanism exactly like the one he’d used at the complex. He dropped the handholds in a bag he’d anchored to the tree and hooked her on. “You’re first this time.”
    A flash of fear washed over her face, but she quelled it immediately. She nodded and set her jaw. Without another word, she pushed off the tree, gliding down the mountain in front of him.
    God, her courage…
    Dampening that train of thought, he latched on and followed after her. The faster they put distance between themselves and Goldstone, the better.
    He stopped his momentum before he ran into Kitty at the next stop point.
    They made quick work of unlatching, cutting the cable, and burying the anchor. Kitty didn’t even comment before scurrying up the side of the tree like Spiderman. He