Page 127 of Snow

Then she heard an engine.

Nova lifted her head and turned toward the sound, unsure at first whether exhaustion was making her imagine it. A second engine joined the first, and moments later two boats came into view, cutting quickly across the water toward them.

She squinted through the spray.

Someone stood near the bow of the first boat, waving.

It was Bear, and behind him were Joker and Nails.

Nova had never been so happy to see any of them in her life.

“Over here!”

She raised an arm, although judging by how quickly the boats changed direction, they had already spotted them.

The first boat pulled alongside, and Bear immediately leaned over the side while Joker and Nails moved into position beside him.

“Take Gabe first!” Nova yelled. “He’s unconscious!”

“We’ve got him.”

Joker reached down for Snow while Bear grabbed the back of his life jacket. Between the three of them, they hauled him over the side and lowered him onto the deck. Nova tried to help until Bear looked back at her.

“Let go, Nova. We’ve got him.”

She released the rope.

For the first time since she had watched Brett hit him, Snow wasn’t her responsibility alone anymore. The realization nearly broke her.

Hands reached down for her next, and Nova barely had enough strength left to help as they pulled her aboard. She landed awkwardly against Bear, who caught her before she could fall and helped her onto the deck.

Her attention immediately went to Snow.

Nails was already beside him.

“Is he—”

“He’s breathing,” Nails said. “Pulse is strong.”

Nova closed her eyes briefly as relief washed through her.

Bear crouched beside her. “Nova, what happened over there?”

She looked at him, trying to figure out how to explain the last twenty minutes when she wasn’t entirely sure she had processed them herself.

“Brett found us. He locked us inside the room with the prototype and set the platform on fire. We got out, but when we were trying to reach the stairs, he came out of nowhere and hit Gabe with a pipe.”

Bear’s expression hardened. “Where’s Brett?”

Nova hesitated, and suddenly she could see him charging toward her again. She could feel the gun in her hands and hear those shots echoing through the steel structure.

“He’s dead.”

Bear studied her. “What happened?”

“I killed him.” The words felt strange coming out of her mouth. “He came after me after he hit Gabe. We fought, and I knocked him down the stairs, but he got back up and charged me. I had Gabe’s gun and...” She swallowed as her voice started to shake. “I shot him.”

Bear’s expression softened. “Okay. We’ll deal with all of that later.”