Page 99 of Property of Crypt Keeper

Relief hit so hard my knees almost gave out. Instead, I crossed the room in three strides and punched him square in the shoulder.

He hissed. “What the hell?”

“You deserved that.” Then I grabbed his face and kissed him. Hard. Desperately. Furiously. When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against his.

“I thought…” I began, but the words wouldn’t come. My chest ached, and my throat burned in an unfamiliar way.

He smiled weakly. “I know. Now, do you mind giving me a hand?”

“You—” I swallowed everything else. There would be time later. If we survived. I reached for the restraints but quickly pulled my fingers back when I was hit with a jolt of energy.

Behind us, Boomslang appeared with Mako.

“Need help?”

“Yes,” I reluctantly admitted. The silver restraints were wired and connected to layered wards.

Hack sprinted into the room. He stopped short when he looked at the straps that held Gideon in place. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

He turned to a terminal near the table, and his fingers flew like they always did. “These aren’t simply restraints,” he explained.

“What are they?” I asked, confused as I studied the metal bands.

Hack looked physically ill. “They’re harvesting.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Mako demanded as he propped his fists on his hips.

“They’ve tied every restraint into the monitoring system,” Hack elaborated as he swallowed. “They’ve been recording his physiological responses to every procedure.”

Boomslang’s jaw flexed. “Can you shut it down?”

“I can destroy it,” Hack returned with finality and determination.

“Do it.”

Hack smiled grimly. The screens around the room immediately filled with cascading error messages. Files began deleting. Databases corrupting. Years of research disappearing forever.

Hard drives overloaded. Monitors exploded. Storage arrays ignited. Hack grinned. “Oops.”

Alarms erupted throughout the complex. This time, they weren’t polite. Red emergency lights flooded the halls. The warnings were loud and blaring.

FACILITY FAILURE

BIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT LOST

STRUCTURAL INSTABILITY DETECTED

Smoke curled across the ceiling. I reached over and ripped open the cuff on Gideon’s left wrist as the others worked on the rest. Mako snapped Gideon’s last restraint.

Boomslang hauled him upright before he could fall. He barely remained conscious.

“Can you walk?” the president asked him. Boomslang released him but stayed nearby with a steadying hand.

Gideon looked toward me. “Of course I can. I’m about to impress my mate.”

He immediately stumbled.

I caught him, and his face smashed into my breasts.