Page 97 of Armed ’N’ Ready

She clawed at her own flesh but couldn’t squeeze her hand from the cuff. Then an idea struck her with godawful clarity. There was only one way to get loose.

Taking a deep breath, she bit her lower lip. Using her free hand, she clamped down as hard as she could on her thumb joint closest to the handcuff. She screamed as bone snapped and tendons twisted. Through the haze of pain, she glimpsed Meera standing over Nick, ready to kick him full-force in the head.

Then she slipped her hand from the cuff.

In between the throbbing in her broken hand, fury—the likes of which she’d never experienced—fueled her with enough adrenaline to power a locomotive.

“Get off him, you bitch!” she screamed, hurling herself at Meera then slamming both her hands on the woman’s chest. Pain radiated through her hand, and still she kept pounding on Meera.

The woman swayed but remained standing, windmilling her arms for balance. Only Saxon’s grip on her calf kept her upright.

Forward momentum nearly had Andi following Meera. Her feet slipped out from under her, and she fell to the deck so hard it knocked the breath from her lungs. Gasping for air, she shot out her good hand and grabbed on to a lower rail.

“Aus!” Nick shouted raggedly.

Saxon released his jaws from Meera’s leg just as the cable slipped again and the cage dipped a few more degrees. Meera staggered backward, flailing her arms.

An even stronger gust caught the platform, slamming it against the wall. Meera’s lower back hit the end of the cage railing. The last thing Andi saw was the fear and panic in the other woman’s eyes. Then she was gone—over the edge with a throaty scream.

Nick grabbed one of the lower rails. The cable slipped again, and the end of the platform dipped lower. Saxon’s rear end slipped out from under him. He clawed frantically with his front paws as the end of the cage dipped lower. Another second and he’d slip off the edge.

“Nick, he’s falling!” Andi screamed.

“Saxon!” Releasing the baton, he shot out his arm, grabbing one of the dog’s front legs.

Stretching as far as she could, she reached out and closed her broken hand around Saxon’s other leg, crying out as more pain radiated through her hand then up her entire arm. For a split second her vision flooded with white stars, but she held fast and sucked in quick, deep breaths until the stars faded.

The dog whimpered, his hind legs scrabbling uselessly as he tried to get them beneath him.

“Nick!” Andi shouted. Her heart pounded crazily. Nick was dying, and Saxon was in jeopardy of falling over the side like Meera had, and there wasn’t a thing she could do. “Help! Help us!” she screamed, looking up to the ledge, but no one was there.

Another second and Nick would black out—she could see it in his flickering eyelids. Andi didn’t know if she had the strength to hold Saxon alone, and she certainly wouldn’t be capable of holding on to Nick if he let go of the rail.

If Nick passed out, then he and Saxon would likely both tumble over the edge and fall six stories down. To their deaths.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe it was going to end this way. “Nick, don’t let go. Don’t let go.” Of the railing or Saxon.

The dog managed to get his haunches beneath him, but the angle of the platform was still too steep for him to stand. She didn’t know how, but even in his semiconscious state, Nick didn’t let go of Saxon or the railing.

“Get ’em up!” a voice shouted from above. Eric.

“Oh, thank God.” Andi no longer felt any pain. All she could think about was Nick.

He lay on his side, his large body shivering.

“Faster!” she cried.

Above her, Eric, Matt, and Kade looked over the ledge. Special Agent Cox and the two window washers stood at the roof’s control box.

“Go faster. He’s—he’s dying.” Her last words came out on a croak as she realized it was true.

“Goddammit, hurry!” another voice boomed. Matt.

Slowly, the platform rose until it was level with the top of the parapet.

“Swing it over,” Eric shouted. “Easy does it.”

When Andi’s head was finally level with the roof’s edge, she could not only see Nick’s friends had arrived, but a large crowd of building security had gathered to assist. Matt’s, Eric’s, and Kade’s dogs stood off to the side.