Trapped with the Cyborg by Cara Bristol

Author:Cara Bristol [Bristol, Cara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Cara Bristol
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Amanda leaped and tucked her arms and legs tight. Pain ricocheted when she hit the ground, bounced over compacted sand and gravel. Gasping, she came to rest on her back, staring at a bloody sky. Diagnostic nanocytes fed data to her cyberbrain. Cuts, bruises. The skin of her knees was scraped and bloodied, but, thanks to Cybermed, her titanium bones had withstood the jump. No serious injury.

She rolled to a sitting position and swiveled her head. “Sonny? Sonny!” She got to her feet and scanned the passage. There! A hundred meters along the avenue.

Unmoving.

Please be all right. Please. Her heart contracted. Not him. Please, not him. His death would be more than she could bear. Taking the PeeVee had been a horrible idea. She’d screwed up again. It wasn’t enough she’d accidentally assassinated Kilead, now she may have killed Sonny, too.

Don’t let him be dead. No. No. She sprinted to his side.

He groaned. Alive. She exhaled in relief. “Are you all right?” she asked.

Then she saw the break. Below his knee, the jagged white edge of his tibia protruded through the torn fabric of his pants. A compound fracture.

Nanos could heal a simple break, but not one in which the bone had snapped in two. Only a doctor or a robotic med tech could guide the two edges together. Seeking medical help would deliver them right back into harm’s way.

“It was a longer way down than I thought,” he joked, but squinted with pain. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Blood soaked the leg of his torn uniform. The limb had to be immobilized but how? She eyed the clean-swept street, devoid of anything she could use as a splint. Even if she could stabilize him—he couldn’t travel! After what had happened, hijacking another PeeVee was out of the question, hoofing it, impossible.

Sonny met her gaze. “It’s a bad break.”

“It’s not good,” she agreed. “How are you otherwise?”

He twisted his mouth. “Tip-top shape.”

“We have to get you out of here.”

“You need to go on without me.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He lifted his head to assess his leg. “This won’t heal on its own. If you stay with me, we’ll both be arrested.”

“I won’t leave you behind. If we both can’t move forward, then we’ll both go back.” Interplanetary treaty required injured prisoners of war to receive medical treatment. Except the terrorists hadn’t signed any treaties. They’d use his injury to torture him.

“And maybe the moon is made of green cheese. And maybe their god exists. You have to leave me here and complete the mission. Get off the planet and transmit the intel.”

“I’m not leaving you!”

His eyes darkened with a pain that was more than physical. “I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you.”

“And I can’t stand to leave you here.”

“I’m a liability.”

“You’re not a liability, you’re my partner, you stupid cyborg!” Don’t cry. Don’t cry. She sniffed tears, hoping he hadn’t noticed. She’d as good as killed them both. “I won’t leave you.”

“You’re a stubborn woman.” Pain bracketed his mouth in deep grooves, but he managed to glare at her.

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