Free Escape (Last Chance Series, Book 3.5) by Dee Davis Page A

something—anything— to  break the seven story fall.  She could feel Cherov holding onto her thighs, and moving on instinct she tried to twist free, her hands closing around the metal framework that in summertime held a window box.
    For a moment, they hung there swaying, Cherov trying to claw his way up her body.   Her muscles screamed with pain from the effort to hold their combined weight, but this wasn’t the time to let pain stop her.  Tightening her muscles, she swung her body outward, the movement surprising Cherov, his grip slipping.
    Again she swung her body, and was rewarded with the sensation of air against her ankle as Cherov lost his hold.  Her left leg, now taking the full brunt of his weight felt like it was going to come free of the socket.  The pain was searing.  But this was life or death, and she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
    Again she swung out, this time kicking his head with her free foot.  For a moment she thought he’d found a hold again, his fingers back on her ankle, but then just as suddenly he was gone. 
    For a moment she hung suspended from the window box framing, her heart pounding.  Relief making her light headed. 
    Cherov was gone.
    And then reality hit hard.  The sound of the gunshot filling her head.  Seth could be hurt inside.  He could be dead.  And she was stuck out here, her arms already shaking with the effort to hold on.
    Using her feet, she tried to find purchase.  Some way to help her climb back in through the shattered window.  But there were no ledges or pock marks to give her a foothold.  And there was no way she was strong enough to pull herself up using only her arms.
    It was just a matter of time.
    But then if Seth was gone…  She felt the strength draining from her arms, her fingers going numb.
    “Tracy, baby, can you hear me?” 
    Seth.
    Her heart started racing again.  “I’m here.”   She dared a look up, the effort rewarded by the sight of Seth’s face.  “But I can’t hold on much longer.”
    “It’s okay.  I’m here.  I want you to let go of the metal and grab my wrist,” he said, extending a hand through the window. 
    She shook her head.  “I’ll pull you down with me.”
    “No fucking way,” he replied.  “You might be strong.  But you’re not going to pull me down.  Besides, we have some things to settle between us.  And I’d just as soon not deal with them hanging out a window.  So grab my hand.”  He stretched so that his arm was closer now.  “Don’t think about it.  Just do it.”
    For one second she wasn’t sure she had the courage, but then she saw the love reflected in his eyes, and knew that for this man—she could do anything.  Gripping as tightly as she could with her left hand, she reached for him with her right, her fingers closing around his wrist. 
    “Okay, baby, I’ve got you.” His other hand closed around her fingers.  “On my count I want you to let go.  No hesitation.  All right?”
    She nodded, her left arm starting to go numb, as well as her fingers.
    “One,” Seth called, “two…THREE.”
    Tracy let go and Seth jerked her upward, the two of them tumbling back into  her apartment.  Broken glass dug into her hip and back, but she didn’t give a damn.  All that mattered was that she was here.  Alive.  With Seth.
    He pulled her into his arms, cradling her against him, his breath hot against her hair.  “Oh my God, Tracy, I thought I’d lost you.  What the hell were you thinking?”
    “Cherov was going to kill you,” she said, the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard.  “I couldn’t let that happen.  If I lost you, I don’t know…” she trailed off, emotion threatening to swamp her.
    Seth lifted her chin with a gentle finger.  “I’m right here, Tracy.  And I’m not going anywhere.  I promise.  Whatever kind of relationship you want— that’s what we’ll have.  I just know I can’t