I ran as fast as I could. I didn’t know this Javier dude. He might be as nice as Tyler said, but he didn’t know me. He had no reason to hustle. Especially if he was betting on me.

The visor was starting to fog, but if I just kept moving, I’d get there.

“Baby girl?”

“Yeah?”

“Javier’s on the line with us now,” Tyler said.

“Hola, chica,” Javier said.

“No me manas. How far am I from the entrance?” I couldn’t see shit now, but I wasn’t stopping.

“Cincuenta pies. Mas o menos.” I stumbled, and Javier hissed. “No paras, chica.”

I didn’t need Javier to tell me not to stop. There was literally no chance of that. Especially if I was that close.

115.

117.

“I’m watching you on the monitors,” Tyler’s voice came through. “Two more steps and you’re at the cage.”

I stumbled and my knees hit the metal, rattling the cage of the elevator. “Bring me up! Bring me up! Bring me—” The elevator jolted up, and I started counting.

The heat built in my suit, causing the fog to thicken. It was like being in a sauna, and I hated every millisecond of it.

I collapsed, closing my eyes as I breathed fire.

Five more seconds until I was to the cooling chamber.

Four.

Three.

Two.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I crawled inside the cooling chamber. Then a second later strong arms grabbed me, pulling me into the cargo bay. The alarm was blasting as the bots spewed the coolant. I heard some yelling, and then everything started to quiet down.

I hit the button on my arm, and the helmet retracted.

“Esta bien, chica?”

I blinked my eyes open. Javier was leaning over me with his suit half-on and his helmet open. His dark-skinned face was pockmarked, but his eyes were kind.

I took a breath. That had been closer than I wanted, but I was okay. My skin felt hot, but I didn’t think I had any burns. At least nothing more than a mild sunburn. No need for nanos. If I’d been even ten more meters away, I wouldn’t have—

My heart stuttered in my chest, and I swallowed hard.

“Chica?”

“Overheated.” My voice was raspy again, but I’d been lucky. So freaking lucky. “I need out of this suit and probably an IV. Help me up?”

He nodded, quickly rising to his feet. He reached a hand down, and I took it. “You just made me a bundle. The wager was high today, but I had you clocking out before your first two-hour block was done.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about him betting that I’d be toast so quickly, but he’d just helped me. That meant we were even. “Cool.”