A growl rippled past my clenched teeth as I lunged for him, burying my blade deep inside his abdomen. He sputtered blood between choked laughs, and I twisted the steel as it tore up the tender muscle.
Dmitry leaned forward, hissing near my ear. “She was so tight for me.” He howled as I plunged it again over the same gaping hole.
“Die.”
Another strangled laugh spluttered from his bloodied lips. His breaths were fast and shallow as he clung to my shirt. “You… first.”
Pain ripped through my side as warm liquid spilled down my legs. The leather hilt of a knife protruded from just below my ribcage. He pummeled me with a right hook to the stomach, and I stumbled back, falling on my ass. Taking advantage of my shocked state, he lunged forward and pushed the blade deeper.
“Fuck…”
“Doesn’t feel so good, does it?” He pushed harder, and I arched my neck, groaning in pain. “We’ll continue this little spat in hell, Cain.”
Dmitry yanked the knife out of my body and held it over his head. I growled and clenched my teeth, bracing myself for more pain.
But it never came. A single shot tore through the air and into the middle of his forehead. He slumped over me, and I cursed as the dead weight put an insufferable amount of pressure on my wound.
My eyelids were suddenly heavy.
“Derek!”
That voice.
Angel.
I knew I couldn’t be dead. Not if she was here with me. She knelt beside me, pushed him off, and held my face. I noticed she was wearing Kai’s shirt.
“Derek. Oh my God. There’s so much blood. You’re covered in it.”
I chuckled between groans. “It’s not mine. I did a lot of bad things, baby. But I needed to find you… And look, you found me.”
“Shut up,” she cried, putting pressure on my wound, forcing a loud grunt, and I punched the floor. “Save your energy, Derek. It’s pouring out of you, and I don’t know how to stop it.” She screamed for help, then set her beautiful eyes back on me again. A smile crept across my mouth as I looked at her and touched her cheek.
“So fucking beautiful, angel.” She leaned into my palm, her tears trickling down my skin. “It’s okay; you’re safe now. Don’t cry. Can’t fucking stand to see you cry.”
She shook her head and sobbed, gripping my wrist. “I’m not crying for myself, Derek. I can’t lose you, and I feel like you’re leaving me. Please, hold on.”
“You’re crying for me?”
Eva shushed me, but I felt my breath grow heavier, the weight of my body settling near my back as if I was falling through the floorboards. I couldn’t die without telling her how much I fucking loved her.
“Hey, I’m not going anywhere… but if I do, you should know I love you. I love you so goddamn much. I didn’t even know I could feel this way about anyone. You have to know that. All of it was real.”
She bowed her head and cried, holding on to me fiercely. “Derek, please… stop.”
“No, I have to get this out.” I sucked in an agonizing breath, but before I could say another word, a multitude of voices filled the room.
And I lost her.
“Eva,” I called, but she never answered.
My eyelids were too damn heavy, and I couldn’t focus on any one person or object as they lifted and moved me from one space to the next, everything moving past in a blur.
“Keep pressure on it.”
Kai.
I couldn’t see him, but I knew his hand was gripping mine. “Fuck, brother, you messed up your good shirt, huh?”
