Riot lunges.I scream.
The man turns and fires.
It’s not a bullet— It’s a flashbang.
White light detonates through the room.
Sound disappears.
My ears ring sharp enough to feel like knives.
Riot hits the wall—hard.
I try to run to him, but the world spins violently.My vision fractures into shards of light, my hearing gone except for a faint high-pitched whine.
The masked man — the monster — is suddenly in front of me.
Too close.
I stumble backward.My hand squeezes the gun Riot gave me, but my vision is too blurry.My legs too unsteady.
He grabs my wrist.
Hard.
Riot roars my name distant, muffled.
The man smirks.
“Ledger always did pick fragile things,” he murmurs.
A memory slams into me so hard I choke:
Riot standing in my apartment doorway.My voice tight.
‘Don’t treat me like I’m breakable.’
His palm cupping my cheek.
‘I don’t.I treat you like you matter.’
The memory steals my breath.
The man yanks me toward the door.
Riot staggers to his feet, fighting the fading concussion of the blast.
He sees the attacker dragging me.
He snaps.
His voice is a sound I’ve never heard from another human being.
“DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!”
He charges, unhinged, wild, lethal, even while half-blinded.The masked man shoves me aside, spinning to meet Riot, fist connecting with Riot’s jaw with a brutal crack.
Riot stumbles then launches himself forward again.
