If you keep fighting like this...
You’ll die.
Baal raises his gun and my heart rate spikes.
“BAAL, NO!” I scream for him but he's out of my reach.
The prep of the trigger is loud even in my ears.
And I know for Christian it'll be even louder than that.
Christian's attention snaps towards the sound, he drops to his knees sharply, breaking out of that abnormal stillness to throw his body forward, towards Baal.
So you can recognize the prep of a gun but not my voice, baby?
That hurts my feelings.
I shove Baal to one side and the shot goes wide. I'm barely able to step away when Christian’s blade comes straight down the middle, cutting cleanly through the air and missing my face by a hair.
My fist lashes into his stomach, and it hurts me inside but still I put all my power behind it.
“Come on, baby, wake up for me,”I beg softly.
But there's nothing. There isn't even a reaction to the pain because he's going purely on instinct.
‘Until Reuben comes.’
My eyes widen.
It's an almost indecipherable whisper on his lips.
‘Protect Kai.’
‘Until Reuben comes.’
My face contorts.
I never thought someone could break my heart so much.
Before I can tell him I'm here, I can sense his attack. He slashes his knife towards me and when I step out of the way, he drops to his hands to swipe my leg out from under me. I don't give him the chance, I roll out of his reach along thefloor, before getting to my feet and Baal shoots a warning shot, that draws Christian’s attention away from me.
The moment he turns to Baal, Gabriel tackles him, throwing his arms around Christian’s torso to lock him in place.
And the seconds are suddenly slow, because it is not what I expected—because it is the worst position to be in when facing a man with a knife.
“You're so fucking troublesome for a new recruit!” Gabriel yells snappily from beneath as Christian struggles in his grip, and my pulse stutters with rising dread because they're out of reach.
And it is the first time I’ve ever seen Gabriel throw his body over someone else.
No no no—
Christian raises his knife to stab Gabriel in the back—a fatal blow that will take his life—and my heart falls into my toes as I sprint forward.
I won't make it.
A gunshot echoes through the space, and an unexpected bullet clashes with Christian's knife—knocking it from his hand and making him stumble back from the impact.
“Wake up you stupid fool!” Xavier’s unexpected voice breaks the slow spell. I can see him out of the corner of my eye, gun raised and breathless from running all this way.
