A gasp gets stuck in my throat. No. It can’t end like this. Not when I just started exploring this thing between Caleb and me. Not when I can finally admit to myself that I’m in love with him.
I need to get away from this asshole. I need to help Matty, then warn Caleb. And I need to do itnow.
I kick backward with everything I have, and my heel connects with his shin. He hisses, grip loosening just enough for me to twist. Hard.
My elbow slams into his jaw, pain exploding up my arm, but he stumbles.
That’s all I need.
I grab the railing, plant my feet, and shove.
He wasn’t expecting resistance. He expected me to be weak, frozen with fear. A spoiled princess.
His weight shifts wrong, and his foot catches on the threshold. His eyes widen—not with fear, but surprise.
“No—”
I push again. This time, with everything I have.
He goes over the railing, hands scrabbling for purchase that isn’t there. For a heartbeat, our eyes lock… then he’s gone.
The sound of his body hitting the concrete below is sickening, and my stomach twists. I gag, my hands on my thighs as I pant. I collapse to my knees, lungs burning, hands shaking so hard I can barely hold myself upright.
“Basia!”
Caleb’s voice cuts through the chaos like a lifeline.
I look up just as he bursts through the front door, gun raised, eyes wild.
He takes in the scene in seconds—Matty on the floor, blood everywhere, the open balcony door, me shaking on the tiles.
Then he’s with me, his hands on my face. Solid. Real.
“Are you hurt?” he demands, scanning me for injuries that aren’t there.
“I—I pushed him,” I choke out. “He—he tried to?—”
Caleb pulls me into his chest, crushing me against him.
“You did exactly right,” he murmurs fiercely. “You’re safe. You’re alive.”
Sirens wail in the distance. Below us, people are screaming.
I cling to Caleb, shaking, the reality of it crashing over me in waves.
I didn’t freeze.
I didn’t break.
I survived.
And when I finally look up at Caleb, really look at him, I see something new in his eyes.
Not just protectiveness.
Respect.
“M—my mom?” I stutter, praying he’s not about to send my world tumbling down just like my stalker tumbled to the ground below. “I—I think he said there’s a bomb!”
