My woman.
She’s crumpled on the ground, her body still. I see the red even from here, and I fucking know what it is.
I don’t bother turning the engine off.
“Octavia!”
My voice rips out of me, raw and feral, echoing through the trees.
I’m on my knees beside her in seconds, my hands are shaking as I cradle her face gently.
“No,” I breathe. “No, no, no, no, no.”
Fear grips my chest—real fear, the kind I’ve never known, tearing me open from the inside.
My fingers move to her wrist, my body tightening with dread.
I can’t breathe, but I force air into my lungs anyway. My heart is hammering fast and wrong, each beat painful.
Seeing her like this hurts.
Trying to breathe hurts.
Existing in this moment fucking kills.
My fingertips find her pulse. It’s weak, so weak it scares the hell out of me, but it’s there.
The relief hits me hard and air rushes back into my lungs as if I’ve been held underwater.
She flinches under my touch, even unconscious, and it damn near breaks me.
Blood runs from her hairline and her nose, streaking her face, mixing with dirt and grit. Small stones cling to her clothes, bruises already starting to form beneath the grime.
Her eyes stay closed.
She doesn’t move.
I’ve never wanted to burn the world down more.
I look up at Adriano, my vision red. “Call a helicopter. Now.”
He looks at Octavia, his jaw tight.
“If it’s not here in two minutes,” I continue coldly, “someone else dies today. Make sure they understand that.”
My hands stay on her wrist, feeling for her pulse. I can’t take my eyes off her.
“Fuck!” I roar as a tear drops, falling from my cheek and landing on hers, mixing into the blood there.
“I need you,” I grind out. “Fuck, I need you more than anything on this earth. If you aren’t here, neither am I. What’s the fucking point, gorgeous, if I live for you?”
Chapter 61
Milo
Everything feels rotted.
The air.
