Fear crashes into me as he cocks his gun and bolts upright.
Eyes crazed with fury, he fires off round after round out the window.
Something explodes outside. Safety glass powders my hair. I cover my ears, a high ringing sound needles my skull.
Burned rubber fills my nose. The car swerves again.
Elias swaps mags without looking, slams it home, and fires again.
I squeeze my eyes shut, afraid to look. This is what I signed up for. But it’s one thing to know and another thing to go through it.
“Go, go, go!” He drops, covering me with his body again.
I clutch him tightly, unable to speak.
Ren maneuvers the car, tires screeching as we speed off.
My heart thunders, the gunshots still ringing in my skull. The car jolts, then silence, except for our ragged breathing.
“You’re safe.” He gathers me up, his hand brushing down my back. “Shhh, Lana. I’m here. You’re safe. Nothing will ever happen to you.”
The rest of the ride home was filled with tension. Elias held me against his lap while he spoke on the phone—calls to the Berishas and to others in The Syndicate.
I fell into an uneasy sleep.
When I woke up, he was carrying me up the stairs toward the bathroom.
And now, he sets me down and turns on the shower.
“Elias? What are you—”
“Shhh,” he murmurs. “Let me take care of you. You’re safe. Always safe.”
He smooths a hand down my back when steam fogs up the room.
Only then do I realize I’m trembling.
Quietly, he undresses us and carries me into the shower, where he washes my hair with my shampoo and conditioner. Then he applies bodywash and massages my tense muscles while the hot water rinses away the bubbles.
I slowly relax. In this small space, with the sweet roses of my products perfuming the air, I feel like I’m in another world. Away from danger. Away from gunshots and deaths.
I’m with the only man I’ve ever loved.
Closing my eyes, I release a heavy exhale.
It’s then I realize Elias has stopped moving.
Heavy breathing reaches my ears as he stills behind me, the weight of his head on my back, like he’s leaning on me.
“Elias?”
I turn around.
He’s dipped down, arms bracketing me against the shower wall, water sluicing over his dark hair and powerful muscles.
I tip his face up.
Reddened eyes meet mine.
