Nick rocked back suddenly, his breath going out in a sharp huff. But he didn’t make any other sound. Raluca bit her tongue, forcing back her cry. If he’d been wounded, he surely wouldn’t want to give it away.
“Are you hit?” she murmured, barely breathing the words, knowing his wolf hearing would catch the softest sounds.
“Yeah.” He spoke so quietly that she strained to hear and understand. “Not bad, I think. But we can’t stay here. We’ve got no cover. You’re strong. Get me behind that dumpster. Move fast, on my go. I’ll be shooting to cover us, so make sure my arm’s free.”
Raluca followed the jerk of Nick’s head. The dumpster wasn’t far, but with his injuries, she didn’t like the idea of moving him at all. Especially when she wouldn’t have time to be gentle. She tried to figure out the best way to lift him. She’d never carried anyone before.
“How —” she began.
“Go!” Nick began firing again.
Raluca had no time to think. She grabbed him under the arms and bolted for the dumpster, trying not to let his feet touch the ground. The gunfire was loud as explosions going off in her ears. As her heels clattered across the concrete, her heart pounded with fear that she’d be hit, that Nick would be hit, that the fall had broken his back and she was killing him by moving him so roughly —
And then she was behind the metal shield of the dumpster. She skidded to a stop, banging her shoulder against a brick wall. Nick flinched at the jarring impact. Raluca set him down as gently as she could, sitting up with his back against the wall, then peered at him anxiously.
“Where are you hit?” she whispered.
“My side.”
Raluca lifted his jacket. The bullet had dug a furrow along his ribs, bloody but shallow. The relief in his expression when he saw it was echoed in her own heart.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Forget it. We have bigger —”
A fusillade of bullets zinged off their metal shield. None penetrated it, but Raluca jumped at every one. The terror of the battle had caught up with her, and she was trembling all over. But she forced herself to calm down. She had to take care of Nick. Protect him, as he’d protected her. Only then, when she’d pushed down her panic, did she realized that maybe she could.
“Did you ever get another vial of heartsease?” Raluca whispered.
“Yeah.” Nick gave a jerk of his chin toward his jacket pocket. “In there. If it’s not smashed. But dragons aren’t bulletproof. And even if you go invisible, Grigor will be able to see you. Just like you could see him and point so I could shoot him. I’m sure that’s why he’s still hiding, the coward.”
Raluca was already unzipping his pocket. “I don’t think he’ll stay hiding for much longer. How many bullets do you have left?”
“Got you thinking like a bodyguard at last,” Nick remarked. But the lightness left his tone as he admitted, “Not a lot. And you’re right, he’ll come out as soon as he thinks I’ve run out of ammo. Or else he’ll send some of his mooks as a diversion, and force me to use it up on them. But you were fast enough to catch me! If you can shift, you can get us out of here.”
Raluca’s heart sank as she again touched a pocketful of sharp fragments. Like the phone, the vial had smashed in the fall. Looking up at Nick’s hopeful face, she was forced to shake her head.
The disappointment she saw struck her like a blow. That had been his last hope, she realized.
“Won’t the police have been called?” she asked. “All these gunshots...”
“This is a business area. No one’s around to hear. If anyone was, the cops would’ve been here by now.” Nick’s eyes narrowed, his long lashes flickering as he thought. Finally, he said, “I’ll hold them off for as long as I can. If we wait long enough, who knows, maybe someone will come by. But when Grigor and Price make their move, listen for my go. When you hear it, run. I’ll cover you. Go get help.”
As more bullets ricocheted against their shield, Raluca knew it for a hopeless plan. Nick meant to sacrifice himself for even the slightest possibility of her escape, but it was barely a chance at all. And it was one she would not take.
“Nick,” Raluca said, gently but in a tone that could not be denied. “I will not leave you to die alone.”
“But —”
She put her finger over his lips. “I will not. Do not waste our last moments arguing. You would not leave me. I will not leave you. Your plan would only have us die apart. I prefer to stay with you.”
Nick opened his mouth, but she pressed harder until he closed it and nodded. Then she took her hand away. She couldn’t hold him for fear of hurting him more, so she leaned in and kissed his lips. He responded with a desperate passion, but only for a few seconds. Then he pulled away, keeping watch.
He couldn’t touch her with his hands, with one arm injured and one holding his gun. But he leaned his head against hers, so their cheeks pressed together and his damp hair mingled with hers.
“I love you,” he said. “We got to dance together tonight. You flew with me. You met my friends. We made love under your sky. I don’t regret a fucking thing.”
Raluca’s eyes burned with tears, but her heart was strangely light. The fear and bitterness had left her, and she no longer raged against the unfairness of the universe. “Neither do I. These last few days have made my entire life worthwhile. I love you. I would rather be here with you now then safe in a palace, alone.”
Grigor’s voice rose in a shout. “He’s out of ammunition! Go get him!”