“Kian?” I gasp.
His neck snaps up at the same time as Dr. Lenore’s does.
“Renata!” he gasps. “What the fuck are you doing here out in the open?”
He’s covered in blood. Actually, it looks more like he’s thrown up blood. The front of his shirt is soaked in a crusting crimson. And yet, he seems perfectly fine. Or at least, as fine as can be expected under the circumstances. It’s the fire in his eyes that does it. That hasn’t dimmed one bit, despite the weeks of torture at the hands of the Greeks.
I forget about the fact that we’re practically in a war zone right now. I just rush over to him and grab his hands.
“Kian, what happened? Are you okay?” A part of me is aware that I’m panicking. But it helps to see his blue eyes. Even in the face of the chaos raging around us, he seems so calm. So unflustered.
Actually, so does Dr. Lenore. Wait. Why is she even with him?
“I’m fine,” he says distractedly. “The blood isn’t mine. Come on, we’ve got to find a good hiding spot.”
“Can’t we leave?” I ask, looking towards the front door.
“No. Rokiades’s men are coming in fast. They’ve been recalled from every safehouse in the area. There’s no way we’re getting out,” Dr. Lenore informs me. “We barely made it in here.”
She’s as calm as Kian is. It’s freaking unsettling.
“This way,” she tells us. “I know a way out, but it’s on the other side of the house.”
More gunfire swallows up the all the questions on my lips. As Dr. Lenore takes the lead, Kian grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. I just stare at him, relieved that he seems to be okay. “Why did you even come back?” I ask as he pulls me back down the corridor.
He looks at me as though I’ve asked an incredibly obvious question. “Why?” he repeats. “Because I knew you were still in here.”
We hear someone scream not far from us. Kian steps in front of me instinctively and holds out an arm to tuck me behind him. “Sarah, take lead.”
I frown. “Do you two know each other?” I ask, barely paying attention to where we’re going.
“It’s a long story,” Kian says.
“Are you saying now’s not a good time?”
He looks at me, surprised. When he sees the soft smile on my lips, he laughs. “If we get out of here—when we get out of here—I’ve got a lot of stories for you, Renata.”
I squeeze his hand hopefully. “I want to hear them all.”
“Fuck!” Sarah cries suddenly, ruining the moment as we turn a corner and come face to face with a bunch of men with their guns raised. One look and I know that they’re Rokiades’s soldiers.
Kian shoves me to the side so hard that I land on my hip. My arm breaks my fall somewhat, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to leave a bruise that’s going to last weeks. As I clamber upright, I watch as Kian and Sarah fight off the four men who’ve unwittingly accosted us. Sarah’s impressively fast and confident. But I can’t take my eyes off Kian.
It strikes me that I haven’t really seen him fight properly. Fighting with me doesn’t really count. And truth be told, it’s amazing to watch him in action. I almost forget to be scared.
He moves with calm assurance and the kind of precision that takes decades to master. You’d never be able to tell that he’s got injuries all over his body. It feels like even he’s forgotten that inconvenient little fact in the moment.
Blades flash, guns flare, fists and feet and elbows flow, and in a moment, all four of the men are incapacitated on the ground, blood pooling beneath them.
Sarah and Kian turn to each other and nod with grim satisfaction. I’m relieved, too—until, at the last possible second, I see one of the soldiers on the ground raise his gun. His hands are bloodied and trembling and he’s got maybe a few minutes left before he dies. But for now, he’s alive enough to aim in Kian’s general direction.
“No!” I scream. “Watch out!”
My words mix with the scream of the exploding gunshot…
And Sarah crumples to the floor. Kian turns to the murderer and kills him with a bullet to the face. Then he falls to his knees next to Dr. Lenore. “Sarah, no…” he murmurs, voice racked with anguish. I sprint to his side. My stomach is churning with horrified anxiety.
The bullet has hit her in the dead center of the abdomen. She’s bleeding badly, but she’s still conscious. Her face is so ghostly pale that I can hardly bear to look at her.