Chapter 5
1286 Words
Lydia POV
The door bursts open so violently that the sound shakes through my bones.
Xander fires the gun before I even see who is on the other side. The flash blinds me for a split second. A body drops. The thud feels like it lands inside my chest.
My scream gets stuck in my throat.
Xander grabs my hand. His grip is tight and sure.
"We are moving. Now."
I nod even though my legs feel like water. He pulls me behind him through the hallway. Every step we take, he checks corners, moves like he has been trained his whole life to handle danger. Which, I guess, he has.
The alarm keeps screaming through the building. Red lights blink along the walls. The safehouse no longer feels safe. It feels like a trap filling with enemies.
"How did they find us?" My voice is weak.
"I will figure it out later. First I get you out alive."
His words are final. Unbreakable. They stop me from falling apart.
Gunshots explode behind us. Xander pushes me forward. "Keep running."
I force my feet to move. The hallway seems endless. My breath burns in my chest. My heartbeat is so loud that I almost cannot hear anything else.
Another crashing sound. Men shouting. They are close.
Xander curses under his breath and pulls me toward a stairwell. We take the steps two at a time. My balance slips, but he keeps holding tight, never letting me fall.
We reach the top floor. A dead end. Just one door.
Roof access.
He kicks it open.
Cold night air slams into us. The city stretches below. Lights. Sirens in the distance. The roof feels miles high, like one wrong move could send me flying into darkness.
Xander scans everything around us. His chest rises and falls fast. He is calculating, always calculating.
"Stay right behind me. Do not look down."
Of course I look down.
My stomach twists. The ground is far away. Too far.
The door crashes again. Boots stomp onto the roof.
Xander shoves me behind a big metal vent. "Stay low."
I crouch. My hands cover my ears as more gunshots echo across the roof. Xander returns fire. Every loud bang makes me jump.
I peek around the metal. There are three masked men shooting toward us. Xander, one man against three, yet he does not look afraid. He moves with deadly focus, as if fear does not exist in him.
I whisper his name. "Xander."
He fires again, hitting a man who collapses to his knees.
The attackers keep advancing.
"Go back inside!" I shout.
He shakes his head. "Not risking them cornering you."
He reloads his gun quickly. His voice drops. "Lydia. If I tell you to run, you run without looking back."
"No."
"Lydia."
I swallow hard. My voice shakes. "I am not leaving you."
His eyes lock onto mine. For one heartbeat, the world feels as if it pauses. His expression softens with something that scares me more than the gunfire.
"Hold on to that thought," he says quietly.
Then he steps into the open again.
The attackers fire. So many shots that sparks dance against the rooftop floor. Xander rolls behind another vent. He shoots one more man. The body falls hard.
Only one attacker remains.
I realize the man is moving toward me.
My blood freezes.
"Xander," I whisper.
He sees it too. Rage flashes across his face. He fires toward the man, pushing forward with long strides. He looks like a wolf hunting someone who dared to touch his mate.
The gunfire stops. Silence drops heavy.
Xander stands over the last attacker, breathing hard. He kicks the gun away from the man’s reach. For a second, everything seems over.
Then a sharp click echoes behind me.
I turn.
Another man. There must have been four.
A gun touches the back of my head.
I cannot breathe. I cannot move.
Xander’s whole body tenses. His voice becomes pure ice.
"Do not touch her."
The man laughs. "Drop your gun, or she dies."
Xander does not move. He looks like a storm about to break everything in its way.
The metal of the gun digs into my skull. Tears blur my vision. My fingers tremble.
I whisper, "Xander. Please."
His jaw tightens. Slowly, he drops his gun and lets it slide across the roof. His eyes never leave mine.
"It is alright, Lydia. I am here."
The man drags me back toward the ledge. My heels scrape against the roof as I try to resist.
"Such a pretty new owner," the attacker taunts near my ear. "She will make a great message."
Xander’s voice turns dangerous and dark. "If you hurt her, you will not live another second."
The man pushes me harder toward the edge. My foot slips. I gasp.
My panic explodes into crying. "Xander. Help me."
"I will," he says. Calm. Determined. Terrifying.
The man shifts his grip and that is when Xander moves.
He launches forward with a speed I did not know a human could have. The man jerks as Xander slams into him. The gun fires into the air. The sound rattles through my bones.
We crash to the ground in a tangled mess.
Xander grabs me, pulling me away while punching the man so hard the crunch echoes. He hits again and again, knuckles red with rage.
"Do not touch her," he growls. "Never touch her."
The attacker goes limp. Xander tosses him aside like garbage.
His chest heaves. His hands shake. He looks like he is still fighting ghosts.
I throw my arms around him without thinking. He freezes.
"Lydia," he whispers, as if he cannot believe I am alive in his arms.
I press my face into his chest. I breathe him in. His scent is smoke and safety and danger. My tears soak into his shirt.
His hands slowly rise. One settles on the back of my head. The other pulls me closer. My heart thunders against him like it knows his rhythm.
"We need to go. More will come," he murmurs.
I nod, unable to speak.
He bends slightly so he can lift me, one arm under my legs, the other holding my back. I hold onto his neck, fingers buried in his shirt.
He carries me toward the stairwell, silent but strong. Not a single tremor in his steps.
At the doorway, he pauses. His forehead touches mine for a second that feels like forever.
"You are mine to protect."
My breath catches. The words hit me deep.
Then a shout echoes from below.
Xander curses quietly, turning to hurry down the stairs.
More enemies. More danger.
My heart stumbles again.
Suddenly, a bullet hits the wall beside us. Xander shields me with his body and keeps running.
"Lydia, hold tight."
"I am trying."
He slides behind a wall as more shots ricochet around us. The corridor fills with smoke and dust.
We are trapped.
Xander reloads his gun, his eyes scanning for an escape that does not exist.
"Lydia," he says again, but this time his voice is softer. Too soft.
I look up into his eyes.
"If anything happens to me, you run. Promise me."
"No." I shake my head fast. "Do not say that."
"Lydia. Promise."
"I cannot."
He cups my cheek with his palm, thumb trembling slightly.
"Then I will make sure nothing happens to me."
The footsteps grow louder. Closing in.
Xander presses his forehead to mine again, breaths mixing. His lips hover just above mine.
And then
The whole building shakes under a massive explosion below us.
The floor cracks.
The stairs collapse.
Xander loses his footing.
We fall.
Straight into darkness.
- Writer
