You Are Bleeding
1056 Words
Luna Hart — POV
“We need to leave.”
His voice sounded steady, but I could hear it now.
The strain beneath it.
The exhaustion.
The blood running down his arm made my chest tighten again.
“You’re injured,” I said.
“It’s minor.”
“That does not look minor!”
He ignored that completely and looked toward the street again, alert and focused like the danger still hadn’t passed.
Maybe it hadn’t.
The distant sirens were getting louder.
My hands were still shaking.
Everything felt unreal.
The broken apartment.
The gunshots.
The men trying to take me.
My mum almost getting caught in the middle of it.
I suddenly remembered—
“Mum!”
“She’s safe.”
I looked at him instantly.
“How do you know?”
“I told you,” he replied calmly. “My people moved her out.”
That should have comforted me.
Instead, it frustrated me all over again.
“You keep making decisions for everyone!”
“And those decisions kept you alive tonight.”
The sharpness in his voice made me fall silent.
Not because I agreed.
Because he was right.
And I hated that he was right.
A black car pulled up near the alley seconds later.
One of the men stepped out quickly.
“Sir.”
Damien opened the back door without responding.
“Get in.”
I hesitated.
Everything inside me still screamed not to trust him completely.
But after tonight…
I didn’t exactly have choices anymore.
I got into the car silently.
Damien followed right after.
The moment the door closed, the driver pulled away immediately.
No questions.
No hesitation.
I looked at Damien again under the dim light inside the car.
His sleeve was soaked now.
“You need a hospital.”
“No.”
My brows furrowed.
“No?”
“I can’t go to a hospital right now.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s necessary.”
I stared at him.
Every answer from him sounded like another secret.
Another locked door.
I was getting tired of it.
“Do you ever explain anything properly?” I asked quietly.
He leaned back slightly against the seat, finally closing his eyes for a brief second.
And for the first time—
He looked tired.
Not dangerous.
Not powerful.
Just tired.
“I’m trying to keep you alive,” he said softly.
Something about the way he said it made my anger weaken slightly.
Just slightly.
I looked away first.
Because I didn’t know what to do with that feeling.
---
Damien Cross — POV
She’s overwhelmed.
Anyone would be.
Tonight changed everything.
Again.
I kept my expression controlled despite the pain in my arm.
The bullet only grazed me.
But the timing bothers me more than the injury itself.
They were too prepared.
Too informed.
Which means the leak still exists.
And until I find it—
She stays in danger.
My phone vibrated again.
I answered immediately.
“Talk.”
“Her mother has been secured safely at the second location.”
Good.
“At least there’s one positive update tonight,” I muttered quietly.
Luna looked toward me instantly.
“My mum is really okay?”
“Yes.”
Some of the tension left her shoulders immediately.
Small.
But noticeable.
Interesting.
Family matters more to her than fear.
Than herself.
I already knew that.
But tonight confirmed it completely.
“We’ll arrange another place for both of you temporarily,” I continued.
Her expression changed immediately.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“No?”
“I’m not hiding in another mansion.”
“It won’t be optional.”
Anger flashed across her face instantly.
“There you go again!” she snapped. “Ordering people around like they belong to you!”
Silence filled the car.
The driver wisely kept his eyes forward.
“I’m protecting you,” I said calmly.
“You don’t own me.”
That landed harder than expected.
Because she was right.
And yet—
Every instinct in me still wanted to keep her close.
Safe.
Alive.
No matter how angry she got.
---
Luna Hart — POV
The car finally stopped in front of another building.
Smaller than his mansion.
Still expensive.
Of course.
I looked at him suspiciously.
“What now?”
“You rest.”
“You say that like tonight was normal.”
“It’s not.”
“Then stop acting like it is!”
My voice cracked slightly near the end.
Not from anger.
From exhaustion.
From fear.
From everything.
Silence followed.
Then Damien sighed quietly.
A real sigh.
Human.
Tired.
“I know this is difficult,” he said.
I blinked slightly.
Because that was probably the closest thing to emotional honesty I had ever heard from him.
“You know,” I said softly, “before all this… my biggest problem was paying bills and taking care of my mum.”
His gaze stayed on me.
“And now?”
I laughed bitterly.
“Now people with guns keep trying to kidnap me because of a billionaire who lies for a living.”
A faint shadow crossed his expression.
Good.
Let him feel bad.
He deserved at least that much.
The driver stepped out to open the door, but before I could move—
Damien suddenly grabbed my wrist gently.
Not forcefully this time.
Just enough to stop me.
I looked down at his hand.
Then back at him.
His dark eyes held mine quietly.
“…I never wanted this to touch your family,” he said.
And somehow—
That sounded like the truth.
Which made this even harder.
---
Damien Cross — POV
She doesn’t realize it yet.
But tonight changed something between us.
Not trust.
Not forgiveness.
Something more dangerous.
Connection.
And connections create weaknesses.
I watched her step out of the car slowly, exhaustion written all over her face.
Still stubborn.
Still angry.
Still here.
One of my men approached carefully.
“Sir, there’s another issue.”
Of course there is.
“What?”
He hesitated briefly.
Then—
“Your father knows about the girl.”
Silence.
Cold.
Sharp.
My expression hardened instantly.
That’s a problem.
A serious one.
Because if my father is involved—
Then this situation just became far more dangerous than Luna realizes.
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