She quickly pulled a first-aid kit from her backpack, expertly applying a makeshift splint to Dominic's leg and treating the most severe wounds on his back. Her fingers were steady and her gaze focused, as if she were dealing with any ordinary casualty.
Leaning against the tree, Dominic looked at her profile just inches away. Watching her tightly pursed lips and intense concentration, a storm of indescribable emotions surged within him: the profound relief of surviving a brush with death, admiration for her cool professionalism, guilt for dragging down the mission, and the love and remorse that had never vanished—emotions that only grew sharper in the face of death.
When two teammates helped him up, Dominic's left leg could bear absolutely no weight, and waves of agonizing pain washed ov
