Bound by shadows

Chapter four

Tires screeched in the distance, the echo of burning rubber bouncing off the deserted walls. The black SUV that held the assassins was nothing but a blur now.

Lisa’s chest heaved. She could still smell the acrid tang of gunpowder in the air, still hear the ringing c***k of the bullet that had grazed Tristan’s side. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against his shirt, warm blood seeping through her fingers.

“God,you’re bleeding out,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “We need to get you to a hospital now!”

Tristan gritted his teeth, his jaw sharp as steel. He tried to straighten, but his legs buckled. “It’s nothing,” he rasped, his dark eyes flashing irritation even in pain. “A scratch.”

“A scratch?!” Lisa’s voice rose in disbelief, fury mixing with fear. “You were shot, dummy. That’s not a scratch, that’s…you’re insane if you think you can just.. You’re bleeding out on the floor like some action movie casualty and you’re telling me it’s a scratch?”

He smirked faintly, as if her panic amused him. “Sweetheart, If they wanted me dead, I’d be dead. Trust me, I know the difference between a kill shot and a warning.”

She stared at him, in disbelief. “A warning? That was a bullet, stupid!”

His eyes dark, unyielding met hers. “Exactly… he tried getting up ,but his attempt failed and he fell back to the floor…Which means whoever’s behind this doesn’t want me... They want you”

Lisa swallowed hard, her throat dry, her fear threatening to consume her. But then she shook her head violently, pushing the panic down. She wasn’t going to crumble,not now, not in front of him.

“ It seems like the bullet is beginning to affect your senses. You keep altering rubbish… stop moving.We need to get you to the hospital” she said while helping him up.

For the first time, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, mocking even in pain. “So you care whether I live or die?”

Lisa shoved him lightly against the car in frustration, ignoring the sting in her hands from his blood. “Don’t flatter yourself. I just don’t want your death on my conscience .”

Despite the sharpness in her words, her hands trembled as she pressed them hard against his wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. She could feel the heat of his body, the hard muscles beneath her palms, and something dangerously magnetic about his nearness.

Tristan leaned down just slightly, his breath brushing her ear. “Careful, Princess. Keep touching me like that, and I might think you’re enjoying yourself.”

Lisa’s cheeks flamed, but before she could bite back, she saw his knees weaken again. That moment of bravado was just a mask,he was fading.

“Enough,” she snapped, pulling his arm over her shoulder with surprising strength. “Hospital. Now., we are wasting so much time and you are losing a lot of blood”.

Tristan chuckled low, even as his body sagged against hers. “You’re dangerous when you’re bossy.”

“Shut up and walk.”

---

At the Hospital

SAINT PAUL HOSPITAL

Bright fluorescent lights cut into Lisa’s eyes as she pushed through the ER doors with Tristan half-conscious at her side. Nurses gasped, rushing forward at the sight of the blood.

“What happened?” one demanded.

“Gunshot wound,” Lisa blurted. “ Please,just help him.”

They whisked him onto a gurney, his hand slipping from hers as the doctors surged around him. For a moment, Lisa stood frozen, chest heaving, her entire body buzzing with shock.

She had seen death this evening. She had nearly been dragged into it. And the man who saved her,arrogant, infuriating Tristan was bleeding because of it.

Her phone buzzed in her purse, snapping her back. Trish. Of course. She fumbled it out and pressed it to her ear.

“Lisa? Where are you? I have been trying your phone since, your mother wants to see you..”

Lisa ducked into the corner of the waiting area, lowering her voice. “Trish. Listen carefully. I’m at the hospital. ”

“Oh my God!” Trish gasped. “I’ll call Mrs. Victoria—”

“No!” Lisa snapped, her voice sharp enough to silence her friend. She lowered her tone, urgently. “Don’t tell my mother. Not a word. Do you hear me? If she finds out, she’ll worry for no reason, Just… just keep her calm. Say whatever you have to, but don’t tell her I’m here.”

Trish hesitated. “Lisa… why can't I?. What's happening?”

Lisa swallowed hard, glancing back at the swinging ER doors where Tristan had disappeared. “just do as I ask.”

Trish exhaled shakily. “Fine. But I am coming there now, send me the address .”

The line clicked off, leaving Lisa staring at her trembling reflection in the glass panel of the waiting room.

She whispered to herself, “What the hell is happening?”

---

Victoria

Back at the De Vega mansion, Victoria sat in her private lounge, a glass of red wine glinting like blood in her manicured hand. Samuel’s words echoed in her head from earlier:

Carlos left everything to Lisa.

Her lips curled into a bitter smile. “Over my dead body.”

She swirled the wine lazily, eyes narrowing as her mind spun. If Carlos’s will had named Lisa sole heiress, then the only way forward was to dismantle her daughter’s grip before it even began.

Lisa was young, impulsive, naive. Easy to manipulate… or easy to ruin.

Victoria leaned forward, her voice a whisper of venom. “If the crown belongs to her, then I’ll make sure the crown destroys her.”

She pulled out her phone, dialing a number saved under no name. When the line clicked, her smile sharpened.

“It’s me. Yes… I’ll need another arrangement. Discreet. And this time, I want no mistakes.”

---

SAINT PAULS HOSPITAL

Lisa jolted from her seat as a nurse finally emerged from the ER. Her stomach twisted into knots. “How is he? Is he—”

The nurse gave a brief nod. “He’ll live. The bullet missed anything vital. But he’s stubborn. He is refusing to take painkillers or to get some rest, and also says he won’t stay the night.”

Lisa felt both relief and irritation course through her. Of course he was difficult, even on a hospital bed.

Without waiting, she strode into the room. Tristan sat shirtless on the bed, bandaged tightly, his dark gaze flicking up the second she entered.

“You should be lying down,” she snapped.

“And you need to stop worrying,” he countered smoothly, his smirk faint but infuriating. “But neither of us are very obedient, are we?”

Lisa crossed her arms, fighting the flush that crept up her neck as her eyes against her will slid down his lean, scarred torso. He looked like danger wrapped in silk and he was right; for some reason I couldn't help but worry.

She clenched her jaw. “You nearly died… with.. with me as a witness, why won't I worry? As I said before, I don't want your death on my conscience.”

He tilted his head, his smirk fading into something darker, more unreadable. He got up from the bed, eyes still fixed on her. “ Are you sure that's the real reason why you are worried? Or… he took few more steps towards her,backing her up against the wall, or… he raised her chin up with his right hand and his left hand around her waist,gripping it tightly. Which made her gasp, leaving her to place both hands on his chest, the only way she could hold on… and the only way she could stop whatever he was about to do… or are you part of those girls that easily fall in love with their Romeo after the first save.” he leaned in. This time closing every space between them, his hands went high to her bra strap and his lips were a few inches away from hers.

“ Talking about save? Why don't you reward your Romeo? Since I almost died today cause of you… you know it still hurts… everywhere, there's only one thing that can make the pain go away” he gripped her tightly, making her jolting in shock.

“ What's that?” She asked. Eyes widened and lips folded, she was surprised by her own question… ‘what on earth did I just say?’

He smiled. “One kiss is all it takes, sweetheart”.

Lisa’s breath caught, her pulse stuttering.

And for the fi

rst time that night, the fear she felt wasn’t from bullets or shadows—

It was from the man standing in front of her.

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