Smoke lingered in the air, stinging Elena’s eyes as the echoes of gunfire died away. Her body trembled, not from fear, but from the crushing weight of the sight before her. Damian lay on the ground, blood soaking through his shirt, his breath shallow and broken. The man who always seemed untouchable, cold, commanding, terrifyingly powerful, now looked… fragile.
Too fragile.
She stumbled toward him, her knees hitting the cold concrete with a bone-jarring thud. Her hands pressed against the wound at his side, her fingers coated instantly in warm blood. “Stay with me,” she whispered, her voice cracking with desperation. “Please, Damian… stay with me.”
For a moment, he didn’t respond. Then his eyes fluttered open, hazy and unfocused. He looked at her like she was both his weakness and his o
