Chapter 5: Bleeding Control
287 Words
The headlights rushed toward them.
“Stay behind me,” Damian ordered.
Before Aria could argue, gunshots shattered the night.
Damian shoved her down behind a concrete pillar. Bullets sparked against cement. He returned fire with controlled precision, every movement calculated.
Too calculated.
“You said you left this life!” she yelled.
“I did.”
A sharp crack split the air.
Damian jerked slightly.
At first, Aria thought it was recoil.
Then she saw the dark stain spreading across his side.
“Damian—”
“I’m fine.” His voice was tight now. Controlled pain.
Another vehicle screeched closer.
“We need to move,” he said.
“You’ve been shot!”
“It missed anything vital.”
“That is not comforting!”
He grabbed her wrist again, but this time his grip wasn’t steady. She felt it — the weakness he was trying to hide.
They slipped between rusted containers toward an abandoned warehouse. Damian pushed the door open and locked it behind them.
Silence.
Heavy breathing.
Then he staggered.
Aria caught him before he hit the ground.
“Let me see,” she demanded.
He hesitated.
“Damian.”
Slowly, he removed his jacket.
Blood soaked through his shirt.
Her hands trembled, but she pressed her palm against the wound to stop the bleeding.
He hissed softly.
“This is my fault,” she whispered.
“No,” he said, his voice lower now, closer. “You were always on that list.”
Her head snapped up. “What?”
He met her eyes — no mask now.
“You just didn’t know it.”
Footsteps echoed outside the warehouse.
Damian reached for his gun.
But this time…
His hand shook.
- Writer
