Rachel POV
Warmth.
Soft sheets.
A faint, familiar cologne.
My mind drifted in a hazy fog, caught between sleep and memory. My body felt heavy, limbs foreign. I breathed in shakily, my eyes fluttering open.
Dim light from a bedside lamp painted soft shadows on the walls.
This wasn’t my room.
My chest tightened.
Where was I?
Then, it all slammed back into me.
The alley.
Rough hands grabbing me.
The necklace being ripped—
Hot blood on my face—
A gunshot—
Damien’s icy voice—
The man falling—
My own scream—
I jerked upright with a sharp gasp.
A shadow moved in the corner.
My breath hitched. Panic exploded behind my ribs.
Damien.
He sat in a chair near the bed, his coat draped over the back, shirtsleeves rolled up. He looked exhausted, his expression unreadable—but the ange
