Chapter 48
RENéE
I watched as Vincent Marchetti fell to the ground. His smile was gone replaced with a twisted look of shock. And for a moment I just sat there unmoving, my chest rising and falling with sharp, shallow breaths.
It was over.
My eyes shifted to Javier.
His body had finally relaxed. And he sat there staring at me with a smile as if he didn’t just have a gun to his head a minute ago. He opened his mouth to say something—some word of comfort, or maybe a sarcastic quip because that was just him—but I didn’t let him.
I closed the space between us in a heartbeat, my lips crashing onto his like he was the only thing tethering me to this world.
And he kissed me back, melting into me like he’d been waiting for this moment for an eternity.
When we finally pulled back, his lips curved into that stupid, cocky smile of his, the one that always made me want to punch him and kiss him at the same time. He didn’t say anything, just wrapped me in his arms, pulling me close like he was afraid to let go.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tighter than I probably should’ve, because he winced, his body jerking slightly against mine.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, pulling back just enough to ease the pressure on his injured shoulder.
He smirked. “Worth it.”
The sound of exaggerated gagging made me roll my eyes, and I didn’t even have to look to see Hael and Aeros’s faces twisted in disgust.
“Ugh, can you two not ?” Hael groaned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Making out beside a fucking body? Disgusting.”
Aeros nodded, glancing around the wreckage with an expression that screamed, Clean up on aisle five. “Yeah, we’ve caused enough of a mess already. Let’s get moving before someone comes looking for answers.”
“Let’s go,” Hael said, jerking his head toward the door.
I sighed as I helped Javier to his feet, slipping one arm around his waist while his other hand clutched his bleeding shoulder. He leaned on me and yeah, he was heavy.
“I can handle this,” Aeros said as he hooked Javier’s arm wound his neck. He was moving with him so effortlessly like Javier weighed nothing.
“You’re lucky I like him,” Hael said falling in steps with me. “Otherwise, I’d be putting a bullet into his skull instead of letting him bleed all over Aeros.”
“He saved me, Hael,” I muttered. “Despite everything you were concerned about, he jumped in front of a gun for me.”
“He made you a target!” Hael said through gritted teeth and that for some reason got on my nerves.
“I was at fault here as well!” I retorted. “And let me remind you again, he is the reason why I’m safe!”
“He is also responsible you had to go through all this in the first place!” He said and that struck a nerve.
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, sharp and bitter: “Like you were responsible for—”
I froze, the sentence dying in my throat as Hael’s head snapped toward me, his eyes wide and burning.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, lowering my head and breaking eye contact.
Two days had passed since the incident.
Vincent wasn’t killed that night. That was the plan all along I suppose. And for the past two days, Hael and Aeros have been taking turns testing their creativity with tools of torture in our basement cells. Yeah, this luxurious apartment building has holding cells and torture cells in the basement just so Hael didn’t have to drive to our base when he needed some fun.
Javier, of course, was whining to join the fun. But there was no way I was letting him set foot near the basement in his current state.
Instead, I sat by his side, watching silently as the doctor unwrapped and rewrapped the bandages on his shoulder.
As I watched, the memories came flooding back. The bullet. The blood. The way Javier had crumbled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.
I had thought I knew fear before. I thought I had felt the full breadth of what it could do to a person—how it could seize your chest, steal your breath, paralyze your mind. But when I saw him fall, face-first onto the floor, I learned that true fear wasn’t cold; it burned.
I didn’t just fear losing him, I couldn’t bear it. The thought of a world without him in it was excruciating, like a jagged knife twisting in my chest.
What’s worse was realizing how blind I’d been. I knew I loved him, but I had no idea how deeply it was woven into my soul, how Javier had made himself at home intertwining into my very soul. And it wasn’t a quiet kind of love. It was overwhelming, all- consuming, like trying to breathe underwater. How had it taken a bullet, his blood staining the ground, for me to realize that? For me to accept it?
And to think, I didn’t even say it back when he told me he loved me. To think it might have been my very last chance—
The doctor stood. He gave a tired smile. “He’ll be fine,” He said. “The wound’s healing nicely. No signs of infection and his vitals are stable. He just needs rest and to avoid any strenuous activity.”
“Thank you,” I said softly, nodding as he gathered his things and left the room.
Javier’s gaze was on me when I turned back. He didn’t say a word, he was hesitating. It was almost like he was afraid to speak, afraid to say the wrong thing and shatter the fragile silence between us.
It’s funny how easy words and actions are when someone has a gun to your head. And after the kiss and hug we shared; we had barely spoken. Since then, he’d given me space. Space to think. Space to process. Space to make a decision. Space to go to him willingly.
Just like before.
And, just like before, I hated it.
This wasn’t the Javier I knew. The Javier I knew was relentless, unapologetic, always forcing his way into my world no matter how hard I tried to push him out. He was overbearing, infuriating, impossible—and now he was holding back.
I knew why. I understood. But that didn’t mean I had to like it.
My fingers found the pendant around my neck, twisting it absentmindedly. His eyes flicked to it, then back to my face.
There was so much I wanted to say. So much I needed to tell him. Questions, answers that had been clawing at the back of my mind, words I’d rehearsed and forgotten a dozen times over the last two days. I’d been ready to say them all that night—but then everything had gone to hell.
And now I didn’t even know where to start.
But I did know one thing. The anger I was holding onto was gone. Whatever walls I’d built again to keep him out had crumbled the moment that bullet found him. And I didn’t want to rebuild them. Not this time.
“How are you feeling?” It wasn’t the question I wanted to ask. It wasn’t even in the top ten. But I didn’t know where or how to start.
He tilted his head, his lips curving into a faint smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Like I got shot.”
I almost laughed, but it caught in my throat. “Don’t joke about this,” I said quietly, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Why not? You seem too angry to laugh, too scared to cry,” he said, his voice softer now. “Humor’s the only option left.”
Angry? No. Sacred? Absolutely. The knot in my chest tightened, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the tears at bay. “Javier,” I said, my voice trembling, “I thought you were going to die.”
His smirk faltered. “But I didn’t.”
“But you could have,” I whispered. The words spilled out now, fast and unfiltered. “When you fell when I saw all that blood…it was like the ground gave way beneath me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The thought of you—of you not being here—” My voice broke, and I shook my head.
“Renée,” Javier softly said reaching out to hold me.
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” I said taking his hand, letting him pull me to him. “I don’t want to do this without you, Javier. I can’t .”
“I’m right here.” He said gently grasping my face. “And I’m not going anywhere. I love you. And I will spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes. “You don’t have to prove anything to me,” I said. “Just…don’t leave. Promise me you’ll stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled, his thumb brushing my cheek. “Renée, even if Death himself came knocking at my door, I’d tell him to take a damn seat and wait his turn. Hell, I’d fight him myself if it meant staying by your side. I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you tell me to. And even then, I’d probably stick around just to piss you off.”
I let out a shaky laugh, a tear slipping down my cheek. “You’re impossible.”
“And you love me for it,”
“I do,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “I love you.”
He exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for days. “Say it again.”
“Don’t push your luck.”
His laughter was warm, grounding, and when he leaned forward, his forehead brushing mine, it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted.
“I love you.” He exhaled.
“I love you.”
That should have been it—our happy ending. The moment where we walked off into the sunset, hand in hand, spending the rest of our days in each other’s arms. But just four days later, I found myself standing in front of Javier, his gun aimed directly at me.