Chapter 27
Olivia
The explosion of the door jerks me upright so fast pain tears through my ribs.
For one disoriented second, all I see is shadows and flying splinters.
Then him.
Russ fills the doorway with his weapon raised and eyes locked directly on mine.
And suddenly I can breathe again.
Relief crashes through me so hard it almost hurts.
He came.
Of course, he came.
“You’re late,” I rasp.
Because apparently near-death experiences haven’t improved my personality.
The corner of his mouth shifts faintly.
Barely there.
“I wanted to make sure you missed me.”
God.
Even now.
A laugh almost escapes me.
Gunfire erupts somewhere deeper in the compound before it can.
Reality slams back into place instantly.
Russ moves toward me fast, dropping to one knee in front of the chair while pulling a knife from his vest.
“Can you stand?”
“Yes.”
Lie.
He doesn’t even react to it anymore.
The rope around my wrists snaps loose in one quick cut.
Blood rushes painfully back into my hands immediately.
I suck in a sharp breath.
“Easy,” he mutters automatically.
“I’m fine—”
“Stop saying that.”
That almost gets an actual smile out of me.
Almost.
Russ grips my forearms carefully and pulls me to my feet.
The second I stand, agony slices through my side hard enough my knees buckle.
His hands tighten instantly around me before I can fall.
“Whoa.”
“I’m okay.”
“Sure you are.”
His eyes drop briefly to the blood staining the bandage at my ribs.
The muscle in his jaw jumps hard.
Anger.
Fear.
Probably both.
“Later,” he says tightly.
Meaning the injury.
Meaning the conversation.
Meaning everything else hanging between us.
I nod once. “Later.”
If we survive long enough for later.
More gunfire cracks through the hallway outside.
Closer now.
Shouting follows.
Too close.
“They know you’re here,” I whisper.
“Yeah.”
Not worried.
Just focused.
Always focused.
Russ shifts beside me and presses a pistol into my hand automatically before checking the doorway again.
My fingers curl around the grip immediately.
Familiar.
Steadying.
His hand closes around mine briefly before letting go.
Warm.
Grounding.
“Stay with me,” he says quietly.
Not an order this time.
Something else.
Something that lands deep enough to hurt.
I look up at him.
Really look at him.
Dust streaked across his face.
Exhaustion in his eyes.
Relief he’s trying hard not to show.
And underneath all of it—
Something raw enough to steal my breath.
“Not going anywhere,” I whisper.
Not without you.
A burst of gunfire explodes just outside the room.
Russ turns instantly, body shifting between me and the doorway without even thinking about it.
Protective.
Automatic.
The sight of it hits somewhere dangerously soft inside my chest.
Then he reaches back blindly until his fingers find my hand again.
“Ready?”
No.
Absolutely not.
But I squeeze his hand once anyway.
“Let’s go.”