46. Noah - November
FORTY-SIX
Noah - November
brEATHE ME - SIA
I raced down the dimly lit tunnel, Sawyer and Officer Ramirez at my side. Every echo of our hurried footsteps seemed to magnify the dread coiling around my chest. My mind kept replaying Dorian’s voice, faint and breaking, warning me he was fading. I had to get to him. I couldn’t lose him.
Tears still streamed down my face, but I pulled myself together, needing to find him and needing to find him now.
“How much farther?” I asked, the panic creeping up despite my best efforts to hold it back.
Sawyer’s jaw tightened, his eyes scanning ahead. “We’re close.”
As we rounded the corner toward what I hoped was the exit, the dim light flickered and stretched into the next stretch of tunnel. A shadow moved ahead.
My heart lurched. “Did you see that?”
Sawyer nodded toward a door at the end of the corridor. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go .” My tone was strained, the need to get to Dorian growing unbearable. Every second counted.
We moved faster now, adrenaline pumping, but then I heard it—the faintest sound. Muffled voices, too close for comfort. My breath caught in my throat.
“That’s John and Ellie,” I whispered, my skin prickling.
Fuck.
We didn’t have time for this.
I needed to get to Dorian. I had to find him. I needed to get to him now. He was fucking bleeding out and I couldn’t get to him.
Sawyer motioned for silence, his hand coming up in front of me. “We’re going to have to get through them. Stay behind me.”
I nodded, my heartbeat hammering in my ears. The closer we got, the louder the voices grew. And then, just ahead, I saw them. John, leaning against the wall, Ellie standing just a few feet away, her eyes wide and terrified.
“Look what we have here,” John said, oozing malice. He smirked at us, sizing us up like we were nothing more than prey.
I could feel Ellie’s fear from where I stood, but she didn’t move. She was frozen, holding her arm that was bleeding.
“Get back,” Officer Ramirez ordered, his voice steely and calm, but with the unmistakable edge of command. He stepped forward, putting himself between us and John, his gun never wavering.
“Let her go, John. This ends now,” Ramirez said.
John’s eyes moved between us. “You think you can just come in here and stop me?” he sneered, raising the gun, eyes gleaming with something dangerous.
Ellie’s body tensed, and my mind raced. I needed to get to Dorian—this couldn’t keep going on.
He needed me.
He needed me now .
“Put the gun down,” Ramirez said sharply. He moved closer to John. “You can walk out of here, or we’ll make you. But Ellie’s coming with us, no matter what.”
My stomach churned. I couldn’t think about this anymore—couldn’t think about John or Ellie. All I could focus on was getting to Dorian.
John’s smile faltered for a second, a moment of hesitation crossing his face as he kept his gun trained on Ellie, his eyes on his watch. It gave me a glimmer of hope. Maybe we could end this without anyone else getting hurt.
I was trembling with fury now. “End this now, John.” My words faltered as John aimed the gun at Ellie’s head, his finger resting lightly on the trigger.
I could feel the helplessness creeping up on me.
“Stop!” I shouted. “Let her go, John. Don’t do this.”
His eyes locked on mine, cold and dark, as if savoring every moment of my panic. “You think you can stop me?” he taunted. “You’re all bark. No bite.”
I couldn’t back down. I couldn’t let him have this victory.
But then I heard it—footsteps. Heavy, urgent footsteps echoing from deeper in the tunnel. A surge of hope shot through me, and I seized it.
“John!” Officer Ramirez shouted. “You’re surrounded! This ends now!”
For a heartbeat, he faltered, his gaze darting around nervously. The sound of approaching officers only made him more erratic.
The security team rushed in then, overwhelming us with their numbers. “Get down!” Officer Ramirez shouted as they swarmed the area, and John, realizing his position, suddenly shifted the gun toward Ramirez.
And then something unexpected happened. John glanced at his wristwatch.
“Well, looks like it’s finally time,” he said. “You can have her now. I just needed her to make it to midnight. You definitely would use a lot more resources to get her back than you would anyone else, after all.” He winked.
I froze. A sickening realization washed over me. John was waiting for something. Waiting for this moment.
Without warning, he shoved her away. Ellie stumbled forward, nearly falling, but Sawyer was there in an instant, his arms catching her before she could hit the ground.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you,” Sawyer said, pulling her close.
Ellie’s wide, terrified eyes met his as she clung to him, her body trembling from the adrenaline. Sawyer held her tight, but his eyes never left John, who still had Ramirez at gunpoint.
This wasn’t what I expected. There was no fight, no final showdown.
Except he didn’t back down. His weapon was still in his grip, a threat.
The room held its breath. John’s face twisted in fury as he pointed the gun at me. I went to run past him, to get to Dorian. I needed to find him.
“Don’t move,” he hissed, his voice trembling with an insane rage. “You can’t get there in time. Don’t even try.”
I could barely hear anything through the blood rushing in my ears, but my focus was razor-sharp. I had to do something, anything.
“Hey!” Sawyer called out, his tone surprisingly calm. “Let’s not do this, man. You don’t need to go out like this.”
John’s attention snapped to Sawyer, confusion flashing across his face for a moment before his anger returned.
“What the hell do you know? You can’t fix this.” John spat.
Sawyer took another step forward, his hand gently guiding Ellie behind him. “Yeah, I don’t know if I can fix it,” he said, his tone still level. “But I’m damn sure gonna try.”
John’s gun wavered slightly, his grip uncertain as he studied Sawyer. Sawyer’s chest rose and fell as his focus locked on John—but there was something else in his eyes when he glanced briefly at Ellie.
“Ellie,” Sawyer murmured, so low it was almost a whisper. His fingers brushed her arm. He turned his full attention to her, his gaze softening for just a heartbeat. “Trust me.”
Before any of us could react, Sawyer reached for her, his hands framing her face. Then he kissed her.
Ellie froze for a split second, her eyes wide with shock. But as if pulled by some invisible thread, she leaned into him, her hands clutching his jacket. The room seemed to suspend in time.
John blinked, his grip on the gun loosening ever so slightly. “What the hell?” he muttered.
The lead agent seized the opportunity. “Now!” he barked, his voice slicing through silence.
Chaos erupted. The agents surged forward in a blur of motion, colliding with John and wresting the gun from his hand. He thrashed, shouting in rage, but the team was on him, forcing him to the ground. In seconds, they had him pinned, his wrists cuffed, and the weapon kicked out of reach.
I needed to get to Dorian.
Sawyer’s grip tightened on Ellie as he looked over at me, his face set with grim determination. “Go straight down the tunnel. Find him, Noah.”
My heart hammered in my chest, blood pounding in my ears. I started running.
Every beat was dragging me further from the moment I could reach Dorian and make sure he was still breathing. I gasped, barely able to catch my breath as panic clawed at my throat.
“I’m coming with you.” Officer Ramirez’s voice came from behind me, sharp and commanding. His eyes locked onto mine, calculating as he caught up.
He turned, running backwards and yelled toward an officer standing nearby. “You, with me. We’ve got a GSW, and I need backup until the EMTs arrive.”
He moved quickly, no questions asked, but all I could focus on was getting to Dorian.
My body continued forward, each step an eternity.
I’d never run like this in my life—faster than I ever thought possible—every step pushing me closer to him. He had to be okay.
I wouldn’t accept any other possibility.
Officer Ramirez kept pace beside me, while the other officer trailed behind us.
Ramirez said something—probably an instruction—but it was drowned out by the roaring in my ears, my pulse deafening as my mind raced ahead, imagining what I would find.
The tunnel stretched out before me, endless and suffocating. My lungs burned. My throat was dry, as if the air was thick, too thick to swallow.
What if I’m too late?
No.
I couldn’t think like that. I wouldn’t.
Ramirez seemed to sense my spiraling panic, glancing at me as we sprinted down the dark corridor. “We’re almost there,” he said, but I could barely hear him over the chaotic pounding in my ears.
I nodded, my mind barely registering his words. All that mattered was Dorian. Nothing else.
Ahead, I spotted him.
My heart stopped. There was so much blood. It pooled around him, seeping into the ground. His leg… his leg. The belt he’d tied around it was barely holding, stained through with red.
My body moved before my mind could process it, and I was at Dorian’s side in an instant, dropping to my knees beside him. The blood—his blood—was everywhere .
I knelt by Dorian’s side. His breath—thank God—was there. Shallow, ragged, but still there. I checked his pulse and sighed in relief as I felt a small, steady rhythm. I closed my eyes briefly in relief, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Ramirez was already springing into action. He was on his phone, speaking in low tones to dispatch, updating them on Dorian’s condition and requesting more backup. I barely registered their movements, my focus solely on Dorian.
“You’re going to be okay. You hear me? Don’t you dare give up on me, Dorian.”
I reached for his face, hands trembling as I cupped his cheeks, my fingers slick with the blood that painted his skin.
“I love you too,” I whispered, willing him to hear me. I brushed away his hair from his forehead.
His eyes fluttered open just enough to find mine. He didn’t say anything, and then his eyes closed again.
“I love you too,” I begged, my voice hoarse. “Stay with me, Dorian. Please .”
Before I could say more, I heard the shuffle of footsteps behind me.
An EMT crouched down by Dorian’s leg. His hand hovered over Dorian’s torn jeans, accessing the damage.
“Femoral artery is the main concern. He’s losing a lot of blood.” His voice was calm, focused.
I barely registered anything beyond the panic surging through me. “He’s breathing,” I said, my gaze locked on Dorian. “Pulse is weak, but steady. He… he opened his eyes, then closed them again.”
Then Officer Ramirez was beside me, his face tight with concern. He leaned down, his hand brushing mine as he gave me a firm but gentle glance. “We need to move him, Noah.”
I shook my head, unwilling to let go. My fingers tightened against Dorian’s hand.
Officer Ramirez’s voice softened. “I know, but he’s losing too much blood. We need to get him stabilized.”
A small team of EMTs arrived with a stretcher, their voices low but urgent. One of them knelt by Dorian’s side, his gloved hands moving to assess his vitals. “Shallow pulse, breathing’s labored. We need to transport him now ,” the EMT called out, already adjusting the oxygen mask that had been placed on Dorian’s face.
Reluctantly, I released my hold on him, but only enough for them to slide the stretcher beneath him. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as they moved him, and I couldn’t help but grab his hand.
His grip tightened for a moment, weak but unmistakable.