d turne

hair, salt and pepper, slicked back, looked the same as the night everything went

stopped

us H

nt the last two y

ire I'd accidenta

d he would kill me

o a smile that neve

said softly. "I've bee

kle. I clutched the counte

d before I

of sight with his broad frame, turning into a col

pped into som

nk you're we

and down, unimpressed. "

ow," Damia

é fell

pastries, half-sipped coffees, li

dn't b

tion back to me, peering

Aren't you goi

to the counter ha

t something in his pos

e tremor in

aid quietly, "is non

iberate, the sound of som

about her is

o

no

e register, voice shaking,

eyes flic

voice dropping dangerous

d shut, her hand hov

ward, angling his

lians won't get y

cus said, "is the

didn'

you shoul

icking your nose where it doesn't belong. Damian Bla

afé g

ze for a fracti

cted Marcus to

a move in a game no one el

" Marcus said. "But fame d

's jaw

o a low, dangerous to

oes make me h

stepped

stepped

rs in a sil

shaking hand

spiraling

dictable, violen

with everyone inside if he t

an didn't seem the

d his head,

ss. Step aside, and I'll make sure

didn'

murmured, "and you'll

s smile

nderstand," he said.

n sna

nd slammed him against the neares

amed and ducke

ed and ran f

ughed bre

making a

ce was inch

wrong building. Threa

opped to a r

to lose everythi

s coat, subtle, high-pitched indica

ispered,

d react, the front

hattere

cre

hit the

shed in, faces mas

ween them and me as shard

ed, sobbing, tr

llowed ev

coat, satisfaction dripp

softly. "You ca

s flashed wi

masked m

inging it with precise force, kn

nd fired

to th

r as the bullet punched into the esp

ith smoke, scream

e chaos like it w

Blackwell," he call

, shielding me, eyes b

k I'm lea

e was de

t know me

man lunged at Dam

e a ghost, swift

, disarmed him, and slammed h

rth man entering behi

before D

pointin

at Dami

!" I sc

tur

la

gun

n't t

t Damian, shovin

ng pain tore i

lapsed onto the

orld

s blu

sion

ut through the r

RI

ed to

oul

hing, boots crunching on debris, calm

ched be

whispered. "If you

nd brushe

ld've sta

sound I'd never heard before,

lun

attack

each

ees as he slid to my side

ith a fury that didn't match his usual contr

ything w

tened, dusting

d the armed men. "

ms tightene

d weakly. "Pleas

e, I saw fear fla

oice cracking, "I'

thing went black, was the click of