Leon didn't wait.
Didn't hear Kalen yelling his name. Didn't flinch when Viper stepped into his path.
He pushed past them both, rage pulsing like thunder in his veins. His strides were heavy, his fists clenched. He didn't want to feel anything — not Kalen's confusion, not Viper's suspicion, and definitely not Ayla's voice echoing in his head.
"I'm choosing Damien."
He barely remembered getting in his car. All he knew was the road stretched out like a tunnel, and his mind was a screaming void.
He couldn't cry. Couldn't breathe.
So he chose war.
Within the hour, he was pulling up outside enemy territory — the ones who betrayed Viper years ago. The ones who once targeted Ayla's family. The ones Leon had sworn to avoid unless he had a death wish.
And tonight, he did.
He walked in through the back lot like a ghost. The first man saw him and barely had time to speak before a bullet tore through his chest.
Another. Then another.
They scrambled in panic, but Leon didn't flinch. Gunshots rained, glass shattered — the warehouse lit up with violence.
It was chaos.
Blood on the walls. Smoke in his lungs.
And yet, somewhere in the storm, Leon moved like a man possessed. Not aiming to win.
Aiming to die.
He didn't care anymore. If Ayla didn't want him — if he had spent all those years hoping for nothing — then what was left?
He barely noticed the man behind him, the gun aimed directly for his spine.
A clean shot. He didn't even turn.
But then—
Bang!
The sound wasn't sharp. It was wrong. Echoed with weight and surprise.
Leon blinked.
Something warm splattered on the side of his face.
He turned—
—and saw her.
Maureen.
She'd followed him. Somewhere between his spiral and the gunfire, she'd trailed him in a stolen nurse's uniform, her obsession stronger than her fear.
And now she lay there.
Blood pooling beneath her. The bullet meant for him buried deep in her chest.
"Leon…" she gasped, her voice thin.
He dropped to his knees, catching her before her head hit the floor. "Maureen?! What the hell—"
She gave a shaky, bloody smile. "Told you I'd… do anything for you."
He stared at her, frozen. "You followed me?! Are you insane?!"
She coughed, blood coating her lips. "You think… I'd let you go alone? You didn't even see me."
Leon pressed a hand to her wound, but the blood wouldn't stop. His heart thundered — a different kind of fear now.
Maureen laughed weakly. "You never loved me… but I still wanted to matter. Just once."
Leon's throat closed. "You're not dying, dammit. You're not dying."
Sirens wailed faintly in the distance.
"Guess now you'll never forget me," Maureen whispered.
And then her eyes slipped shut.