Zara's POV.
The desert doesn't forgive. It burns. It scars. It buries secrets deeper than the bones it swallows. And tonight, it wanted us too.
The storm had thinned, but smoke still hung like a curse, curling above the dunes in black ribbons. The acrid stench of gasoline clung to the air, making my throat raw. My gun was warm in my palm, too warm, like it had a pulse of its own.
"Leo!" I screamed, dropping behind the charred skeleton of a jeep. My heart pounded so loud I thought the bullets would catch its rhythm.
"Still alive!" His voice cut through the chaos. Strained. But alive.
He slid in beside me, sand caked to the blood on his cheek. For half a second, our eyes locked, and everything—the fire, the gunfire, the storm—just stopped. His gaze was a promise and a curse all at once: Don't you dare give up on me.
But impossible promises don't matter. Survival does.
"Plan?" I hissed, jamming a fresh magazine into my gun.
Leo smirked—that smirk. The one I loved. The one I hated. "Same plan as always."
"Which is?"
"Don't die."
I punched his arm. "That's not a plan, Leo—that's a prayer!"
Before he could reply, a grenade tore the sand open just meters away, blasting us to the ground. My ears rang, the world spinning in fire and dust.
His body slammed over mine, shielding me. Smoke clawed at my lungs, and for one wild second, I thought this was it. That the desert had finally claimed us. But Leo never lets go.
"Zara…" His voice was low, rough. "See that truck?"
Through the haze, I spotted it. A monster of steel and dust. An armored transport, engine still growling, doors wide open as enemy reinforcements spilled out like ants.
"You're insane." My voice cracked. "That's theirs."
"Exactly." His grin was madness and brilliance all at once. "Which is why they'll never expect us to steal it."
"You've officially lost your mind."
"And yet," he said, teeth flashing white against the smoke, "you'll follow me anyway."
Damn him. Damn me. He was right.
<<<<<
Leo's POV.
Truth? I had no plan. Not one that made sense. But seeing her fight—brave, furious, terrified but unbroken—made me realize something.
If I showed fear, she'd shatter. And I'd rather bleed out in the sand than let her lose hope. So I lied with a smile.
"Cover me."
Her eyes went wide. "Cover you? Me? I should be the one giving the orders!"
"Not when your orders involve not dying."
"Exactly!" She popped off three precise shots, dropping two shadows on the ridge. "Which is why this is insane!"
Her voice was fire and fury. God, I wanted to kiss her. Right here. Right now. But instead, I ran.
The desert roared, gunfire spitting sparks into the night. Each step was a gamble, each breath a wager I couldn't afford. Sand sprayed as bullets chewed the ground, chasing me.
Then pain. Hot. Sharp. A bullet grazed my shoulder. I staggered but didn't fall. Couldn't. Not while she was watching.
The armored truck loomed ahead, a beast of steel waiting for its master. I yanked the driver out, slammed him into the sand, and climbed in. My vision swam red—but the engine roared to life. Ours.
<<<<<
Zara's POV.
The moment that truck growled, I ran. My lungs burned, bullets slicing the air, but I didn't care. I dove inside, slamming the door shut just as another explosion cracked the night.
"You're bleeding!" My hands flew to his arm, blood seeping hot and slick between my fingers.
He didn't even wince. "We're alive. That's all that matters."
I glared, fury choking the fear in my chest. "Don't you dare do that again. Don't you dare play hero when I—"
"When you what?" His voice was low, dangerous, but his eyes—his eyes softened, searching me.
My breath caught. For one reckless moment, the world outside—bullets, smoke, death—blurred into silence.
"When I can't lose you too," I whispered.
The words left me trembling, naked in a way no bullet could make me.
Silence. Louder than explosions. Leo's knuckles whitened on the wheel, his jaw clenched tight. But his eyes—his eyes broke me. Gentle, terrified, like he wanted to tell me a thousand things and couldn't.
"Zara…" His voice cracked in places Leo never let crack.
The truck jolted over the dunes, jerking us back into the fire. Enemy headlights flared in the mirrors, chasing us like wolves.
"We'll talk later," I said, shoving the tears back down where they belonged.
"If we live that long." His mouth curved into the smallest, most dangerous smile. The kind that made me believe we just might.
<<<<<
Leo's POV.
I didn't tell her. Couldn't. That every mile we drove, every bullet we dodged, every fire we outran… wasn't taking us to freedom.
It was taking us straight to Aria. And Aria wasn't done. Not with me. Not with Zara. Not with us.
If Zara thought the desert was fire, she hadn't seen the inferno waiting ahead.