The SUV peels out of the hospital driveway, engine growling like something alive. Streetlights streak across the windows as Caspian presses one hand to his earpiece, speaking in a language I don't recogniz—quick, clipped, dangerous.
I'm still shaking.
I shouldn't be. I've handled gunshot victims, burning buildings, trauma nights that would break most people.
But nothing prepares you for someone telling you they came for you.
Caspian finally looks at me. "Seatbelt."
"I have it on," I whisper.
"You're shaking."
"I'm aware."
His expression tightened—annoyance, worry, something in between. "Try to breathe."
"Oh sure. I'll just relax while people try to murder me. Great advice."
A ghost of a smirk touches his mouth. "You're still arguing. That's a good sign."
I glare at him, but the smirk stays.
The SUV takes a hard left. I grip the door handle.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"A safe route first. Then I'll decide."
"You'll decide?" I snap. "This is my life—"
"Which is why I'm keeping you alive," he cuts in.
The space between us vibrated with tension.
I should be scared of him.
I am scared… but not the way I should be.
Before I can speak, the driver glances in the mirror. "Sir, three vehicles behind us. Same two that were parked across the ER earlier."
My stomach drops.
Caspian's eyes go cold. "Lose them."
The SUV accelerates and the cars behind us do too.
The quiet inside the vehicle becomes suffocating.
"Caspian…" I whisper.
"I see them." His voice is steel.
Gunfire cracks.
The SUV swerves. My scream dies in my throat as Caspian grabs me and pulls me across the seat, shielding me with his body as the bullet punches into the window shattering the outer layer but not the inner.
"Stay down," he growls into my ear.
His breath is hot against my neck. His arm is a cage around me, possessive, defensive, terrifying.
Another shot hits. Then a third.
The driver curses. "They're pushing us toward the bridge—"
"No." Caspian's voice is lethal. "Take the underpass. Now."
"But sir…"
"Now."
The SUV jerks so sharply my head hits Caspian's shoulder. He doesn't move. His body stays locked around mine, like he'd rather take a bullet than let it touch me.
Then.
A motorcycle roars out of nowhere, cutting across the lane, firing directly at us.
The driver shouts. Caspian's hand clamps down on my waist. I feel the rumble of his voice through his chest.
"Aria—hold on."
"What—"
A deafening BOOM sends shockwaves through the SUV.
For a moment, everything goes white.
The SUV spins, tires screeching, metal grinding.
We crash.
Hard.
Pain slices across my forehead. Glass rains everywhere. My ears ring violently.
The world tilts.
Smoke. Silence.
Then—
Caspian's voice, low, dark, furious.
"Aria… look at me."
I blink through the blur. His face comes into focus,blood on his cheek, hair messy, suit torn, eyes blazing with something raw.
He cups my face. His thumb wipes blood from my skin.
"Stay with me," he whispers.
Something in his voice scares me more than the bullets.
Because for the first time…
Caspian Leone sounds afraid.
And he's afraid for me.