Everything fell apart all at once. A big bullet blasted through the glass and suddenly Evas world exploded. Everything just stopped. That rush she loved when she was working on a movie set. The excitement that went up her spine. Came back.. This time it was real. There were no cameras, no equipment to keep her safe no one to say "stop" to keep her from getting hurt.
Eva moved fast her red dress flying as she grabbed Kevin. They both went down to the floor. Another gunshot split the air. If she had been a little slower that bullet would have gone right through Kevins head.
"Stay down!" Kevins voice was. It scared her. He rolled over covering her with his body. His muscles and his expensive clothes and his sweat all protecting her.
The emergency lights were shining red everywhere beating like her heart. The rain was pouring in through the window. The wind was howling. Eva looked up having trouble breathing. There was blood over Kevins face, hot and bright.. He did not flinch. The look in his eyes was like fire and fear. He wanted to protect her. All mixed up.
"You saved me " he said, his voice quiet and rough like he was feeling something he had never felt before.
Eva tried to brush it off. "I told you I am the one who gets to hurt you Kevin." She held tight to his jacket.
He did not say a word. He just kissed her. Hard like he was hungry like he was desperate. They tasted blood and rain and the scary feeling that this was the end. The kiss was rough not sweet. It was about surviving, not about being comfortable.
Descent into Shadows
They slipped deeper into the house the smoke curling through the air everything feeling thick and sharp. Kevin barely talked he just pulled her through a door into a hidden room below. There was a lot of money everywhere: screens, shiny equipment blinking lights all over the place.
It was quiet here. Just the soft sound of machines. Kevin sat down hard on a metal desk coming down from the excitement.
Eva did not waste a second. She grabbed a first-aid kit from the wall her hands shaking bad.
"Sit " she told him her voice rough.
Kevins eyes stayed on her as she fixed him up. Every time she touched him it felt like electricity. They were too close breathing loud.
She kept looking at his wounds. "The contract, Kevin. The part that was blacked out. What did my father trade me for?"
His eyes closed. He sounded tired. "Your dad was not a stunt guy. He kept secrets. He had a key. Something that can open secret bank accounts. The men at the party wanted it. They think you will lead them to it. Your dad knew he was running out of time. He made a deal with someone dangerous than all his enemies."
She could barely breathe. "You."
Kevin nodded, his voice rough. "He gave up everything to keep you safe. He did not want you to be in danger. He wanted you to be hidden. Gone from the world. Safe. Not seen."
His hand found her face, gentle for once. ". I was selfish. I could not let you disappear. So I watched you. Every stunt, every accident. Three years of keeping you alive from the shadows."
It hit her like water. Every time she got lucky. Every close call. It was not chance. Kevin had been watching her for a time. The gift he gave her was a small part of it.
The Breaking of the Master
"You watched me?" Her voice broke, tears mixing with dirt and blood. "You watched me mourn my father, all that time?"
Pain twisted Kevins face. "If I had shown myself you would be dead by now. You had to act normal until I could keep you safe."
"Some safety " she said, angry. "My dad is dead there are killers in the hall. I am locked up with the guy who 'protected' me like a bird in a cage."
She tried to push from him but he held her tight shaking hard.
"Do not go. Yell at me. Hit me. I do not care just do not leave. You are everything I have left. The world there is nothing but darkness, Eva. You are the thing still shining."
She could have run. Straight into danger traded one guy for another.. Kevins desperation kept her from moving. Maybe she wanted him all. Maybe the bad guy was home.
She turned, looking for the truth in his face. She saw it. Love, the kind that never lets go even when it hurts.
"Show me " she whispered, her voice barely working.
No hesitation this time. Kevin turned to the computer. Typed like his life depended on it. The screens showed her picture. Photos, news stories every step she took. Every stunt, every call.
"You are not a prize " he said behind her his voice rough. "You are the reason I'm still here."
The Final Surrender
Something changed. It was not about the guys or her fathers mistakes. It was just them. No masks, no lies left.
Eva reached for Kevins shirt undoing the buttons one by one her eyes on him. His chest was a map of scars and hard living. Warm under her hands.
"Kevin " she said, a breath.
He picked her up. The broken red dress swept over the bed in the room. Nothing fancy here just surviving.
When he laid her down his eyes were all love and pain. His lips touched every bruise, every breath like he could make the pain go away.
"I will kill for you " he whispered, a promise in the dark. "I will burn the world for you."
She pulled him closer heat rising between them. "Then do it " she said. "Let it burn. As long as we are alive in the ashes."
While the computers hummed and death waited outside the hunter and the hunted disappeared. What was left. Two people with nothing between them. Every touch had its secret every sound was another promise.
By the time the sun came up on the screens Eva was curled up on Kevins chest finally breathing for real. The bad guys were not gone. Her fathers mess was still waiting.. She was not scared anymore. She trusted Kevin to catch her no how high the fall.
The Approaching Storm
The red light on the screen was flashing. The alarm was loud and sharp.
Kevin woke up fast his eyes cold as ice. He checked the screen looking grim. "They found us." His gun was already in his hand.
Eva grabbed a vest putting it over her dress checking her gun with practiced speed.
"Let them come " she said, a grin on her face. "I have one trick up my sleeve."
Kevin caught her hand his grip tight, with fear and pride. "If we die -"
She pressed her lips to his. "We are not dying " she whispered. "No one has said 'stop' yet."
The metal door screamed as it buckled under attack. The fight was here. No more scripts, no fake fights. For the time Eva took the lead.. She was ready to finish what they had started.