Page 174 of Love Me

“I held up for three days. She did it for one.”

“You don’t understand, please. Oh…”

I turn my back. Mercy is the last thing he’d get from me.

With him having no way to escape, he wails and says, “Don’t leave me here, you bastard. You’ll pay for this.”

“That’s rich, coming from someone in your position.”

Having had enough of dealing with him and knowing he has no way of escaping, I leave.

“Where is she?” I ask Bailey through the coms.

“Calm down. Blake is with her, but you need to hurry—they’re out of bullets.”

“Lead me to them.”

I run through the building, encountering bodies scattered along the corridors.

Hushed words hit my ear. I find them quickly and halt at the scene. Blake is shielding her with his body, blocking the view of the guard, whose gun is trained on him.

The bullet goes straight through the guard’s skull when I fire the gun, brain matter and blood scatter through the air.

As I approach Celine, my chest caves in.

Ripping my mask off, I drop to my knees in front of her.

“Not helping the way you’re looking at me,” she says groggily.

I push through the onslaught of emotions barreling through me. I could revive them and kill them all over again for inflicting pain on her. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”

A soft smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. There is a cacophony of feelings bursting inside of me. Her hair is drenched in sweat and blood. Her face is a shade lighter; almost resembling a ghost. And there is a wet spot between her thighs. She jumps into my arms and winces.

“Where are you hurt?” I ask, cupping her face to check her.

“I’m fine.”

“She got shot,” Blake says.

I snap my gaze from him back to her, and I see blood coating the black fabric around her forearm.

“I must look awful.”

“Really, baby? You survived the worst day of your life and you’re concerned about your looks.”

“Hey…”

She punches me lightly in the arm and her face scrunches in pain.

“You’re always beautiful to me.”

Blake grumbles. “Come on, guys. We have other priorities right now.”

But she looks at me with eyes shining in adoration. My heart returns to regular beats until I see the huge pupils swallowing her eyes.

“What did they give you?”

“I gave her an adrenaline shot, making her heart beat faster, but then she got shot, and…”

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