Page 78 of Eternal
“I wasn’t, you should’ve left me if you thought I was in trouble,” I said, my voice colder than I meant. “That wasn’t the plan.”
“Don’t care.” Damir’s gaze held mine for a long moment before he finally released my wrist, his sigh deep and frustrated. He stood, shaking his head like he was done with this. “You’re gonna give me gray hair.”
“As if you didn’t have any already,” I shot back, standing despite the blood from my cut still seeping through my clothes. It wasn’t anything serious, but it made me slow, and I hated it.
Before I could protest, he was moving. One moment, I was standing, the next, he swept me into his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world, his grip was strong, secure, and somehow... intimate. I was pressed against him, my head resting below his chest, and his warmth enveloped me. It felt so effortless for him, but my heart was racing like he’d pulled me into another world.
“What are you doing?” I muttered, but even I could hear the softness in my voice as my breath caught in my throat.
He didn’t answer, he simply stared down at me for a moment, his jaw clenched tight, before continuing to walk.
“Damir!” I shouted, struggling against him, even as I could feel my hand pressing against my side, trying to keep the blood from spilling out.
“You don’t get to argue,” he said.
“You’re insane! Put me down!”
“You’re late, hurt, reckless, and apparently cutting off fingers for fun,” he said, carrying me out of the office. “So no, I’m not putting you down.”
“You should’ve left without me sooner if I was late.”
“That’s not how this works.”
I twisted, trying to catch his gaze, but all I could see was the office behind us. He paused at the doorway, pulling a small device from his pocket.
“What are you?—”
A sharp beep cut me off.
“Explosives,” he said simply, his tone almost bored.
“Damir!”
The first explosion rocked the ground beneath us, the shockwave forcing him to steady us both against the doorframe, he started moving again, the sound of collapsing walls and roaring flames chasing us through the hall.
Once outside, he set me down but didn’t let go, gripping my arm as he pulled out his phone.
“What now?” I asked, still catching my breath.
He didn’t answer immediately, dialing a number. “It’s me,” he said, his tone clipped. “Take the shipment and meet us farther out, we’re abandoning the other exits. Burn the trail.”
A muffled voice responded, and Damir hung up, finally letting go of my arm.
“You left the shipment?” I asked, incredulous.
“I left it with one of the cars, unlike you, I followed the plan.”
I glared at him, but he was already walking toward the car.
Once inside, he gunned the engine, the tires kicking up gravel as we sped away.
“You’re insane,” I said, watching the fire in the rearview mirror.
“You’re reckless,” he countered.
I smirked. “Still alive, though.”
“Barely,” he muttered, shaking his head.
