Page 83 of The Pretty Psycho

We weren't taking the same road back to the Academy, afraid that they had already set a perimeter at the main entrance, and none of us wanted to drive into a trap, which was what Gerard's soldiers were probably counting on.

Instead we took the longer road that passed next to the Academy, leading toward the back entrance and hadn’t been used in years according to Ethan and Adrian.

But no matter how much I tried to think about the plan and the groups we'd split ourselves into, I couldn't stop thinking about Yolanda and the fact that she walked straight into a trap without even knowing it. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she couldn't defend herself and we never got to do any of the self-defense training I promised her we would do.

She was a friend—probably my only friend, and I failed her. I fucking failed her, just like I failed the rest of the people at the Academy. Rationally, I knew they were all soldiers, just like I was, but the majority of our team was with us, because I called them, leaving just a handful of them at the Academy.

"How much longer?" Adrian suddenly asked, breaking the silence in the car.

"Three minutes," Ethan grumbled. "Maybe even less."

I looked at the man next to me, the sharp lines on his face and the ticking in his jaw the closer we came, and I felt that same familiar fear as before.

We just found each other. We just realized we couldn't be separated, only for this to happen now. Only for the monsters to try and break us apart.

"Promise me one thing," I croaked, squeezing his hand this time and bringing his attention to me. "You have to promise me."

Those dark eyes landed on me, a thousand little promises already lined in them only for me to see, but I had to hear him say it.

"Promise you won't try to be a hero, Adrian," I whispered, feeling the emotions clogging my throat. "I-I… I can't go in there without it. I can't go in there with the knowledge that I might lose you." My eyes closed the moment the last word came out, too embarrassed to allow him to see the tears gathering in them.

There were moments in my life where I felt fear, but it had never felt this crippling, this terrifying, as if I couldn't move from the spot. As if I couldn't breathe because the mere thought of harm coming his way had me frozen in place.

"Please," I broke. "Just promise me. I don't need a hero, Adrian. I don't need you to be a hero. I just… I just want you to stay alive." I knew we weren't alone, that we had an audience, but I didn't give a fuck. Not right now.

Gabriela and Ethan could go and fuck themselves if they tried to say anything, but I needed Adrian to promise me. I needed him to come back to me.

"Hey," he murmured, placing his palms on my cheeks. "Vega, baby." Gently, he lifted my head until I could feel his breath tickling my cheeks. "Look at me."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. Please," he pleaded. "I want you to look at me when I say this." My teeth chattered, my entire body overcome by an ice-cold chill and the terror coursing through my veins. "Bambi," he whispered, pressing his lips to my cheek. "Please look at me."

It was the softness of his voice and the pleading in his tone that had me opening my eyes, meeting his dark, tormented ones.

"I'm terrified as well," he said, holding me tightly. "I'm afraid they would take you away from me, or that I would never see you again, but we have to do this. And if I am making this promise, then you need to do the same." He swallowed thickly, looking at me with all the love he had for me. "I promise I won't try to be a hero. Can you do the same?"

Could I? Was it selfish of me asking him to stay safe when I knew I was the type of the person who rushed into the fire just to save those that couldn't save themselves?

"Vega?"

Could I give him that promise, one I knew I would probably break if I saw someone else needing help?

"Please, baby," he rasped. "I need you to promise me."

"One minute," Ethan said at the same time, his voice muffled by the sound of my heart thundering in my ears.

"Vega," Adrian grumbled. "I need your words."

My eyes closed shut for a second, when the car came to a stop and before we could all pile out, I opened them, looking straight at him. "I promise," I mumbled. "I promise I won't try to be a hero." A small smile started playing on his lips as Ethan and Gabriela got out of the car, and it didn't matter that both of us were most probably lying.

It didn't matter that today could either go really well or really bad. What mattered was that right here, right now, we had each other.

Adrian's lips smashed against mine, devouring me, showing me in that one kiss how much he loved me, how much he needed me. We fought for dominance, biting and moaning, and if things were different, if we weren't about to head into a battle zone, I would've stayed in this car forever, loving him as hard as I could.

The knock on the window broke us apart, both of us breathing as if we had just run a marathon. "Come on, lovebirds," Gabriela called out. "We gotta start moving."

Adrian smiled, rubbing his thumb over my lower lip, his dark eyes shining with the love he felt for me.

---