Page 62 of King of Violence

Two more left.

One of them fires a gun, the shot ringing out in the cavernous space. I dive behind a crate, the bullet whizzing past my ear. My breathing is ragged now, and my side throbs where the knife grazed me, but I can’t stop. Felix’s voice echoes in my head—panicked, desperate.

I pop up from my hiding spot and fire twice. The shooter drops, his gun clattering to the floor.

The last guy hesitates, his eyes darting between me and the bodies on the ground. “You’re insane,” he mutters as he takes a step back.

“Yeah,” I say, leveling my gun at him. “And you’re next if you don’t get the hell out of my way.”

He bolts, disappearing through a side door, and I finally lower my gun. My hands are shaking, adrenaline still pumping, but I force myself to focus.

I turn back to Felix and rush to his side. His eyes are wide, his face pale as I crouch down to untie him.

“You...you just took out five guys,” he stammers.

“Four and a half,” I correct, smoothing my hands over his arms. “Are you okay?”

“Julian, you’re hurt?—”

“It’s nothing.” I grab his arm and pull him to his feet. “We need to go. Now.”

As we head for the exit, the alarm goes off. The car is waiting just outside, with my bodyguard behind the wheel.

We’re close—so damn close—when the first shot rings out. It hits me square in the side, the impact knocking me off-balance.

“Julian!” Felix’s voice is a mix of panic and fury as he catches me and drags me into the car.

The pain is blinding, but I force myself to stay conscious, clutching at my side as blood pours between my fingers.

“Drive,” I rasp, and the car speeds off, leaving the warehouse and the chaos behind.

Felix presses his hands against the wound, his face pale and stricken. “Stay with me, Julian. Don’t you dare pass out on me.”

But the edges of my vision are already going dark, and the last thing I hear is Felix’s voice, desperate and breaking.

FELIX

“Stay with me,” I plead, pressing my hands against the wound to slow the bleeding. My fingers are slick with his blood, and panic claws at my chest. “Julian, please.”

His eyelids flutter and his lips move, but no sound comes out.

“Don’t do this to me,” I choke out, tears blurring my vision. “You can’t—you can’t just show up and save me and then leave me like this. You’re gonna be fine, okay? You’re gonna be fine.”

But his head falls back as his body goes limp in my arms, and the only sounds in the car are my broken sobs.

The car tears down the empty streets, the roar of the engine drowning out my panicked thoughts. I’m cradling Julian against me in the backseat, my hands pressed hard against the wound on his side. The blood keeps coming, warm and sticky, and I can’t stop shaking.

“Drive faster!” I yell at the driver, my voice cracking.

“I’m going as fast as I can,” he snaps back, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “We’ll be at the hospital in five minutes.”

Five minutes feels like an eternity. Julian’s head is heavy against my chest, his breath shallow and ragged.

“Stay with me, Julian,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “Don’t you dare close your eyes.”

His eyes flutter open, just barely, and a weak, lopsided grin spreads across his face. “Bossy,” he murmurs, his voice so faint I have to lean in to hear him.

“I’ll be as bossy as I damn well please if it keeps you alive,” I snap, trying to sound angry, but it comes out as a desperate plea.

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