Page 88 of One of Them

Ravager was quick to answer, his tone dripping with mockery. “I didn’t, did I?”

“I took care of the rest of the guards,” Maxim informed us.

My brain absorbed his words, still in fight mode.

One to go.

With a last look at the dead body at my feet, I lifted my gaze and pointed the gun at Ravager. I focused on his face, blinking away the droplets of blood covering my lashes.

It was when he smiled, I crumbled to my knees.

Too much was happening at the same time. I was overloaded with the events of the day or the year. People appeared and reappeared in my life, unexpected allies, betrayals, the weight of it all suffocating me.

Exhaustion overtook me. My limbs felt heavy, like they belonged to someone else. Maxim saw the crush coming. He rushed to my side, catching me before I could crumple to the floor beside Malek’s lifeless body, his face appearing above me.

It was like he read my mind and understood my soul. I so desperately wanted to reinforce it. But crack after crack, the shell peeled away, and I became a bystander within my own body. Unable to act, I sought answers in his emerald eyes. What they reflected confirmed what I feared.

We were one. Two bodies, the same fate. A shared one. If I dared to reach for it.

My fingers twitched, approaching him, but the heaviness prevailed.

With me in his arms, Maxim rushed out of the building without a word, leaving the killer behind.

I smiled, noticing the wake of bodies forming a trail out. I beat his number today, didn’t I?

Though I wanted to brag and laugh in his face, I remained silent, drained of all energy.

He parked the car a block down, the same one I had driven away from him in. He sat in the driver’s seat, holding me close as he pulled out of the spot.

“I don’t think this is safe,” I whispered, each word hurting more than the last.

Maxim chuckled at my observation. “This is the safest you’ll ever be.”

He wasn’t wrong. Compared to the everyday tasks, this was a walk in the park.

My brain failed to decode the rest.

“Let’s get you home,” he said, his hot breath kissing my neck.

Home?The house in the suburbs?

I didn’t dwell on the meaning. The road rocked me to sleep. With Maxim’s scent encircling me, I let the dreariness drag me under. His heart beat steady beneath my ear, so I let myself focus on the comfort of it.

Safe.

For once, I allowed him to be the strong one.

I relied on him, my new home.

Taya was nearing her limits. I could see the tiredness in her eyes, feel the exhaustion in her body.

Worried about her state, I contacted Mila, Andrei’s wife, on the way back. As a trauma surgeon, she dealt with similar cases.

I pulled up to the house and shut off the engine. After a few minutes of listening to her steady breathing, I finally moved, carrying her inside. Her red-soaked hair shifted with each step. My siblings were already on edge, all gathered in the hallway to meet us. Taya’s current state caused immediate panic.

“Is she okay?” Alisa cried out.

“Fine,” Ireassured her.

---