Compressions.
Breath.
Compressions.
Her body shakes with every jolt. I’m pressing hard. So hard I’m worried I’m cracking her ribs. Crushing her.
But I just need her to—
“Breathe, dammit,” I growl.
I bend down to blow air into her again, but just before my lips press against hers, I hear her inhale.
It’s soft. A faint, rasping breath. But it’s a breath.
“Emery?” I grab her shoulders and lift her up and suddenly, she’s coughing. “Cough,” I tell her, patting her back. “There you go. Breathe. In and out.”
Her eyes are wide and hazy and panicked, but when she looks up at me, I see unbearable relief pass through her. She sags against my chest, still coughing.
I just hold her as close as I can. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to do that again.
Finally, she stops coughing and pulls back to look at me. “Y-you… saved me.”
“Don’t I always?”
She smiles, but almost as soon as the smile appears, it slips away. Tears roll down her cheeks.
I pull her against my chest and pat her smoky hair. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“I got out of the duct tape,” she sobs. “But the smoke was so bad. I… I was blacking out. I couldn’t make it.”
“You didn’t have to,” I whisper, kissing her temple. “I was always going to come for you.”
She nods, taking deep breaths. Then she stiffens. “Where are they?”
“Sofia is over there.” I point past the shrubbery to where her legs are visible. “I killed her.”
“Oh, Adrik. I’m—” She hugs me tighter. “I know you didn’t—I’m sorry.”
I grab her chin and force her face to mine. “I’d do it over and over again to get to you. I’ll kill anyone, go anywhere, do anything. Don’t ever be sorry. Because I’m not.”
She gives me a faint smile and leans forward. Her lips are charred and she smells like a campfire—we both do—but it’s the best kiss I’ve ever had.
It tastes like second chances.
I pull her to me, tasting her, reveling in the warmth of her against me. In the way her hand clutches the fabric of my shirt so desperately, like she never wants to let me go again. I feel the same.
When we break apart, I press my forehead to hers and look into her green eyes. She leans into me. “So they’re both gone?”
Her words echo in my mind, taking on new meaning. Emery was attacked by two people.
Sofia and…
A growl rumbles deep in my chest. A ball of rage fighting to be released. One word, filled with so much hate and pain and darkness.
“Yasha.”