A warehouse. A storm brewing outside. Bullets still lodged in the walls from the ambush they barely escaped.
Dominic Hayes leaned against the cold metal wall, his chest rising and falling, adrenaline still burning through his veins. Across from him, Alyssa Carter paced, gripping the edge of a table as if trying to anchor herself to reality. Rain pelted against the broken glass windows, a rhythmic reminder that they were, for now, alone.
"Are you hurt?" Dominic asked, his voice a low growl, strained from the fight minutes ago.
Alyssa snorted, lifting her torn sleeve to reveal a gash along her arm. "Nothing life-threatening. Just a reminder that Volkov's men don't miss."
His jaw tightened. She had been dodging death for longer than he'd known her, but every fresh wound every bullet meant for her made something primal and unshakable claw at his insides.
Dominic stepped forward, grabbing the cloth she had pressed against her wound and replacing it with his own hand. His touch was firm but careful, fingers brushing against her skin with a familiarity that hadn't fully settled between them yet.
"You're bleeding more than you think." His voice wasn't soft, but it carried something gentler something dangerous.
Alyssa looked up, her gaze locking onto his. There was always fire in her eyes, always defiance, but now... now there was something different. Something neither of them wanted to name.
She huffed a laugh, shaking her head. "You planning to scold me like some overbearing bodyguard?"
His lips twitched. "More like a man who doesn't want to see you dead."
Silence stretched between them tense, charged, heavy with unspoken words. Rain drummed against the walls, and somewhere outside, the distant sound of sirens reminded them that their fight wasn't over.
Yet, for a moment, they weren't fugitives. They weren't targets.
They were just Dominic and Alyssa.
She reached up, fingers brushing against the bloodstained collar of his jacket. "You're hurt too, you know."
It wasn't concern it was something else. Something closer.
Dominic swallowed hard, never breaking eye contact. His hand, still pressed against her arm, shifted slightly. He could feel the warmth of her skin beneath his fingertips, and for the first time in weeks, he let himself breathe her in her scent, her presence, the way she stood against the world without flinching.
"You want me to say I'll be fine?" he murmured.
Alyssa's lips parted slightly, her breath shallow. "I want you to stop pretending this connection doesn't exist."
The words were a dagger. And yet, he didn't pull away.
Outside, the chaos waited for them. But inside inside this moment it was just them. Just the heat pooling between them, the battle scars, the exhaustion, and the terrifying realization that whatever this was, it couldn't be ignored any longer.
"I could have lost you tonight," Dominic said, voice rough.
Alyssa's fingers curled around the edge of his sleeve. "You didn't."
Neither of them moved. Neither of them blinked. Then Dominic's hand slid up her arm, tracing the delicate path of her skin until he reached her jaw. He cupped her face gently, his thumb grazing over a fresh bruise near her cheekbone.
Alyssa didn't resist.
She leaned in.
And just like that amidst the blood, the danger, and the walls closing in around them they found something else. Something undeniable. Something that had always been there. Something they couldn't run from anymore.