The sky was gray when they arrived.
Black SUVs. Tinted windows. No names, no mercy.
Kyler's father's men.
Leo stood beside Kyler at the gate. I stood behind them, dressed in black, fists clenched. I wasn't just a girl in hiding anymore. I was his.
And I was ready.
The first shot wasn't fired.
It was spoken.
A man stepped out of the lead vehicle. Tall. Scarred. Eyes like dead glass.
"We come with an offer," he called.
Kyler didn't move. "You're wasting your breath."
"You walk away," the man said, "and we leave the girl alive."
I felt my blood freeze.
Kyler laughed—low, dark, dangerous.
"She's not the one who needs protection."
The man tilted his head. "She's the reason you're weak."
"She's the reason I'm still standing," Kyler growled.
And then—
The shot rang out.
Gunfire exploded.
Screams. Shouts. Dirt flying. Smoke rising.
I ducked behind a pillar, heart pounding.
I saw Kyler take one down with his bare hands. His shirt was torn, blood on his cheek, rage in his eyes. He looked like a fallen angel—fighting for redemption with every breath.
Leo shouted. Someone tried to grab me from behind—I slammed my elbow into his face, just like I'd been taught.
I wasn't invisible anymore.
I was fire.
Then I saw him.
A second man raised his gun behind Kyler.
"NO!" I screamed—and ran.
I didn't think. I didn't stop.
I threw myself in front of him just as the bullet fired.
Pain.
Silence.
Then—arms.
Kyler's arms.
"Ash—Ash, stay with me!"
I blinked up at him. His face was torn with fear. His hands pressed to my side, warm and wet with blood.
"You're okay," I whispered, tears falling. "You're okay."
"You are not okay," he said, voice shaking. "Why would you do that?!"
"Because I love you," I gasped. "I'd rather take the bullet than lose you."
The fight ended minutes later.
Kyler's men won.
But he didn't care about that.
He only cared about me.
I woke up in a hospital bed that night. The bullet had missed anything fatal.
Barely.
Kyler was sitting beside me, head in his hands. He looked up when I stirred.
"You scared the life out of me," he whispered.
"I'm still here," I smiled weakly.
He kissed my hand.
"I don't deserve you."
"Yes, you do," I said. "You just don't believe it yet."
That night, he didn't leave my side.
Not for a second.
Because for the first time… he had something to lose.
And he finally knew it.