Jasmine's POV
The carpet burned against my cheek. My breath stuttered under the crushing weight pinning me down. Ares's body covered mine, every line of him tense, coiled, shielding. His heartbeat thundered through his chest, hammering into my back as if it belonged to me.
"Stay down." he barked, the command vibrating against my spine.
I wanted to move. I wanted to breathe. But all I could do was lie there, pressed flat to the floor, my lungs struggling against the pressure of his weight and the terror moving up my throat.
A red dot. I had seen it. Cold and small and final.
The sound of Leonard yanking the curtains tore through the silence like a whip. The heavy fabric snapped shut, shutting out the glittering city lights. Darkness rushed in, thick and heavy. I only then realized I'd been holding my breath… the red dot vanished, swallowed whole by the dark.
