Chapter 7 - The Night She Thought She Had Lost Him
Blood spread across Julian's shirt.
Cora caught him before he hit the floor.
"Julian!"
He looked at her.
"I'm okay."
"You were shot."
"Not for the first time."
"That's not funny."
She pressed her hands over the wound.
The bullet had entered his shoulder.
Not his heart.
Not his lung.
But there was a lot of blood.
"Don't move."
"You're giving orders?"
"I'm a nurse."
He smiled weakly.
"Right."
Cora glanced toward Gabriel.
He was gone.
Tomas and the others chased him.
Cora focused on Julian.
"Stay awake."
"I'm awake."
"Talk to me."
"About what?"
"Anything."
He looked into her eyes.
"I love you."
Cora froze.
He seemed surprised by his own words.
Then he smiled.
"I've been trying not to say that."
"You're bleeding and confessing."
"Bad timing?"
"Terrible."
He closed his eyes.
"Then I'll say it again when I'm better."
Cora's throat tightened.
"You'd better."
He was taken to the hospital under an assumed name.
Cora remained beside him.
For two days, she refused to leave.
When he woke, she was asleep in a chair.
Julian looked at her.
Something inside him softened.
Tomas entered.
"How bad?"
"You're going to live."
Julian nodded.
"Gabriel?"
"Missing."
"The evidence?"
"Safe."
Julian looked at Cora.
"Good."
Tomas smiled.
"You really love her."
Julian gave him a warning look.
"Leave."
Tomas laughed.
"I'm leaving."
Cora woke.
"Julian?"
"I'm here."
She stood immediately.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I was shot."
"Good."
He smiled.
She looked away.
"About what you said."
Julian's expression became serious.
"I meant it."
"I know."
"You're allowed to say no."
"I know."
He waited.
Cora stepped closer.
"I don't know when it happened."
He said nothing.
"But somewhere between hating you and yelling at you and refusing your security detail, you became the person I looked for when something went wrong."
Julian reached for her hand.
"I don't deserve you."
"Probably not."
He laughed.
She leaned closer.
"But I'm tired of people deciding what I deserve."
Julian looked at her.
"So?"
"So I choose."
He kissed her.
Not like the first time.
Not as a disguise.
Not to hide from bullets.
This time he kissed her because she wanted him to.
Because she wanted him.
And because for the first time in his life, Julian Voss realized that love did not feel like losing control.
It felt like finally having a reason to fight for it.
May you like
But their happiness lasted only twenty-four hours.
Then Cora disappeared.
