He heard the crack of sothing, and then Hazel was moving.
She pulled a gun from sowhere. From her jacket, her sleeve, he didn’t know. One second her hands were empty. The next, she was crouched low, weapon raised, firing toward the building across the garden.
The sound ripped through the quiet night. Birds scattered from the trees. Sowhere, soone scread.
Dom lay on the cold ground, heart slamming against his ribs, watching her. She was still. Perfectly still. Her arm was extended, her breathing controlled, her eyes scanning the rooftops. She looked like she’d done this a thousand tis. She probably had.
The red light was gone. The shooter was gone.
Hazel stayed in position for another long mont, watching, waiting. Her gaze swept the building once, twice, three tis. Then she lowered the gun.
"Clear," she said quietly.
She turned to look at him. Dom was still on the ground, frozen, staring up at her. Gravel stuck to his palms. His shirt was torn at the elbow. His heart was still racing.
"You have a gun," he said.
"Yes." She tucked it back into her jacket.
"In your jacket."
"Yes."
"I thought you were going to kiss ."
She paused. "What?"
"Before." He sat up slowly, brushing gravel off his hands, refusing to et her eyes. "You leaned in. You grabbed my face. I thought—" He stopped, shook his head. "Never mind."
She stared at him for a second. Then a small smile tugged at her lips. "You thought I was going to kiss you."
He stood up, brushing off his pants, still not looking at her. "I’m very kissable. It was a logical assumption."
She just chuckled and shook her head.
But her smile faded quickly. She pulled out her phone, fingers moving fast across the screen. Her face had changed, the warmth gone, replaced by a cold expression.
Dom watched her type, watched her eyes harden. She was different like this. Dangerously beautiful. Then she called soone.
"Leo," she said into the phone, her voice low. "Soone was watching us tonight. Shot at us. They’re gone now, but..." She paused, listening. "Yes. I’m fine. He’s fine. But they saw us together."
She hung up and imdiately started typing again. Another ssage. Another person.
Dom stood there, watching her work. Her jaw was tight, her shoulders rigid. She looked like soone preparing for war.
Finally, she slipped the phone back into her jacket and turned to him.
"They might have seen you with ," she said, her voice firm, angry. "They’re targeting you now."
Dom blinked. His mind raced. Soone had shot at them. Soone had followed them. Soone had seen him with her.
He looked down at his hands. His palms were scraped from the fall, red and raw, tiny bits of gravel still embedded in the skin. His heart was still pounding. His hands were shaking. Maybe from the cold. Maybe from fear.
"Oh my god," he whispered, his voice small. "What am I going to do?"
Hazel’s expression softened. "Dom..."
"Jason is leaving tomorrow." He looked up at her, his eyes wide. "I’ll be alone. In my house. By myself." His voice cracked slightly. "What if they follow ? What if they—" He stopped, swallowing hard.
She stepped closer, her anger fading into sothing gentler. "Hey. Look at ."
He looked at her. His hands were still shaking.
"I won’t let anything happen to you," she said quietly. "Okay? I’ll make sure you’re safe."
He glanced at his scraped palms, then back at her face. "My hands are bleeding."
"I know." She made him sit on the bench and sat beside him. Then she reached into her jacket and pulled out a small first aid kit. Her movents were quick, efficient. "Let see."
She took his hands carefully, wiping away the gravel with gentle fingers. He hissed at the sting, and she paused, looking up at him.
"I’m sorry," she said softly. "This is my fault. They were after . You just got caught in the middle."
He watched her clean his wounds, her brow furrowed in concentration, her touch impossibly gentle. Guilt was written all over her face.
"It’s not your fault," he said.
"You wouldn’t be bleeding if you weren’t with ."
"I wouldn’t have skated if you weren’t with either." He tried to smile. "And that was worth it."
She didn’t look up, but her hands paused for a mont. Just a mont. Then she kept working.
"I have a guest room," she said quietly. "You can stay tonight. Until we know it’s safe."
He blinked. "Really?"
"It’s comfortable. Clean. Has a security system." She finished bandaging his hands, her fingers lingering for a second longer than necessary. "It’s just for tonight."
He nodded slowly. "Okay."
She looked up at him, her blue eyes searching his face. "I am really sure you must be very scared."
He held her gaze. His hands were shaking. His heart was still racing. Soone had shot at them. Soone had tried to kill him. Or her. Or both.
"Yes," he said honestly.
She nodded once, then stood, putting the first aid kit away. "Co on. Let’s get you sowhere safe."
She started walking toward the gate quickly. He followed, his bandaged hands shoved in his pockets, while inwardly he was dancing happily.
****
Leo and Jay, after hearing about the incident, beca even more busy trying to find out who it was. The house turned into a war room, phones ringing constantly, nas being exchanged in low, urgent voices. Leo was on calls with his contacts, his jaw tight, his eyes cold. Jay was coordinating with security teams, his usual humor completely gone. Neither of them slept.
Bella watched from the doorway for a while, then quietly retreated. She was worried about Dom, about Hazel, about whoever was out there targeting them. But she knew better than to interfere. Leo would tell her what she needed to know when he was ready. So she made tea, brought it to them without a word, and stayed out of the way.
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