Knot me on ice, Captain(BL) Chapter 268: I Could Become Him

Leo

That Enigma could have been . The thought would not leave my head no matter how hard I tried to suppress it.

Even after Jace was finally rushed into surgery and the surgeons confird that he would survive, I still could not get the words out of my head.

By the ti Miller and I finally left the hospital, it was already past one in the morning. The entire ergency wing had grown quieter compared to the chaos from earlier, but unfortunately, the outside of the hospital was sohow even worse.

The second the glass doors slid open, flashing caras exploded directly into our faces.

Reporters rushed toward us, stretching forth their microphones while Miller and I tried to hide our faces.

"Miller Reid, over here!" one of the reporters shouted. "Your ho was attacked and an injured oga was brought out of there. What do you have to say about that?"

Neither of us gave any reply and luckily for us, there were security guards around who had already gathered around us, protecting us from them.

"Is the oga connected to Northern Avalanche?"

"Why was he inside Miller Reid’s penthouse?"

"Was the oga hiding from the governnt?"

"Who exactly is he to you?"

"Did the police confirm the identity of the Enigma involved? Are you related to him?"

The questions would not stop even when the security guards ford a barrier around us.

"Are there more hidden Enigmas living among the public?"

"Did Kayden Vale’s revelation encourage other hidden designations to co forward?"

"Miller, are you involved with this oga romantically?"

"Is Northern Avalanche involved in this case?"

That question made Miller stop walking at once. He looked straight into one of the caras and shook his head. "No, this does not involve Northern Avalanche and I would appreciate it if you stopped asking any more questions right now," he pleaded, but that did not stop them even as we continued walking.

The questions kept slamming into us violently from every direction while strobe lights fractured the darkness nonstop across the hospital entrance like lightning strikes.

For one brief mont, I genuinely understood how animals felt when trapped beneath floodlights before slaughter.

Miller imdiately shifted closer to while the security guards pushed aggressively through the wall of reporters surrounding us.

One woman practically shoved her microphone directly into my face.

"Doctor Ackerman, is it true the oga almost died from blood loss inside Miller Reid’s apartnt?"

Another voice imdiately cut through the noise.

"Are Enigmas truly dangerous biologically?"

I stopped walking. That question alone made sothing ugly twist inside my chest.

Dangerous biologically.

That was exactly how the governnt described people like us behind closed doors. To them, we were not humans. We were hazards to be contained, sothing that should not have existed in the first place.

Miller must have noticed the sudden shift in my posture because his hand ca down on my wrist, gripping it gently.

"Leo," he muttered quietly.

I forced my feet to move again, but the words kept resounding inside my head.

Security eventually managed to force a path through the suffocating crowd, finally guiding us into the underground parking area beneath the hospital.

The mont the heavy doors shut behind us, the sudden silence felt almost violent after the deafening screaming outside.

Miller released a long, ragged breath beside .

"Those people are insane," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.

I said nothing.

Honestly, I could barely hear him over the roar of my own thoughts because all I could picture was the Enigma from earlier.

The way the police officers had dragged him across the pavent sent chills down my spine knowing that this was going to be the last ti he would ever be seen in public.

Miller unlocked the car remotely, the lights flashing in the dim garage before he turned toward again.

"Leo."

This ti, I looked at him.

His expression softened imdiately. "Are you alright?"

No. I was not alright because one day that Enigma could be . I would be taken away and completely erased like I had never existed.

The authorities feared Enigmas too much to ever allow them freedom once they were exposed to the public. And tonight, an Enigma had just brutally attacked an oga in the middle of a luxury district, surrounded by reporters, police officers, and caras.

There was no coming back from that.

"He is gone," I muttered quietly, my eyes fixed on the oil-stained concrete floor of the parking garage.

Miller frowned slightly. "Who?"

"The Enigma." The words tasted bitter inside my mouth.

Miller’s expression shifted imdiately as the realization hit him. "They arrested him," he said carefully. "Maybe—"

"They will erase him," I interrupted flatly.

An oppressive silence followed.

Miller stared at for several long seconds before speaking again, his voice tight. "You do not know that."

"Yes," I replied quietly. "I do because I have witnessed it."

Because I had spent my entire life hearing the whispers about cases like this from other Enigmas.

People who lost control.

People who got discovered.

People who vanished into thin air afterward.

The governnt tolerated hidden Enigmas only as long as they remained invisible. The mont they beca public problems, they stopped being people.

They beca threats.

Miller slowly leaned back against the side of the car. Neither of us spoke for a long ti after that. The parking garage felt freezing.

Then finally, he broke the silence.

"Co ho with ."

I imdiately shook my head. "I cannot."

His brows furrowed. "Why?"

Because I suddenly could not stop imagining myself in the back of that police car instead. Could not stop imagining Miller looking at with that sa sheer terror one day.

Could not stop imagining losing control badly enough to tear apart soone I cared about because tonight proved sothing terrifying.

Love made Enigmas unstable.

Andrew was right. The stronger the attachnt beca, the more volatile and dangerous the instincts beca alongside it.

"I am going back to Glacier Do," I said quietly. "I will stay in the clinic apartnt tonight."

Miller’s eyes snapped to mine. "You are seriously leaving?"

"I need space."

"You are shutting down, Leo. You barely spoke the entire drive here."

"I know."

"Leo—"

"I said I need space, Miller!" I yelled at him before heaving a deep sigh when I realized what I had done. "Look, I am sorry for Screaming at you, but after tonight, I do not know anymore. I do not know what I might do to you if I lose control or what I might do to others around you."

Miller sighed and rubbed his face before looking at again. I saw the hurt on his face for a second before it changed into a defensive layer of frustration.

"Fine," he muttered, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "Go isolate yourself in your creepy little clinic apartnt then."

Normally, I would have argued back, but I could not because I was terrified of what would happen once I was exposed.

"I just want you to know that no matter what happens, there is no way in hell I am letting go of your hand. I might be scared of what could happen later, I might even think about it, but there is no way I am ever going to let anyone take you away from . I love you, Leo, and I will do everything I can to protect you."

I said nothing because deep down, I was not sure anymore.