SEVENTEEN

Zarek

The next day I made my way out to the back of the warehouse that Logan had converted into a mini-bootcamp. Targets lay across the field and when I squinted hard enough, I saw that the target paper had a face that was quite familiar.

Logan grinned as Leora shot through my nose, or rather a print of my face.

"Funny," I said dryly. "Burn them when you're done, jackass!"

Leora was moving across the field executing a multi-position shooting drill. She didn't hit the target every time, but I had to admit, she was damn good for a rookie. After two sprints, she switched magazines effortlessly and continued. I watched her, completely mesmerized by her grace and skill. After two more five-shot sprints she paused and looked up at Logan who was clapping .

"Good job, Leo. That's a score of 12 out of 20. I'm impressed," he said. She smiled widely and looked back to see me staring at her.

Her smile faltered, and in a move that caught me completely off guard, she swiftly switched out the magazine, cocked the gun, and aimed it straight at me. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion, yet I remained motionless.

I'd stared down the barrel of a gun more times than I could count, but nothing had prepared me for this—Leora, with a blend of fury and pain etching her features, pointing a gun at me.

Fuck , I'd even let her shoot me. I stepped closer, the gun's cold muzzle pressing against my chest.

"I'm sorry. In case it's the last thing I say," I murmured softly.

After a tense moment, her arm fell to her side. She turned towards Logan, shielding her eyes from the harsh sunlight, and declared flatly, "I'm hungry."

Logan's chuckle echoed faintly, but my focus remained fixed on Leora as she walked away. The sound of her steps crunching the grass beneath her feet slowly faded into silence. Rooted to the spot, I felt as if my legs were made of concrete. I didn't have the strength to follow her, to move, to do anything. My apology had left me with nothing but the cold shoulder of her searing ignorance. A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I turned away.

By the time I looked back, Logan and Leora had already disappeared inside. That's when the distant sound of a car door snapping shut cut through the quiet, pulling a frown across my face. We were miles from any semblance of civilization; whoever was here was definitely out of place. A prickling sensation crawled up the back of my neck, and then it happened—the unmistakable crack of a shot and a searing pain ripped through my right arm as a bullet grazed me.

"Fuck."

Instinctively, I dove for cover behind one of Logan's makeshift barriers, pulling out my SIG as I did. My phone vibrated against my thigh. I took it out hastily and Logan's name flashed on the screen.

"Unidentified sniper. Possibly a quarter klick out to our northwest," I reported without preamble.

If that sniper had been in position just a minute earlier, both Leora and Logan could have been direct targets. The thought sent a chill through me.

"Setting up on the roof. Ghost, are you hit?" Logan's voice was urgent.

"I'm fine. Keep everyone inside," I responded, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Zar, dammit, are you hit?"

"Gunner, it's just a nick. Relax." I tried to downplay the wound, even as another shot pinged sharply off the barrier right in front of me, forcing me to duck.

Reacting quickly, I stood, fired two retaliatory shots in the direction of the sniper, and then ducked back down. Soon, I heard Logan's footsteps on the roof.

"Ghost, I see him. Permission to neutralize."

"Granted."

A moment later, a single shot rang out, followed by Logan's chuckle through the phone, a sound strangely comforting despite the situation.

"Tango down," he paused, his tone shifting to business. "I'll go check him out with Cipher. Go get some medical attention."

I sighed deeply, the adrenaline beginning to ebb. I waited a moment, gathering myself, then headed back inside to tend to the wound.

Leora

I heard it. Logan's shot. The moment he started to call Zarek when he hadn't come back inside, my gut tightened. And then when I saw him take a sniper gun I couldn't name and head to the roof, I almost lost it.

Zarek finally entered the warehouse. His black t-shirt was bunched up on his right shoulder and he was looking at a large gash on his bicep. Blood trickled down his arm and my breath caught in my throat.

I could've lost him. But he wasn't even mine to lose.

‘I'm sorry. In case it's the last thing I say.'

"Amelia!" he bellowed just as she ran to him with a first aid kit.

Kabir was gearing up to head out with Logan and check on the intruder.

"You good, Ghost?" he asked calmly.

Why is he calm? Zarek just got shot!

"Fine. It's just a nick," Zarek replied.

I remained glued to my position near the kitchen. I had been planning to make a sandwich for myself when the commotion started.

Zarek's eyes met mine and his expression morphed from one of irritation to unmistakable concern. He shrugged away Amelia's hand who was cleaning his wound, and strode towards me with an urgency. He cupped my cheeks and ran his thumbs under my eyes. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was wiping away my tears.

Shit. Am I crying?

I blinked away the sudden blurriness and pressed my hands on his chest. He was all muscle and hard beneath my palms.

"I'm fine," he whispered.

I stayed perfectly motionless, not a single muscle twitching.

"Leora, look at me. I'm fine," his voice turned desperate. He seized my mouth with his, pulling me close until there was no space between our bodies. It was a kiss born of pure desperation. An attempt to bring me back from the haze I was in. I couldn't move my lips, didn't kiss him back. I just stood there, paralyzed by the picture of him lying in the sweltering heat behind the warehouse, bleeding out on the grass.

He broke away, his eyes scanning mine.

"Come back to me, baby. Breathe . I'm right here. I'm okay."

His words finally put me out of my trance and I jerked to reality. He was fine. Zarek was fine. He wasn't outside, bleeding to death. I cradled his face, seeking the warmth of his skin to assure myself of his presence, and the dam within me burst, releasing sobs that had been coiled tight in my chest. He pulled me against him and rubbed my back.

"Shh, it's alright. I've got you."

After a moment, I gently pushed against Zarek's chest, my voice barely a whisper. "You need to get that wound cleaned properly," I said, my eyes avoiding the raw gash on his arm .

Zarek nodded, a shadow of reluctance in his eyes.

I turned and hurried to my room, closing the door softly. Inside, I leaned against it, my body shaking with silent sobs. I buried my face in my hands, stifling the wails that threatened to escape.