Adrian didn't move immediately.
Raya's body rested against his chest...fragile, far too light, as if the fight had hollowed her out from the inside. Her once-vibrant presence now felt heartbreakingly delicate, like a flame barely clinging to life.
His arms tightened around her instinctively, pulling her closer, shielding her from the world that had already done its worst.
Her blood.... warm, sticky, and far too much of it...
seeped into his shirt, soaking through the fabric and pressing against his skin. That heat, that undeniable proof of her suffering, was what finally shattered the last thread of his control.
"Grigor," he said, his voice dangerously low. Too calm. The kind of calm that made seasoned killers freeze in place.
Grigor stepped forward at once, chest still heaving from the battle, his face and clothes splattered with fresh blood. Yet when he looked at Raya, something softened in his brutal features.
"Yes, boss."
Adrian didn't look away from her face.
