Chapter 7 - Blood and Confessions
The two hours trapped inside the underground panic room felt like an eternity of agonizing, suffocating torture for Beatrice.
She rocked Lily back and forth on the small cot, softly singing old lullabies until the exhausted child finally cried herself into a fitful, restless sleep.
Every distant thud that vibrated through the ceiling above them sent a fresh wave of blinding terror straight through Beatrice’s heart.
She had spent her entire life trying to be invisible, but now, sitting in this steel cage, she realized she desperately wanted to be seen, specifically by Leo Rossi.
Suddenly, the heavy locking mechanism on the steel door clicked loudly, and the massive bolts began to groan as they slid back into the walls.
Beatrice jumped to her feet, grabbing a heavy metal flashlight from the emergency supply kit, fully prepared to swing it at whoever walked through that door.
The door swung open, and Leo stumbled into the brightly lit room, covered in ash, dirt, and an alarming amount of dark red blood.
“Leo!” Beatrice screamed, dropping the heavy flashlight and rushing forward just in time to catch his massive weight as his legs finally gave out.
They collapsed together onto the concrete floor, his heavy head resting heavily against her soft shoulder as his breathing came in ragged, painful gasps.
“It's over,” Leo choked out, gripping the fabric of her sweater as if she were the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth.
“Kensington’s men are all dead or captured, and Mateo is securing the perimeter,” he managed to whisper before coughing violently.
Beatrice franticly pulled his torn shirt aside, revealing a deep, bloody laceration completely tearing across his side, likely caused by flying shrapnel.
“You need a doctor right now, Leo,” Beatrice cried, pressing her hands desperately against the wound to try and stop the heavy bleeding.
“Dr. Evans is on his way, but I needed to see you first,” Leo murmured, his eyelids drooping heavily as blood loss began to take its toll.
He reached up with a trembling, blood-stained hand and gently touched her cheek, his thumb brushing away her tears.
“I fought through thirty armed men tonight because the only thing I could see in the dark was your beautiful face,” Leo confessed, his voice incredibly weak but entirely sincere.
Beatrice sobbed quietly, completely overwhelmed by the depth of his words and the terrifying sight of his blood staining her hands.
“You cannot die on me, Leo Rossi,” she ordered him fiercely, channeling the same desperate strength she had used to save his daughter.
“I finally found someone who sees me as a real person, and I refuse to let you leave me,” she declared, pressing harder on his bleeding wound.
May you like
Leo managed a weak, entirely genuine smile, his eyes shining with a profound mixture of pain and pure adoration.
“I am not going anywhere, my brave girl,” Leo promised softly, right before his eyes rolled back and he finally slipped into absolute unconsciousness.
