Chapter 9 - The Longest Night
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder with every passing heartbeat. Federal armored trucks and local police cruisers were converging on the hotel perimeter like an unstoppable blue-and-red tidal wave. Adrian’s knees finally buckled under the weight of his blood loss, and he collapsed onto the wet pavement of the garage exit ramp.
I fell to my knees beside him, pulling his heavy head onto my lap, uncaring that the freezing autumn rain was now pouring through the ramp opening, mixing with the blood soaking our clothes.
“Adrian, stay with me!” I sobbed, pressing down frantically on his side. “Look at me! Don't you close those eyes!”
His grey eyes flickered open, hazy with exhaustion and fading consciousness. He looked up at me, his lips curving into a faint, self-deprecating smile.
“You look beautiful when you're angry, Claire,” he whispered, his voice barely audible above the drumming rain. “I told you... tonight was supposed to be our anniversary. I burned the soup... and I ruined the night.”
“You idiot,” I cried, kissing his cold forehead while the rain washed the soot from his cheeks. “You didn't ruin anything. Just hold on. The paramedics are coming. Please, Adrian, hold on for me.”
“Do you still... want that divorce?” he asked, a single tear escaping his eye and mingling with the raindrops. “If you let me die here... the debt is canceled. The empire is yours. You’ll be free... completely free of the monster.”
“I don’t want your money, Adrian Moretti,” I said, looking straight into his soul. “And I don’t want my freedom if it means walking away from the only man crazy enough to burn down the entire underworld just to keep me safe. You’re not dying tonight. You’re going to live, and you’re going to spend the next fifty years making up for every single lie you told me.”
May you like
His hand reached up, his bloody fingers tangling weakly in my hair, pulling me down until our lips met in a fierce, desperate kiss that tasted of copper, rain, and raw redemption.
Blue and red lights flooded the garage entrance as tactical teams swarmed the ramp. Marcus and his men threw their weapons aside, raising their hands in surrender to ensure the federal medics could reach their fallen king. As the stretcher arrived and hands pulled me away, Adrian’s eyes never left mine until the blackness finally claimed him.
