?Chapter 183:


    “Oh, hang on,” Elliana called after him. “Vivien’s in the room next to Room 1, out cold. Someone’s got to carry her down.”


    Elliana didn’t care much for Vivien’s fate, but Lenard had always been kind—a steady ally. For his sake, she couldn’t let Vivien die here.


    Saving Vivien now would square things with Lenard.


    At Vivien’s name, Merlin froze, his face twisting with disgust.


    Pretty much everyone in Ublento’s high society knew Vivien was head-over-heels for Merlin, pulling every trick in the book to win him over. Too bad for her, Merlin was allergic to romance and sick to death of her antics. He dodged her like the gue. Getting tangled up with her? Not on his watch.


    With Vivien in the mix, going upstairs was a hard pass. Merlin knew if he hauled her down today, she’dtch onto him like a leech—a shadow he’d never shake.


    After a beat, Merlin spun to Manley, his face colder than a winter night. “You go get her.”


    Manley’s eyes lit up, clearly enjoying Merlin’s difort. “You can’t stand Vivien, but I’m not exactly her fan either. Asking me to lug around a woman who’s got it bad for my buddy? That’s a good one, huh?”


    Cole turned to Myles. “You go bring Vivien down.”


    “Fine,” Myles muttered reluctantly. He disliked Vivien as well, since he wasn’t thrilled about her antics, but Cole’s word wasw.


    Walking past Merlin, Myles said, “Mr. kely, I can’t carry two women solo. You’ll need toe with me to the fifth floor to grab Mrs. Evans’s friend.”


    Merlin didn’t argue and followed Myles upstairs…


    Merlin and Myles had barely cleared the next level when Cole, who only moments ago looked carved from steel, began to sway as if he might drop at any second. “Ugh, I feel awful,” he muttered, his voice barely audible.


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    Before Elliana could ask what was wrong, Cole slung an arm across her shoulders and leaned on her like a sack of bricks.


    The sudden weight caught Elliana off guard, making her stumble before she instinctively straightened up to catch Cole. Quick hands moved across his body as she checked him over, fingers searching for injuries she might have missed.


    Once done, she paused and studied his face, trying to make sense of his sudden weakness. Nothing seemed critical. He had been shot earlier, yes, but the bleeding had already been stopped. The wound wasn’t deep enough to leave him this drained.


    While she stood there trying to piece it together, Cole tilted his head and shot her a tired, exasperated look. “Are you just going to stand there gawking? Help me down already. Or would you rather watch me die of pain right here?”


    That snapped Elliana out of it. “Right,” she said quickly, and without another beat, she slid an arm around his waist to help bnce his weight.


    With each step they took, Cole kept thementary going. “Honestly, I’ve seen rookies handle pressure better than you. Clumsy hands. Slow feet. You’ve got the grace of a drunk duck.”


    The re Elliana gave him could have melted steel. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t need to. For a fleeting second, she wanted to let him fall. But concerns won out. He’d been injured protecting her. The least she could do was not shove him down the stairs.


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