“I need you<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    E.


    <b>+25 </b><b>Bonus </b>


    My eyes snapped open.


    I was slumped over the steering wheel. Blood dripped from somewhere on my face, although I couldn’t tell where. The windshield waspletely shattered now, and cold air was rushing into the car through the broken ss<b>, </b>making <b>my </b>open wounds sting.


    I sat up slowly. Painnced through my ribs. Wincing<b>, </b>I reached up and touched my forehead. My fingers came away red.


    But it didn’t matter. I was alive, which only meant one thing: I needed to keep going. For E.


    I fumbled for the door handle and pushed. The door groaned but didn’t open right away<b>, </b>so I shoved harder<b>, </b>using my shoulder even though it felt like my joint was partially dislocated.. Metal screeched against metal, and finally, it gave way.


    I half–fell out of the car and onto the ground. The world spun. I pressed my hand to the dirt and tried not to retch. When I looked up, I saw headlights approaching. The SUVs. They wereing back to finish the job.


    I forced myself to stand. My legs shook, but I managed to stumble away from the car and into the trees. Behind me, I heard car doors mming. Voices shouting.


    They wereing.


    I ran deeper into the woods, using the trees for cover. Every step sent fresh waves of pain through my body, but I kept moving. I only stopped behind a thick oak tree long enough to shift. The transformation was painful with my injuries<b>, </b>but a momentter, <b>my </b>senses sharpened and my body strengthened.


    Before the men could reach me, I took off running. Their shouts quickly faded into the distance as I wove between <b>trees </b>and jumped over exposed roots. I ran as fast as I could, and soon, I didn’t hear them behind me at all.


    By the time I reached the edge of the woods near the hospital, my lungs were burning. My injuries screamed in protest <b>with </b><b>every </b>movement. But I was close now. So close. I shifted back as I emerged from the tree line.


    The automatic doors to the emergency room slid open. A nurse at the front desk looked up<b>, </b>eyes going wide when she saw me.


    “Let me call a nurse-” she began<b>, </b>but I was already rushing past her. My injuries could wait. E<b>, </b>on the other hand…


    I took the stairs<b>, </b>figuring it would be faster than the elevator. That was a mistake, <b>of </b>course; my body protested from taking the steps two at a time<b>, </b>and <b>I </b>had to stop on the secondnding to catch my breath<b>, </b>but only for a moment. I pushed toward, using <b>the </b>railing <b>to </bunch myself faster. Finally, I emerged onto the third floor and scanned the signs above the doors. Room 304.


    It was <b>at </b>the end. The door <b>was </b>closed, but I could see figures moving through the ts in the blinds.


    <b>Iran</b><b>. </b>


    When I reached the door, I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the handle and threw it open.


    <b>The </b><b>scene </b>inside made my blood freeze.


    Liam was on the ground, blood <b>pooling </b>beneath him. Richard was standing with his back to me<b>, </b>towering over him with a knife raised high above his head. And E-


    E was on the floor beside her hospital bed. Pale. Shaking. Her eyes barely open. She was desperately reaching for something, anything<b>, </b><b>to </b>help her fight <b>back</b>.


    Richard’s arm began <b>to </b><b>descend</b>, and I moved<b>. </b>I crossed the room <b>in </b>three strides and grabbed a metal IV stand as <b>I </b><b>passed </b>it.


    12


    <b>+25 </b>Bonus


    Richard never saw meing.


    I swung the stand like a bat. It connected with the back of Richard’s skull with a sickening crack. He dropped the knife and crumpled to the floor, unconscious before he hit the ground.


    I stood there, breathing hard, the IV stand still gripped in my hands.


    “Alexander,” Liam gasped, pressing his hand into the bleeding wound in his side. “You-”


    Liam didn’t get a chance to finish before the sounds of E’s monitors suddenly filled the space. Beeping, shing, chaos. By the time I whirled toward her, nurses were already rushing into the room.


    E was lying limp on the floor, face–down, still reaching out as if to grasp something.


    And her heart monitor had tlined.


    admin


    <strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.