Chapter 27 Bleeding Hands, Burning Heart


    Shauna’s words stopped Finn’s fist midair. He never did knock on the operating room door.


    “But what about Mr. Baron? If his wounds aren’t treated soon, he might…”


    His voice cracked. He couldn’t finish. He dropped into a crouch and buried his head in his hands, shoulders trembling.


    Shauna’s tears silently slid down her cheeks. But she knew better than anyone – once Mr. Baron made a decision, no one could change it.


    Inside the OR, Baron stared at the scorched, barely recognizable body lying on the table. His brows were drawn tight in a deep, pained crease.


    This was going to be a major operation.


    With burns this severe, she’d need skin grafts for sure


    –


    but the priority now was saving her life.


    He started up the diagnostic equipment to run a full-body scan. But suddenly, a cough racked his chest. A mouthful of blood spilled violently from his lips.


    He dropped to one knee, gasping, eyes darkening.


    The wounds all over his body seemed to re at once, hot and throbbing, blood seeping freely.


    Baron nced down at the growing pool beneath him and let out a bitter chuckle. Under the sterile re of the surgicalmp, that red mole under his eye gleamed like something cursed, something wicked.


    “Natalie, if I’d known five yearster I’d be tangled up with you like this, I never would’ve saved Jensen for you back then – even if you were dying right in front of me.”


    “And now I’m gambling my life. If you dare die on me again, I swear I’ll drag you back from the afterlife myself. Do you hear me?”


    She didn’t move. Didn’t react. Gave him nothing.


    Baron exhaled slowly and forced himself to stand again.


    Reaching down, he eyed her bald, burned scalp and clicked his tongue.


    “You look awful.”


    He walked over to a nearby drawer and pulled out a small, ubeled vial. Tapping a single pill into his palm, he forced it between her lips.


    “This is one of my lifesaving forms. Even if you’ve only got one breath left, I’ll drag you back with it. Natalie, I’m about to fight death itself for you. If you still have a shred of hate left, if you still want revenge – then don’t you dare give up.”


    As soon as the words left his mouth, Natalie’s finger twitched.


    She didn’t open her eyes. Her breathing was still faint barely there. But that tiny movement made


    –


    Baron break into a smile.


    He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “If you survive this, I’ll be your shield. No terms, no conditions. I’ll back you, no matter what.”


    A tear slipped down the corner of Natalie’s eye. The heart monitor’s pitch spiked sharply.


    Baron’s expression shifted.


    < 5


    She wanted to live.


    And if she wanted to live, he’d make sure she did – no matter how brutal the surgery would be.


    But he was running on fumes. His stamina was nearly gone. He wasn’t sure he couldst.


    His gaze slid over to a bottle on the shelf.


    –


    It was histest stimnt — a form that could ramp up mental rity and endurance in minutes. But the side effects were harsh. Especially on a body as injured as his.


    He hesitated for a single second. <fn1fdc> This text is hosted at f?ndnovel</fn1fdc>


    Then his eyes dropped to the woman on the table.


    Without another thought, Baron ripped open the buttons of his shirt.


    The metal ttered to the floor.


    His bare chest rose and fell with each shaky breath. His fingers brushed over the old cross-shaped scar carved into his skin, his gaze dark and unreadable.


    “If I fail to save you, I’ll stitch your ashes into this scar. And I’ll avenge you with my own two hands.”


    With the blood-red mole under his eye and that wild gleam in his gaze, he looked every bit like a man possessed.


    He grabbed the stimnt, downed it in one gulp, and felt the effects almost instantly – his body surged with energy.


    Without wasting another second, he picked up his custom scalpel and began the surgery.


    Natalie didn’t know where she was. Her entire body ached. Everything burned.


    Somewhere in the haze, someone was talking nonstop in her ear.


    So noisy.


    She wanted to tell them to shut up, but she didn’t have the strength.


    How did I end up like this?


    I never did anything wicked in my life. If anything, the worst thing I ever did was rob Baron of his purity… but even that was consensual, wasn’t it?


    She’d grown up the proper way –


    quiet, obedient, polite. But after the mistake at birth, she’d spent every day since eighteen enduring the beatings and torture of the Summers women.


    She thought she’d die at Sharon’s hands. But then she met Jensen.


    He had be her salvation. Her sunlight.


    To repay the life debt she owed him, she risked everything to beg the Witch Doctor to save Jensen when he was on the brink of death. After he recovered, he treated her like a princess – said he’d pluck the moon for her if she wanted it.


    She truly believed that was love.