Smoke filled the air, acrid and blinding. Zariah coughed, her ears ringing from the flash grenade's blast. She felt Dorian's arm tighten around her, pulling her low behind a row of broken washers.
"Stay down" he hissed, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Shadows moved beyond the shattered window. Two figures armed and fast, slipped
Inside through the breach. The red dots of their laser sights swept the room like predators searching for prey.
Dorian drew his weapon. His hand was steady, his breath even, but Zariah could feel the tension vibrating off him. Every second counted.
A crash one of the gunmen kicked over a machine, the clatter deafening in the enclosed space.
Zariah's pulse roared in her eyes. "We can't stay here," she whispered.
Dorian nodded once. "On my signal, run for the door I will cover you"
"No" she grabbed his harm, desperation flashing in her eyes. "I'm not leaving you!"
His gaze softened despite the danger. "I'm not giving you a choice, Zariah".
Then, with a sharp motion, he hurled a piece of metal across the room. It changed loudly, drawing the attackers' attention. As they swung their weapons towards the sound, Dorian fired two quick shots that took one man down.
"Go!" He shouted.
Zariah bolted, heart hammering, lungs burning as she dashed towards the next exit. Dorian was right behind her, gun raised, covering their retreat.
The second attacker fired wildly, bullets sparking off metal. One shot tore through Dorian's sleeve, grazing his arm. He hissed in pain but didn't slow.
They bursted through the door into the storm washed night. Tires screeching in the distance a black SUV barreling towards them .
Dorian grabbed Zariah's hand and yanked her down an embarkment, mud splattering as they slid into the shadows of an underpass. The SUV skidded to a halt above, doors flying open, voices barking orders. But the rain masked their escape, the darkness swallowing them whole.
They didn't stop until they reached an abandoned train depot on the edge of the city. Safe, for the moment.
Dorian slumped against the wall, breathing hard, blood dropped from his arm. Zariah tore a strip of her shirt and wrapped it around the wound, hands shaking.
"You saved my life" she whispered, tears mixing with the rain on her face.
Dorian caught her wrist gently. His thumb brushed over her skin, his eyes dark and filled with something raw, something unspoken.
"I'll do it again, every time."
The space between them disappeared. His lips met hers, fierce, desperate, tasting of fear and relief and everything they hadn't said. Zariah melted into him, storm outside forgotten.
For one stolen moment, they belonged only to each other.
But the storm and the truth, waited beyond.