Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,56
for myself, and the next, Alec is shouting and then stumbling into a wall.
When I look up, I see a blur of dark hoodie running toward the door, Alec righting himself and taking off after the guy. It happens too quickly for me to react. All I can do is watch in shock as they both disappear through the door.
After a few breathless moments, I manage to make my body move and run out after them. Alec has the guy pinned against the wall, forearm to his throat, shouting questions at him. The guy’s face is ashen, his cheeks hollow.
I see it happening as if in slow motion. The guy draws his free arm back, the flash of a blade too bright in the gloomy stairwell. I scream Alec’s name, but it’s too late. The guy drives the blade into Alec, who grunts and weakens his hold. Taking the only opportunity to get out of here unharmed, the guy pushes Alec with all he has, making him stumble backwards, and then takes off down the stairs.
I run to Alec, the blood I can see on his body making me feel dizzy.
“No,” I said. “No, no, no, no….” I repeat the word as if it has power to turn back time.
Alec leans back against the wall for support.
“It’s okay,” I hear him say through the haze of my rising panic. “Zach, look at me.” I do as he commands. “I’m okay. He stabbed me in the arm, not the stomach as he was hoping.”
I look down, trying to make sense of his words.
“I felt him move and angled my arm in front of my stomach,” he says, the last word coming out as a grunt.
“You’re bleeding!”
My eyes must look as frantic as I feel because he cups my cheek with his good hand and strokes my cheekbone.
“It’s okay. Just a flesh wound.”
“How the fuck do you know? There’s a lot of blood!”
The realization that Alec could have died here, just a few minutes ago, right in front of me, protecting me, hits me so hard that I started shivering.
He could have died.
He could have…
His lips on mine make my brain short-circuit. Every thought, every feeling screech to a halt because Alec is fucking kissing me, and I’m not prepared to process that information right now.
I kiss him back, though. How can I not?
His mouth tastes just as I remember, his tongue just as insistent, his lips just as warm. His kiss holds a power over me that hasn’t weakened over time.
My heart rate speeds up for an entirely different reason. I want to be closer to him, to feel his body pressed against mine. With a moan, I deepen the kiss and lean into him, only to feel him gasp against my mouth. Too late, I realize the gasp is from pain, not pleasure.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” I say as I pulled back. “What was that for?” I ask softly, my thumb brushing Alec’s lips.
He smiles weakly. “To get you to calm down. I remember it always worked before,” he says, pulling me in for a quick, hard kiss. “My priorities have never been this fucked up before, but think it’s time to call for help.”
“I still think he should go to the hospital,” I say, for the hundredth time, folding my arms.
Felix lifts his head to smile at me. The guy’s face is ridiculously beautiful, but somehow, especially when he smiles, he makes you feel like you are home. It’s not fair to be this hot and the nicest ever.
“He’s all patched up for now, and, like I said, the wound was shallow despite the heavy bleeding,” Felix says, with a friendly smile. Not even a hint of annoyance crosses his face when he keeps telling me the same thing, over and over.
“I trust Felix more than I trust any doctor,” Alec chimes in. “We served together for four years. He’s patched me up more times than I can count.” He claps a hand on Felix's shoulder.
Felix was a medic in Alec’s squad, he tells me. And Alec trusts him with his life. But I still think he should be looked at in a fucking hospital.
Before I can voice my concern, again, Felix wraps Alec’s arm in a sling and gives him a stern look.
“Any sign of infection, you go to the hospital immediately.” Alec nods. “You have to change the bandage every day and put antiseptic cream on it. The wound should not get wet. When you