The train jolted as it entered the tunnel, plunging us into darkness. I could still feel the warmth of blood on my hands—his blood. He was breathing raggedly behind me, slumped against the emergency brake, one hand clutching his side where the bullet tore through. "Don’t move," I whispered, pressing my coat harder against the wound. Outside, sirens wailed in the distance. They were coming. And if they found him, they’d kill us both.

I didn’t know who he was when I pulled him into the storage car. Just a man bleeding out in the rain, eyes sharp with pain and something darker—control, maybe, or vengeance. But I couldn’t leave him. Not like this.

Now, as the train slowed toward Sea City, reality crashed in. My grandmother needed surgery. I had no money. No plan. And this man—this dangerous, magnetic stranger—was watching me like I belonged to him already.

He reached out, fingers brushing mine. "You’re coming with me," he said, voice low, final. "No arguments."

My heart pounded. I should run. Get off at the next stop and disappear into the city. But something in his gaze held me—need, not just desire. And worse… I wanted to stay.

The doors hissed open. Cold wind rushed in. Behind me, safety. Ahead, the unknown—and him.