Chapter 32 You Saved My Life
Evelyn’s POV
The sharp crack of a bullet split the air, angry and loud, freezing me on track. For a second I couldn’t breathe. The world stopped moving. Even the wind that had been brushing against my hair suddenly felt like it had swallowed every oxygen.
My heart stumbled inside my chest.
“Lorenzo…..” I whispered. The name slipped out before I could stop it.
Was the sound coming from him?
Has he killed someone again?
I had managed to dodge him when I found out that he was chasing after me. Now, the only thing that was on my mind was to run. Run far away from him and make sure we never cross paths.
But what was that sound?
Silence followed, taunting, choking silence that made the whole street sound dead. Then fear hit me like a blow. I turned and started running back.
I didn't know why, but I felt like I would never forgive myself if I did not go back.
The ground was wet from earlier rain, slick beneath my shoes. I didn’t care. My breath came short and broken, my pulse thundering louder than the echo of my steps. I kept calling his name every seconds, but my voice kept fading away.
“Lorenzo!”
No answer. Only the sound of my shoes slapping against slippery tarred roads and the distant hum of a dying engine.
I knew I shouldn’t have gone back. He deserved every horrible thing I’d ever thrown at him….every word, every curse, but something stronger than anger was pulling me. I hated that about him. He could ruin me, and I’d still run toward him.
The street stretched ahead. The single car light that had cut through the dark earlier was gone now. Only the noise that came from the wave. I slowed when I reached the corner, scanning the ground.
And then I saw him.
He was lying face-down in the middle of the street, his black suit spread covering his corners, blood pooling beneath his shoulder. His body didn’t move. Not even a twitch.
“No,” I breathed. My knees gave way and I stumbled forward. “No, no, no…..”
I dropped beside him, grabbing his arm. His skin was ice.“Lorenzo, wake up.”
Nothing.
I turned him over carefully, the weight of his body scared me. It was heavy, lifeless, and final. His eyes were half-open, fixed somewhere above me. The faintest line of blood traced down the corner of his mouth mouth.
My throat burned. “Don’t do this,” I whispered. “Please don’t do this.”
For a moment I just sat there, staring at him, the world spinning too fast to understand. This couldn’t be happening. Not to him. Not like this. Lorenzo was the devil feared by many people, he can’t just die in a gutter under a dead streetlight.
“Please,” I said again, shaking him. “Lorenzo, you can’t….. you can’t leave me like this.”
The tears came before I even noticed them, hot and bitter. I pressed my hand against his chest, searching for anything, a pulse, a breath, a miracle. There was nothing. Only cold skin.
I leaned closer, my forehead touching his shoulder.
He still smelled faintly of danger and the strange perfume he wore, sharp and dangerous. I could feel the heat leaving his body, slipping away into the cold night.
Then something inside me cracked.
I fumbled for my phone with shaking hands and called the only person I could think of.
“Come on, pick up,” I whispered, pacing.
The time started reading.
“Ms. Martins?” Gideon’s deep voice filled my ear.
My throat caught. “He’s…… he’s dead.”
Silence. Then he broke it, “What did you say?”
“They shot him!” I choked out. “They shot him, Gideon, and he’s not breathing. He’s…..” My voice broke. “He’s gone.”
For a few seconds, the only sound was my uneven breathing. Then his voice came again, firm but low mixed with hidden panic. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know…..somewhere near the west street. There’s an old signpost, the one close to the abandoned temple.”
“Stay there,” he ordered. “Don’t move.”
“What…..what do I do? Gideon, please tell me what to do!”
There was a pause on the line, then a rough sigh. “Listen to me carefully, Ms. Martins. You can bring him back.”
My eyes widened. “What? How?"
“Touch him,” Gideon said. “Just like the way you have been doing. You’re bonded to him. You carry his mark now. If he’s not been gone long, the link might still work.”
“I…. I don’t understand….”
“Ms. Martins.” His voice sharpened. “Put your hand on him. Focus on his name. Call him back. He’ll hear you.”
“I can’t…..”
“You can. You’re the only one who can.”
The call ended before I could say another word.
I stared at the phone, trembling. This was insane. He was dead. People didn’t just come back from that. Not even him.
But a part of me didn’t want to give up just like that. Maybe I could be of help. Maybe Gideon was right.
Just try. There is no harm in trying. A voice whispered in me
I looked down at Lorenzo again. His face was pale, traced with dirt and blood, but there was something still there beneath it, a strange quietness, like he was waiting.
“I hate you,” I whispered, my hands hovering over his pants. “I hate every second I spend around you. But please…… please come back.”
Nothing happened.
I fastened his belt open, wrapped my hand around him, closing my eyes. “Lorenzo.” The word came out small at first, breaking. Then louder. “Lorenzo, can you hear me?”
The weather remained heavy with something that I couldn’t explain. I could hear my heart pounding and the distant hum of electricity from somewhere unseen. And then…… a whisper.
It wasn’t from around me. It was inside me.
It sounded like him.
Call me.
I gasped and opened my eyes. The air had grown heavier, thicker, almost liquid. My breath fogged in front of me even though it wasn’t cold a moment ago.
“Lorenzo……”
A dark mist crawled out from beneath his body, curling around my arms. It was cold, biting cold, and when it touched my skin, veins lit beneath the surface, black instead of blue. They spread from my wrists to my shoulders, coiling up my neck.
I wanted to pull away, but something stronger held me there.
A low hum vibrated through the street, deep and unearthly. My hair lifted, goosebumps popping out from my skin.
“Lorenzo, come back to me,” I cried, the words tearing through my throat.
The mist thickened, rising higher, swirling around us. Sweat gathered on my palms. Strange faces, whispers, hands stretching and retreating. I could feel their voices pressing into my head, whispering his name again and again.
He is your destiny.
Bring him back.
Bring him back.
Pain shot through my body. My back arched, and a scream ripped out of me before I could stop it. The air cracked, somewhere, a streetlight exploded.
Then, with a weak sound like a breath being sucked backward, the pulse beneath my palms jolted.
I froze. My eyes widened as his body jerked once, then twice. His chest rose suddenly, a ragged inhale breaking the silence.
“Lorenzo?” I whispered.
His eyes snapped open, black, completely black for a second before color came back in that dark red that it has always been. He gasped, coughing, then rolled onto his side, dragging air into his lungs.
I stumbled back, panting, watching him. “Oh my God……”
He coughed again, spitting out a line of blood. Then his hand pressed on the spot the bullet had penetrated, the other one shot out and grabbed my wrist. His grip was like iron.
“What…… did you do?” His voice was hoarse, deeper than before.
I stared at him, shaking. “You were dead.”
He sat up slowly, eyes flicking around, dazed but alive. “I was….. somewhere cold.” His gaze met mine. “You called me back.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My whole body was trembling from what had just happened. The air around us still crackled faintly.
He reached out, brushing his thumb against my cheek. “You cried for me.”
I slapped his hand away, anger cutting through the fear. “Don’t! don’t talk like that! I didn’t do it for you.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “You did.”
“I was just…. I didn’t want your enemies to find you like that. That’s all.”
He gave a low, rough laugh. “Liar.”
Before I could speak again, the sound of an engine roared from a distance. A black SUV turned into the street, headlights slicing through the fading fog. It came to a stop beside us. The driver’s door opened, and Gideon stepped out.
He was still in his black coat as usual, eyes scanning the area fast before they landed on Lorenzo. Relief flickered over his face for a second, then hardened again.
“You actually did it,” he said to me. “Good.”
I stared at him, still on my knees beside Lorenzo. “What…… what did I just do?”
Gideon ignored the question, moving toward Lorenzo. “Can you stand, sir?”
Lorenzo pushed himself up, swaying a little. Gideon slipped an arm under his to steady him.
“We have to move,” Lorenzo said. “More of Jones’s men could be circling back.”
He looked at me then, eyes narrowing slightly. “You too, Evelyn.”
I nodded numbly. My legs felt too weak when I stood.
Lorenzo turned his head toward me as Gideon had guided him to the SUV. His eyes, still faintly darker than normal, locked with mine. “Why did you save me when you could actually live me dead for everything I have done to you?" he murmured.
I looked away, signed. “Don’t make me regret it.”
He smiled faintly, the corner of his mouth lifting in that familiar, infuriating way. “We will see to that.”