Found Obsession

Chapter 60: Greco's Case XI: Success and burning desire

If it was even possible, Golden Knight's grey eyes had darkened further, his fury a tangible force surrounding them.

Rose felt herself slipping into the haze of heat from the drug, losing grip on her senses. But then, she was jolted back as the weight pinning her down vanished, replaced by the agonized screams of the men who had trapped her. She lay there for a moment, stunned, feeling only the bruised ache of where they had held her down.

But the cries of terror, of raw desperation and pleas for mercy, brought her fully back to reality. She dared not look back, too shaken by what was unfolding around her.

With a grimace, Rose crawled in pain across the cold floor until she reached Levi, whose labored breaths came in shallow gasps. His face was pale, his eyes unfocused as he struggled to breathe.

"Levi," she whispered, her hand trembling as she reached out to him. His pain-filled gaze found hers, his mouth opening as if to speak, but only a faint, strangled sound escaped.

Behind her, the screams continued, growing hoarse as the men begged for mercy, their voices breaking under him. Rose shuddered.

"Stupid, stubborn Levi," Rose muttered, her voice choked as she cradled his head with one arm, her other hand clasped tightly around his. "Why did you have to defend me?"

She glanced down, noticing black lines beginning to spread around the Mark on his collarbone. Levi's grip tightened on her hand, his face pale and damp with sweat.

"Nothing to regret. I just... I wish I could've told Margaret that I... loved her." His voice was barely a whisper, each word drawn out as if it might be his last.

Rose's chest tightened, and she fought back tears. "You'll tell her yourself," she said firmly, turning her gaze toward the Golden Knight.

What she saw made her stomach twist. He had stripped the men of their sight, his knife glinting in the dim light, slick with blood. Their screams filled the church, hoarse and desperate as they writhed on the floor. She quickly looked away as he advanced, his gaze fixed on her with a deadly, intense calm.

Levi begged, his voice trembling in a painful way. "Please... pray for me."

Rose's tears fell onto his face, staining his cheeks with warm drops. "Levi, you're not going to die. "

Mr. Jones words repeated in her head. Willingly and she hoped he had not lied.

He gave a small shake of his head, his lips trembling as he tried to speak. "Those marks... they don't heal," he murmured.

"No," she whispered fiercely, refusing to let despair take root. "You're going to live, but you have to promise me two things."

Levi's lips quivered as he tried to smile, sensing perhaps that she was comforting him the way she had comforted the children, with a game that masked her own fear.

"Anything," he whispered, gasping as pain rippled through him, his eyes finding her blue gaze, which shimmered with tears-for him.

"First," she said, her voice breaking slightly, "you have to tell Margaret how you feel. As soon as you're better."

A faint chuckle escaped him, followed by a sharp hitch in his breathing, his fingers gripping her hand as tightly as he could manage.

"Second," she continued, brushing a tear from his cheek, "I want you to live a long and happy life. Don't let these terrible people win. Don't let them turn you into someone else."

Rose heart pounded as Golden Knight stood next to her.

As Rose looked up, she froze, meeting the piercing gaze he gave her, his grey eyes locked onto her with an unreadable intensity.