When the fear of isolation pulls Ashton and Ria together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. An anomaly shatters the repetitive fabric of their lives, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another.
Beneath Ashton's gen...
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EVERY DROP OFBLOOD in Chris' body is lit like a raging fire.His long legs send him into a furious pace in front of Ria's emergency hospital room. The end of his thumbnail wears beneath his ravenous teeth. Nerves spark from his body like balls of electricity. The relentless pounding of his heart is a fury in his ears. He shuts his eyes, trying to escape the horrifying images.
Terror engraving Ria's face as blood drenched her delicate hands. The black hilt of a blade protruding from her stomach. The way her eyes stuck to him as her body fell limp in his arms.
They're all pasted to his memory like a curse.
She'll be okay. She'll be okay. She'll be okay.
His eyes shoot open and he's staring into her room again. Nurses scramble around her gurney, hooking her up to an IV and heart monitor, and cut off the clothes around her wound. One nurse comes over to the window and grasps the curtains surrounding it. He feeds Chris a look of melancholy before pulling them shut.
His heart stops with the motion. There's not enough oxygen in the air to draw into his lungs.
She'll be fine. She'll be-
"Chris."
His blood boils at the very sound of that voice; Italian accent wrapped around a deep and guiltless tone.
Chris turns around to find Daniel coming down the hall while nursing the side of his head. He bares his teeth at the sick bastard and rage sends him one step in front of Daniel. Fingers rip at his collar as he yanks the infuriating man down to his height. "You piece of shit," he growls. "How dare you show your fucking face here?"
"Chris," he says calmly, "look-"
Without thinking, Chris rears back and his fist collides with Daniel's face. Pain cracks up his hand, but it's worth it to see Daniel grunt in pain and grab his eye. "You said she wouldn't get hurt!" Chris yells, all his nerves laying on this man. "You said she was going to leave Ashton for me. You didn't say that you guys were involved in some messed up illegal mafia shit."
"The less you knew, the better," Daniel croaks and tries to cover his eye.
"Get away from here," he spits, shoving at his broad chest. "Both of you need to stay out of her life."
"I didn't mean for her to get hurt," Daniel hisses, frustration morphing under his pain. "He was supposed to take Vivian and scare Ria away. I never thought-"
"Shut up! I don't care about your excuses! I never want to see your face again." He shoves Daniel away from the room. "Get out!"
"You have to do the final thing, Chris." He staggers back. "That's the only way all of this works."
