Page 53 of Love’s Strongest Soldier

I shook my head.

“Don’t.”

His lips moved. I leaned closer. “What?”

He tried again.

“Luxe . . .”

“I’m here, babe.”

He swallowed. His hand dragged across the concrete. I caught it. He struggled to lift his fingers.

“Love . . . you.”

Something inside me shattered.

“No.” His eyes searched mine. “No, you don’t get to do that.” I shook my head violently. “You don’t get to tell me you love me like you’re saying goodbye.” He blinked. “Do you understand me?”

His breathing hitched. I pressed harder against his chest.

“You told me you were taking me home.” My voice broke. “You fucking promised me.”

I didn’t know how long we’d been on that concrete. All I knew was that the blood wouldn’t stop. It soaked through my fingers. It covered my knees and stained the diamond on my finger. Ghost grew quiet on me. His chest wasn’t rising the way it had before.

“Babe?”

His eyes barely opened. I forced a smile.

“There you are.” His lips twitched. “See? That’s all I need. Just keep looking at me.”

The first thing I noticed was the vibration beneath my knees. Heavy footsteps. Someone running toward us. I looked up. One of my security guards came around the corner, his gun drawn. His face changed when he saw us. He holstered his weapon and dropped beside me.

“Help him!”

He looked at Ghost’s chest, then at me. His expression told me everything.

“Don’t fucking look at me like that!”

He pulled his phone out and placed it to his ear. Shoot, I had already called for help, and they had yet to arrive. If Ghost were to die, I was gon’ sue the pants off the city. They needed to do better when it came to shit like this.

The paramedics arrived in a blur of flashing lights and hurried movements. Someone touched my shoulder. I jerked away.

“Don’t touch me!”

A woman stepped into my line of sight. “We need to help him.”

I shook my head. “I’m helping him.”

She looked at my hands and then back at me. “We need room.”

“No.”

Ghost’s hand was still in mine. I couldn’t let go. If I let go, something terrible would happen. I could feel it.

The woman knelt beside me. “What’s his name?”

I swallowed. “Ghost.”