Chapter 4 - Ghosts of Hopkins
By 4:00 a.m., the poison had begun to clear from Leo’s system. His breathing leveled into a deep, natural sleep, his lips returning to a healthy pink.
Dr. Vance stepped back, wiping his brow. "He’s stable. The atropine counteracted the nerve agent. Another hour without treatment, and his diaphragm would have paralyzed completely. You brought him to me in time, Damian. Thanks to her."
Vance packed his bag and retreated to the adjoining lab to analyze the remaining fluid sample from the syringe retrieved from Lenox Hill.
The medical room grew quiet, save for the rhythmic beep... beep... beep... of the heart monitor.
Damian walked over to the chair where Maya sat. Her shoulders were slumped, her physical exhaustion finally overwhelming the lingering adrenaline. She had washed her face, but the bruise on her jaw was dark purple, and the white bandage on her forehead stood out starkly against her dark hair.
"You should sleep," Damian said, offering her a glass of water.
Maya took it, her fingers brushing his. Her skin was freezing. "I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I hear the alarm."
Damian pulled up a chair and sat opposite her, his tall frame folding into the seat. "Tell me about Lily."
Maya’s breath hitched. She looked up, startled. "How do you know that name?"
"My men run checks on everyone who enters my world," Damian said honestly. "It was not meant as an invasion of your privacy. I wanted to understand why a woman with no weapons held off an assassin with a piece of wood."
Maya looked down at the water glass in her hands. A single tear escaped her eye, leaving a clean track down her bruised cheek.
"When Lily was sick," Maya said, her voice barely a whisper, "I spent eleven months living in pediatric room 304. I learned the sound of every pump, every alarm, every footstep in the hall. I promised her I would guard her. I promised her nothing bad would happen while I was there."
She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve.
"When she died... I felt like I had broken a contract with the universe. I couldn't save my own child. So when I saw that man in Leo's room tonight... holding that needle over a sleeping boy..."
She looked up, her dark eyes flashing with a fierce, quiet fire.
"I didn't see a mafia hitman. I didn't see a giant with a gun. I just saw someone trying to steal another child from the world. And I wasn't going to let it happen twice."
May you like
Damian reached out and placed his hand over hers. His palm was large, calloused, and warm.
"You didn't break your contract, Maya," Damian said, his voice deep and solemn. "Tonight, you saved my entire world."
