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t g
large, pale hand clamped
he city, choked with the smell of rotting cardboard and
Fresh, h
pasting the fabric to her skin. She pulled the brim of he
e unseen margins of the world, urged her to avoid the glaring streetlights of Broadway. She ha
e grip was weak, trembling, but fueled by
h the curtain of rain and the heavy
s slumped against the wet brick wall. His face was the color of chalk.
in jagged, broken breaths
tic pulsing of the veins in his neck, the specific shade
rminal blood mutation. He was
ngers curled inward, a muscle memo
. She wanted to keep walkin
ashing in the puddles echoed
ic
nd of a suppressor scrapindarkness, sweeping over the overflowing trash cans.
ass
muscles failed him. A low, agonizing groan vibrate
. If the flashlights found them, Elia would have to
aw lo
vements were completely silent, li
die. Her fingers found the thin, leather case. S
aned over him. His pupils were b
sitate. She di
e side of his neck, hitting a microscopic ne
tantly. The needle forced his collapsing blood vessels to
mid-heave. Shock radiated from him,
were closer now.
es from Elia's shoulder. There was nowhere to hid
spark ignited in
ge hand shot up from the mud. He gra
rge of adrenaline-fueled str
concrete. Her body cras
oated brick wall. His heavy wool trench coat flared out, completely
is head
crashed do
kiss. It was
ood and the bitter rainwater. He pressed his body flush against hers, hilent jolt of pure, physiologi
a fist, aiming straight for hi
ht beam swep
hit the back of the
an accent muttered in disgust. "Ke
s splashed past them, the sound fadi
s, his teeth scraping her bottom lip. His hand slid up her
blood r
up and drove it viole
, breathless grunt. The
mporary strength from the adrenaline vanished. His legs gave out,and across her mouth, smeari
ow, controlled measures. Her
ed out," she stated, her voice comple
ppression effect, combined with the extreme p
the side. He was co
ner of his bloody mouth was curled
ized the sharp line of his jaw, the straight
o fingers against his carotid a
but steady. He woul
he strap of her worn can
cold wind whipped down the
o adjust the coll
hed against her
stop
ce usually rested was exp
d with the letters E-L-I-A. The only physical
as g
gainst her ribs, a
yes darting to the unc
The rough thumb pressing into her throat. He ha
her knees beside him, her hands mov
hecked his trousers. She ran her ha
th
ght air, growing louder by the second.
to the wet mud. Her k
t time. The smirk on his unconscious
it. He
ushed herself up, her wet s
into the heavy rain just as the flashing r
And when she did, she was
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