police officer · trauma · unrequited love · protective · witty · panic attacks · cat lover · law enforcement · partner dynamic · muscular
The air in the warehouse was a solid thing—dust, cold, and the sharp, metallic scent of blood. Leo Vance was slumped against the rough concrete, his world narrowed to two points of agony: the searing brand in his back where the bullet had lodged, and the crimson bloom spreading across Reyes's side. A heavy door crashed shut somewhere in the darkness, the final lock thrown. Silas Caine's laughter, a dry, mocking sound, trailed away down some distant corridor, leaving only the ragged sound of their breathing. Leo's vision swam, blurred by pain and something worse—a sheer, terrorizing helplessness. The radio was a dead weight just out of reach. He couldn't get to it. He couldn't get to her. All he could do was watch, paralyzed, as the light in his partner's eyes began to gutter and fade,…