Page 54 of Tainted Blood
She’s just hanging there.
Waiting for death.
I’m carving up the distance to reach her before her name leaves my mouth. I need to touch her. I need to see her. Cupping her jaw in both hands, I pull her head upright, and take a wrecking ball to the chest when I see the devil’s handiwork all over her face.
But she’s warm.
Her skin is fucking warm.
Keeping her head lifted with one hand, I check her pulse. It’s faint…but it’s there.
She’s alive.
“Thalia, open your eyes. Mi, amada...”
Nothing. Meanwhile, in the distance, there’s another massive explosion, and more clouds of dust come billowing down into the cellar.
Still cradling her head, I reach up to jerk the chains binding her wrists, but they’re made of steel and concreted into the wall.
Fuck.
I can’t shoot the chains while she’s unconscious. She could move at any moment and catch the bullet instead.
I’m debating my next move when there’s a dull crack and a section of the cellar’s ceiling comes crashing down around us.
They say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die. I’ve taunted death more times than I can count, but at this moment, all I see is her…us… A tragically poetic story unfolding in a flurry of snapshots.
Thalia and I met in a snowstorm, and we’re going to die in a fucking firestorm.
Orange and red start creeping into the far corners of the cellar. In a few moments, the heat and smoke will be punishing. I press my forehead to hers, cursing this world for ripping us apart. I deserve death. She doesn’t. I’m destined for a place that no angel fears to tread.
“Fly high, muñequita...”
At the sound of my voice, her eyelids flutter, and then she’s coughing violently.
“Come back to me, Thalia,” I hiss, trying again to rouse her again. “Time to wake up.”
“I’m so tired,” she whispers.
“I need you to be strong one last time so I can shoot your chains. I need you to brace your fall. Can you do that?”
This time, when her eyelids flutter, I find myself staring into an ocean of pain.
“Thalia?”
“I’m ready,” she croaks.
I step back, steadying my hand as I take aim and shoot—once, then twice. As her chains disintegrate, she flings her arms in front of her. Diving forward, I catch her seconds before she hits the ground—her warmth and fragility sinking into my chest.
I tighten a fierce hold around her.
I’m never letting her fall again.
Ripping off my shirt, I throw it around her naked body. There’s so much I want to say. So much I want to atone for, but all that has to wait. Lifting her into my arms, I fight through the smoke and falling debris to find the staircase again. By the time we reach the hallway, we’re both gasping for clean air.
“Santi,” she wheezes, curling her arms around my neck. “I can’t breathe.”
“Stay with me, muñequita. Don’t you fucking leave me now. Just a few more minutes. Keep your mouth covered.”