تسجيل الدخول∆EZEKIEL POV∆"What do you mean by 'why'?" Zachary's jaw tightened slightly at the question, almost as if the answer irritated him. "You got shot." "That doesn’t explain…" I winced sharply as another wave of pain shot through my shoulder. "Even if I got shot, I'm the patient, but you're looking more like a patient than me as if you're the one who got shot." Immediately Zachary’s expression darkened with worry."Don’t move... The wound might reopen." His voice turned colder instantly, but underneath it I could hear something else now. Fear... Actual fear.I frowned weakly. "I’m not made of glass, you can stop worrying about small things like this.""Yes, you're not made of glass but you nearly died in my arms." That shut me up completely.The room fell silent after that. Not awkward but heavy. Because for the first time since meeting him, Zachary wasn’t hiding what he felt properly anymore. And somehow… that scared me more than his cruelty ever had.The machine beside me beeped ste
∆EZEKIEL POV∆"Ezekiel… open your eyes."That voice reached me from somewhere far away, cutting through the fire, through the smoke, through the sound of collapsing walls and screaming voices.For a moment, I still couldn’t tell what was real.The flames were everywhere. That little boy was crying. The man was burning while shielding him. And that lullaby… God, that lullaby wouldn’t stop echoing inside my head, soft and broken, like it had carved itself into my bones.My chest suddenly tightened painfully, and a broken gasp tore out of me as my eyes flew open violently."Fire…!"My entire body jerked upward instinctively before unbearable pain exploded through my shoulder and chest, tearing me apart from the inside."Ahh!" A strong arm immediately wrapped around me before I could fall from the bed."Easy."That voice is deep, low and familiar... It is none other than Zachary.My vision blurred badly for several seconds as I struggled to breathe properly. Everything looked hazy and di
∆NO POV∆"Why does it hurt so much…?"The thought surfaced weakly through endless darkness, faint and broken, like something struggling desperately to stay afloat before sinking again.Ezekiel couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t open his eyes either. Everything around him felt unbearably heavy, as if he had been dragged into the deepest part of the ocean and left there alone. Even breathing felt distant and unnatural, like it belonged to someone else. But the pain remained, sharp, burning, and spreading slowly through his chest and shoulder before turning into unbearable heat crawling beneath his skin.Then came the smell. Smoke... Burning wood, and blood.Ezekiel’s brows twitched faintly as uneasiness settled deep inside him. The darkness around him no longer felt empty. It felt alive, shifting slowly like something was waiting for him to notice it. Then suddenly, a child cried.The sound echoed somewhere far away at first, weak and trembling, yet painfully clear against the suff
"Well, you seem to have forgotten basic responsibility," Maddison shot back immediately, walking straight toward the table without hesitation. "Even if you're a chief here, do you think this behaviour of yours can be justified?" The tension in the room shifted dramatically. This was no longer internal. This was something public. Something dangerous.Maddison stopped in front of the table, his gaze locking directly with Raymond’s. "Do you even understand what your reckless decisions just caused?" Raymond’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Before raising your voice at me, I prefer you give an explanation, Mr. Maddison." Maddison let out a short, and humorless breath before speaking, his voice steady but heavy with accusation. "Ezekiel is in the hospital." The room froze completely. A few officers exchanged shocked glances."Injured? How does it happen to someone who disappeared all of a sudden from the middle of operation?" Raymond asked, his tone carefully neutral.Maddison laughed once, s
∆NO POV∆"Where is Ezekiel?"Raymond’s voice cut through the conference room, not in a loud voice, but sharp enough to make every officer present stiffen instinctively. The large table in front of him was buried under reports, operation logs, incomplete footage stills, and hastily written notes. None of it looked clean. None of it looked like a victory. And that was the problem.Just hours ago, Raymond had taken full credit when the initial intelligence came in. He had presented himself as the man who would finally corner Zachary, the one who would clean up the mess the department had failed to handle for years. The higher officials had backed him and trusted him.Now they were watching, waiting and judging.His phone had not stopped ringing for the past hour. Calls from superiors. Messages demanding explanations. Questions he didn’t have clean answers for.Five locations. Three completely empty. Two turned into absolute chaos. No arrest. No confirmed kill. And worse casualties. Ray
∆NO POV∆"I don't want him to die!"Zachary’s voice was very quiet compared to his usual tone, but the strain beneath it was impossible to miss. It wasn’t a command this time, nor a threat to any enemies. It sounded like something far more dangerous, a man trying desperately to hold onto control when everything was slipping through his fingers.The medical room remained dim except for the harsh white lights focused directly on Ezekiel’s still body. Machines hummed softly around them, their steady beeping is the only proof that he was still alive. Tubes ran into his arm, slowly replacing lost blood, while oxygen fed into lungs that struggled to keep working. The sight of it made something raw and painful twist deep inside Zachary’s chest.Xeon didn’t look at him when he responded. His attention stayed fixed on the monitors. "I already told you. He survived the surgery but what happens next depends on him." Zachary’s jaw tightened painfully, but he said nothing more. For the past twe
∆EZEKIEL∆"Didn’t you say you would do anything I say just a minute ago?" Zachary asked from the door, watching me with the calm patience of someone who already knew how this situation would end.For a brief moment I simply stared at him, then I forced out a bright laugh that sounded far more confi
∆EZEKIEL∆"Spread my legs? My ass," I shot back before my brain could catch up with my mouth. "Try it and I’ll break yours."For half a second there was silence, thick and uneasy.Then they laughed.Not normal laughter, but the kind that crawled under your skin
∆NO POV∆"Aren't you going to answer?" Zachary raised an eyebrow, his voice was low, but the seriousness in it left no room for avoidance.Ezekiel’s throat tightened.For a moment he simply stared up at Zachary, the weight of that question pressing heavily against his chest while the cold air again
∆EZEKIEL∆"What's your motive behind following me?" Zachary asked in a voice that had suddenly lost all trace of amusement as his eyes fixed on me with a cold intensity that made the air in the room feel heavier.My heartbeat stumbled immediately because that tone was very different from the teasin







