“My hands are bleeding.” I tried to twist to see them, but he only held me tighter to keep us both from falling backward into the alley again. “I’m fine. It was just the glass. Nothing Raphael can’t handle. You were right about the window. It was the smartest point of exit.” His voice was gentle and soft. Reassuring. Like it used to be.

I never wanted to leave that alleyway.

“Did you notice how the Mazikin didn’t try to bite or claw you?” he asked. “They were trying to subdue you. Not kill you.”

“The one who hit me with the pipe must have missed that memo.”

He shook his head. “They wanted us alive. They wanted you.” His arms coiled around me, like he was still trying to keep them from getting me, and it was the best thing I’d felt all night. All week. All month.

“It’s possible they wanted the police to catch us,” I said. “This whole thing was a setup. They were waiting for us. They might have even paid that kid to feed us information.”

“I realized that a little too late. They’ve never been this organized before. They’ve never come after us like this before.”

“In the dark city, you had hordes of those enormous Guards watching your back. And even then, by the end they’d started picking off the Guards, one by one, right? We only have each other here. There are different rules, too. And they’ve realized that.” My fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt. It should have been all professional, two Guards trying to survive, but it was hard to concentrate with him so close to me.

He only made it harder when he rested his chin on the top of my head. “Then I’m glad I have you. You are an excellent Guard, Lela. And a good partner.”

“I’m not—”

“You fought well. Ana could not have done better. I had no fear for my back in there. I knew you would protect me.”

“Well, you’re the one who trained me.”

“I never trained you to wield a pipe like that.”

“Okay. I might have some moves of my own.” I turned so that my forehead rested in the curve of his neck. This was not allowed. It was a shade too close, skin to skin, and I waited for him to pull away, but he didn’t. He stayed very still while I inhaled, drawing the scent of him into my lungs.