Pd only miss the sight of him. A dark, tortured gaze held mine for a long moment. Finally, it seemed to sink into him I was awake and farther from death’s door than he’d assumed. Keeping pressure on my wound, he leaned against the back seat, rested an arm on his elbow, and dropped his head to his chest, eyes closed. “Ona ne spit,” he exhaled roughly. “Fuck. Ona ne spit.” “We are almost there,” Albert announced from the front seat. I’d expected to be in a lot of pain from being shot, though my entire body tingled as if Pd been injected with lidocaine everywhere. When Ronan opened his eyes, they pinned me with fury. “Zachem ty eto sdelala?” he gritted. “Zachem?” “English,” I said softly. “Why the fuck would you do that, Mila?” he growled with a deep rasp. “WHY?” “You’re not immortal,” I whispered, my throat thick. “I didn’t want you to die.” He stared at me with a mixture of disbelief, anger, and something else indiscernible. “You don’t get to sacrifice yourself for me.” He clenched his teeth. “You DON’T get to die for me, kotyonok.” His eyes crucified me. “If anyone dies between us, it will be ME. Do you understand?” I didn’t understand, so I shook my head. “Then let me make it clear for you,” he said, the shadows in his eyes flashing. “You would survive without me. You would move on.” His tone roughened. “I can’t imagine a world where you and all your fucking yellow doesn’t exist. So if you die, you’ll take me with you. Your sacrifice would mean nothing, kotyonok. NOTHING.” A tear ran down my cheek as a coldness began to invade the tremble inside me. My marrow was turning to ice, and I shivered violently. “T’m so cold, Ronan...” My eyes felt weighted down, so I closed them. “Nyet,” Ronan growled, grabbing my face. “Don’t fucking close your eyes.” “Pm so tired,” I whispered, lethargy pulling at every muscle in my body. “I don’t think .. .” “If you die, Mila,” he said harshly, “Pll send Khaos to a back-alley pound.” My heart beat. “You wouldn’t.” “I would.”