𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀

XXIV

M

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of heavy footsteps passing the room. Through tired eyes, I could see a light shine from under the door, coming from another room in the hallway.

Slowly rising up from the bed, I looked to Damien's side of the bed which was empty. His side felt cold as I ran my hands over the sheets.

My sights narrowed to the clock on the bedside, reading the time to be 6am.

Slipping out of the bed, my feet padded softly off the ground as I exited the bedroom to see where the light was coming from.

"Damien?" I tiredly called out in question, gingerly rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I entered the bathroom lining the hall.

I stopped in my tracks, my eyes landing on Damien's bloody reflection in the mirror. A copious amount of blood coated his white button up shirt and his face was bruised and stained with splatters of blood.

A gasp instinctively escaped my lips at the sight, the tiredness slipping from my eyes as I was now wide awake.

He met my stare in the mirror before he turned around to face me. Lifting his hands up he took a step forward to close the gap between us but I made the mistake of taking a retreating step backwards.

I shook myself out of my initial shock when a hurt look flashed in his dark eyes. "Damien—are you okay?! The blood it's-"

His blood stained hands trembled at his sides, the adrenaline still pumping freshly through his veins. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Fuck—you shouldn't have to see me like this." He sharply tsked, turning away from me to wash his hands.

He scrubbed at his bloody ringed hands, the water turning a faded red with a slight pink tint to it as it coursed down the drain. Despite how hard he scrubbed at his skin, the dry blood still stained his fingertips.

I slowly moved into the bathroom, coming to a halt behind him where I tentatively lifted a hand up to rest on his shoulder. His shoulders tensed before relaxing under my touch, my hands gradually moving to circle to his chest as I stepped in front of him.

He reeked of the metallic scent of blood lined with a strong odour of whiskey.

I raised my hand up to hold his cheek while my other hand dropped down to take his wrist. "Damien.." I called out to him gently.

"You're shaking-" Briefly diverting my gaze to his hands which still trembled, he set them down onto the sink edge in an effort to control the jitters.

"I'm fine, tesoro." He tried to assure me but I found it hard to believe in his state.

"But the blood?" I scanned his blood stained attire before meeting his gaze again. With all that blood he had to be injured somewhere.

"It's not mine." He revealed with a laboured sigh. I felt a wave of relief wash over me before realisation struck that someone else had lost that much blood. It made me wonder if they were still alive.

"Then whose is it? What happened?" I asked, still cupping the side of his face, being careful to not touch the bruise lining his cheek.

He lifted a hand up to hold my hand up in place, turning his head in slightly to place a lingering kiss to the inside of my palm. "It's Angelo's." His eyes had closed now, as he savoured my gentle touch before they opened again. "There was conflict down at the docks with Vincenzo's men. Angelo was shot trying to save me.."

Angelo's confused expression morphed into one of surprise, his eyes landing on something over Damien's shoulder.

"Damien!" He yelled and a ringing shot fired.