King of Crime ✔️

Nicotine

"Sam." 

I stumbled forward, slid down next to her on my knees and pulled her into my chest as my Agent took over aiding the bleeding man on the floor. 

All of my worry and dread turned into nothing as my mind went numb, my body too busy to pull the girl before me closer against itself. Tears ran unchecked over her cheeks, her bloody hands grabbing handfuls of my jacket.

Waves of ease flowed through me as I let her sob in my chest. Far away, my Agent called for medical assistance. The panic that had kept the adrenaline surging through my body since a minute ago, melted into sheer relief, pulsating out of me in the shape of shaky breaths. 

She was okay.

The medical team barged in as I clenched my arm around Samantha and rose, lifting her up in the process. She was drenched. The cold of the rain in her dress soaked through me, my hand in her dripping hair, as her chest rose and fell with rapid motions against mine. 

She pulled away from my grip and gazed into my eyes, tears rolling over her cheeks, before searching for the shot man, who was being taken out the ruined building.

"Will he be alright?" she queried with a hoarse voice and coughed, as I felt my own throat burning up.

"Yes." 

Samanatha's shaking fingers left red smudges on my skin as she went over my neck. 

"Go with the medical team, alright?" I hardly asked, staring into her glassy dark blue eyes. A woman grabbed the girl by the arm and took her in, leaving me cold as her warm body left me. 

I let out a shaky breath and pressed my hands against my head. Fuck, she had me worried sick.

~

We still had to take all the men in custody, Hannig was nowhere to be found. People had fled; it wouldn't be unlikely if they already got to him. 

My fingers were shaking with the need for a cigarette. They had been ever since we finally got word about Sam's whereabouts, and they probably wouldn't stop any time soon. 

The place was a fucking mess. There were two deaths confirmed, both of them belonging to Bentzen's party, killed by the gunfire. Three confirmed fled, five ready to be taken in. I couldn't be more glad I made the decision to go all out with who to take.

Swiftly clearing the house to find no one, we headed back outside to Matthias, who was making progress. Luckily, Bentzen's men put up no fight. 

 I was still in a daze from finding the girl I had been relentlessly searching for the past week, depriving me of sleep or time off. 

Staring at the helicopter where Sam was seated, I left Matthias, in the middle of giving his commands, and pulled out my earpiece to head over to her.

Along the side of the helicopter, the medical team was busy giving first aid to two men, one of them being the guy Sam kept alive. It looked like he was going to make it. 

The large chopper's doors were wide open, and there she sat, on the side, like a drowned cat, staring into nothing. Her curls and dress clung to her skin, revealing her thin, almost anorexic body. A blanket had been drawn over her shoulders but was falling off again, as she didn't hold it up.

As I sat down next to her, she looked up, startled, but relaxed as I pulled out my cigarettes and a lighter. In absolute silence, with nothing but the dark woods to look at, I drew the smoke into my lungs. Nothing had ever felt so good.

"Can I have, too?" Her cold fingers, rubbed clean, gently moved over mine as I handed her the smoke, before bringing it to her full lips. 

I released the smoke as she coughed. 

A weird feeling was captivating me. There was this tickling flame inside, dying to ignite me fully. I watched Sam whimper because of the smoke going through her painful throat, before quickly puffing more nicotine into her lungs.

"That's unpleasant," she remarked, hoarse, as I leaned closer, without thinking, aching for her lips. As she glanced up from the smoke, her eyes widened and lowered to my mouth. 

I wanted to ask her what happened, how she'd been, where Hannig was, tell her that all was okay now, apologize for fighting with her before she left, but my mind was numb. All I registered were her lips.

"Sam, were're you?" Matthias voice neared us, making me hold in my tracks to kiss her and turn to the man that appeared from the corner.

"Here."

"No kidding. Samantha, are you alright?" he asked the girl, who nodded in response. 

The man stretched his arms and turned back to me, his dark and weary eyes betraying that he too, had been beating himself up this week. "I need you to look at a few things. It's a fucking mess. I really want to get this over with."

"Yes." 

Every word I spoke felt incredibly tiresome and unnecessary, but somehow, all was ruled out by Sam's presence. Matthias nodded and disappeared around the corner again, leaving the silence to return. 

The woods before us were eerily dark. Hypnotizingly mysterious. They tempted me to try and get lost in them, getting rid of this excruciating guilt.

Suddenly, Sam pressed her lips against my shoulder. Her warm skin seemed to travel straight through my soaked shirt, causing goosebumps to arise. I leaned towards her and she grabbed my shirt, pulling me close. 

Our lips grazed against each other as the world around me faded away, leaving her and me completely alone in our own world, in which only our bodies existed. My thoughts had long fled my mind. 

Her trembling lips moved around mine, hardly teasingly, more like too afraid to meet me head on. Too timid. Her eyes met mine, hesitantly, as I reached for her head and guided her against my awaiting mouth.

She tasted like tears and rain, and nothing had ever tasted better. Closing her eyes, she responded with more certainty but incredible softness, as her shaking fingers released my collar and moved over my chest. She let out a sigh against my skin before reuniting our lips. 

It felt like the weight of the world slipped off me. Like she told me everything was fine, through unspoken words, that she didn't blame me for being late. A salty drop mingled with our kiss, secretly, telling me that her emotions were overflowing.

"I have to go." I turned away and let my hand slip from her heated skin as she handed me the burned-up cigarette.

"When can I go home?"

"In a minute," I responded, not daring to look at her. I was afraid that she might see through me if she saw my face, or that she might be angry.

"Sam?" Her tone was relentlessly vulnerable. I rubbed over the dried-up blood in my neck. "Thank you."

"Heh, for what?" I finally turned to her and she reached for me, for my hand. Her soft fingers brushed over mine as her cheeks heated up.

"For caring for me," she whispered. 

It felt like my heart jolted out of my chest. Like she had injected ecstasy into my blood, making me forget all that passed to get to her. I did, yes, I did. A lot.

I stepped closer and pulled the girl near, pressing my lips into her hair, not letting go of her bone-thin hand. Waves of affection rushed through me, almost leaving me breathless, beating me down.

"No problem." 

Sam giggled hoarsely at my response and pushed me away with the strength of a butterfly, her hand slipping out of my grip.

"You had to go. Get going," she demanded, hugging herself. 

I nodded, feeling weirdly high. Yeah. I really am far gone.