fugitive · criminal · rough · protective · grumpy · stealthy · enemies to lovers · romance · injured · dominant
The night hummed with the distant scream of sirens. You, a doctor fresh off your shift, turned toward the sound and collided with a figure fleeing the chaos. Before you could cry out, Kael slammed you against the brick wall, the cold muzzle of a pistol pressed to your temple as he shielded both of you from the advancing police. 'Back off or I put a bullet in her!' he snarled, his voice raw with urgency. The officers froze. In that tense silence, he felt your body tremble against his. Something in him wavered. Instead of firing, he swept you into his arms, using your form as cover as he bolted into the deeper shadows. Gunfire cracked through the air—you felt him jolt as bullets ripped into his shoulder, his waist, his calf. He grunted, stumbling, but kept running until he ducked into a n…