"No pulse," one of the many doctors surrounding him said. "I'll start CPR."

He started doing chest compressions. I looked at the monitor, begging it to give a pulse, a proof of life instead of the deafening sound of the flat line.

"Charge to two hundred," the doctor ordered.

"Ma'am, you need to step away," a nurse spoke to me. She probably had to repeat it a few times before I finally looked at her.

I took a few steps back, saying nothing. I didn't dare to take my eyes off him as I kept hoping that what I was experiencing right now wasn't true, only a horrible nightmare.

"Everybody clear!" the doctor yelled. Everybody stepped away from the bed. He took the paddles and placed them on Liam's chest.

"Clear," he said again. The shock was delivered. His body vibrated and rose for a second.

I looked at the monitor again, hoping to see the slightest of pulses. Anything that would mean he was still here, fighting, but there was nothing but the damn flat line.

This couldn't be happening...

I always thought that what happened to me in my childhood made me stronger and maybe even immune to all the destruction that loss caused to the souls of the living. But oh boy, I was mistaken.

With every second passing by, I felt myself shattering piece by piece, and nobody would ever put those pieces together again.

I was supposed to be in his place—I wished I was in his place. I wished he had never saved me, so I wouldn't be going through this. What would make my life worth living if he wasn't a part of it?

"Charge to three hundred," the doctor said again. One nurse nodded, and the doctor placed the paddles on top of Liam's bare chest again. "Clear," he said and delivered the shock.

Nothing happened. The monitor kept flatlining.

I could feel the fear in my chest waiting to take over. There was a tightness in my throat as I felt the air being knocked out of my lungs, but I refused to believe it was over. I couldn't lose him.

I remembered the first time we met—the fight we had. How I had despised him and wanted to give him a good punch in the face, and how I came to realize what an amazing person he was. He was kind and sincere. He never judged me, and he was always there whenever I needed him.

Being with him made me feel safe and happy. His existence in my life gave it meaning, and I was the best version of myself when I was with him. I loved him because he was there for me when I couldn't be there for myself. It was fascinating how your feelings for someone could change over time. He meant so much to me, and I would never handle losing him.

I took a few steps closer to the bed and ignored the shouts of the doctors and nurses.

I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear. "Come on, Liam. Show them how strong you are. I know you never give up without a fight, so please fight. For me."

For some reason, I believed he was still in there and that he could hear me. I stepped back again to let the doctors do their work.

The doctor gave me a compassionate look before he said. "Come on, let's do it one more time. Charge to three hundred sixty." He put the paddles on Liam's chest once more. "Clear." He shocked Liam's body.

The procedure took seconds, but it felt like a lifetime.

I looked at the monitor and my heart leaped when I saw a little pulse on the screen, and there was a beep sound coming out of the machine.

He was there. He was still hanging there, fighting for life.

"We got a pulse," the doctor yelled. "We need to take him to the OR. Now!" They rushed and started prepping him to take him to the operating room.

After they were gone, I sat on the floor with my back resting on the wall. I felt as if I had just regained the ability to breathe again, and finally, I dared to hope...

***

It had been three hours since they took Liam to the operating room.

With every second passing, I was dying inside. And everything around me in the hospital agitated me.

The smell of antiseptics filled my nostrils, making me sick. The constant boring TV commercials and the banging of the receptionist's fingers on the keyboard were driving me insane.

I wanted to know how he was doing. I wanted to know if he was going to be okay.

Many people passed by to check on him. Ava, Caleb, and even McCoy. But they all had to leave because things were still hectic at the bureau after Wyatt's death and what he did.

Remembering Wyatt brought back the fires of fury and hatred that smoldered deep in my system. And on top of that, the feeling of guilt weighed down on my chest. I couldn't get rid of the thought that it was supposed to be me on the operating table and not Liam.

I found myself biting on my lip, but I stopped when I felt the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. I let out a sigh and looked at the clock again, and I could swear that it went backward by five minutes.

"Here."

I heard a familiar voice. I looked up to see Ian offering me a cup of coffee.

My eyes were wide. I was a little surprised by his presence.

"Thank you," I mumbled, taking the coffee from him. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought you could use the company." He smiled, taking a seat beside me.

I managed to send him a little smile.

"How's he doing?"

"He's been in surgery for three hours now. Your guess is as good as mine," I said, drawing circles on top of the cup in my hand.

"How about you?"

I didn't know what to say, because honestly, I was a wreck.

He sighed when he didn't receive an answer. "I know this must be really hard for you, but keep holding on to hope. He will be okay."

"Yeah," I said with a slight nod, hoping it would be true.

Ian looked at me, then he let out a little laugh.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, it's just..." he started. "I have really wanted to buy you a cup of coffee for too long, but I never expected it to be under such circumstances."

I frowned, looking at him like he was insane.

His lips twitched into a smirk. "Yes, I've wanted to ask you out and get to know you better, but I realized I had a really tough competition."

I slightly smiled. "I do not know what you are talking about," I said knowingly, avoiding looking him in the eye.

"Come on, Alex. Everybody knows you both are into each other," he said, giving me a look that probably meant it was probably the most obvious thing in the world.

I was about to argue with him, but I noticed Liam's surgeon approaching us. I instantly stood up to meet him.

Focusing on his expression, I let out a breath of relief when I saw that he looked relaxed, and I thought he even had a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I'm glad to inform you that the surgery was successful. We removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding," he said. "However, we had to remove the spleen. But don't worry, it's no big deal. People can have a perfectly normal life without it.

"We expect Mr. Hunt to make a full recovery with no major complications."

I felt like I was holding all the world's weight on my shoulders and finally could get it all off.

A slow smile made its way to my lips. "Thank you, Doctor," I said gratefully. "When will I be able to see him?"

"He's still under anesthesia, and it's going to be a while till he wakes up. But you can wait in the room with him if you want," he replied, smiling.

I thanked him once more before he left.

"Well, it looks like my job here is done," Ian said. "I'm really glad he's okay."

"Thank you, Ian." I gave him a little smile. "Thank you for being here. It meant a lot to me."

"Anytime." He smiled. "Well, maybe I can buy you a cup of coffee another time. But don't worry, it's only going to be a token of friendship."

I chuckled. "I will take that into consideration."

Ian sent me another smile I knew was genuine. "It was a pleasure working with you. Both of you, actually."

I gave him a gentle hug before he left, and then a nurse took me to Liam's room.

He was still unconscious, but he looked much better than he did three hours ago. A little color had returned to his face, and he no longer needed a ventilator to breathe for him. He was lying peacefully beneath the sheets. I watched as his chest rose and fell with each steady breath.

I let out a little smile before I took a seat next to his bed. My eyes wandered to his heart monitor. The beeping sound of his heartbeat was soothing. It gave me the reassurance that his heart was still beating and that he was there, holding on to life.

An hour passed. I kept watching him carefully and checking his heart monitor every once in a while, terrified that something could go wrong.

I stood up to pour myself a cup of water, but I almost dropped the glass to the ground when I heard a faint voice.

"A—Alex," Liam called, his voice raspy and a bit unclear.

I rushed to his bed. "Hey, you," I said. The smile on my face was so huge that it brought a little pain to the corners of my mouth.

"Hey." A little, lopsided smile was drawn on his face.

"You shouldn't have done that, Liam," I said, reaching out to hold his hand. "That bullet wasn't meant for you."

He squeezed my hands as tightly as he could and focused his tired blue eyes on me. "I would have never forgiven myself if I had let anything happen to you. At that moment, nothing else mattered, Alex. Nothing but you." His lips twitched into a gorgeous smile. "Besides, I have promised your grandmother to keep you safe, remember?"

I let out a chuckle and tried to push away the tears that were gathering in my eyes. "You know, I'm kind of really into people who tend to keep their promises."

He smirked. "Speaking of promises. I believe I still owe you a shot of tequila."

I grinned. "Yeah, you do. And it would have been really awful if you had died on me and just left me hanging here," I teased, remembering the similar words he had said to me. "That would have driven me mad, and I warn you, I'm quite scary when I get mad."

He let out a quiet laugh, and it sounded like a melody to my ears.

"I will make sure to never do that in the future," he said, then the left side of his lips tugged upward into the smirk that always gave me inner delight. "You know, now would be a great time to have our second kiss. But you know I just had surgery, and my mouth must smell awful."

I let out a laugh before I leaned forward and placed my lips on his. It was slow, soft, and comforting in ways that words could never express. I could feel the endorphin rushing in my body, and there was a pleasant euphoric warmth.

"This was for good luck," I whispered to him when we broke the kiss.

He gave me a huge grin before he pressed his lips against mine again. And slowly, the world started to fade away, together with all the troubles and hassles of that long day.

***

A few weeks later:

I looked at the gravestones in front of me with a smile.

It was the first time I visited my parents' graves and felt good about it. I felt that they finally could rest in peace, knowing they didn't die in vain and that what my father did would never be forgotten.

Liam approached me from behind and asked. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," I answered before I placed some flowers on each of the graves, then I got back to my feet, and walked away with Liam, a pleased smile on my face.

The ghosts of my past haunted me for so long. I was always looking back. Feeling as if I were trapped inside a cage of my own creation, yet I didn't have the key out.

But now, I was finally enjoying the simple pleasures of existence. I could finally wake up and actually be excited about what the day had to offer.

I was finally looking forward to the future. And I could not be happier to experience all of that with Liam because he was the one who made me want to look for the key and break free.

And now I could finally say that I had set myself free.

I was no longer trapped...