Ethan pulled the trigger.

The man, previously unaware, yelled and jumped away from her, turning towards Ethan, now cradling a bleeding shoulder.

He was going to kill the fucker in the worst way possible. But first he needed to take care of Amelia.

He shrugged off his jacket and knelt next to her, pulling her head onto his lap. He wrapped his jacket around her, making sure to keep his eyes off of her. He was sure he would lose whatever little control he had over himself if he looked at her.

He stood up, turning back to the drunk, his gun pointed at his head.

He heard Kenneth dismiss the manager, assuring him they wouldn't cause him any problems if he kept his mouth shut.

“Kenneth, take her to the hospital. Her stomach needs to be pumped. I’ll be there soon.” he said, never taking his eyes off the abuser.

“Ethan…” Kenneth began.

“Do not test me right now, Kenneth. Take her and leave.”

“You've shot me. I'm bleeding. I need to go to the hospital as well.” The man in front of him said, eyes flicking fearfully from the gun in Ethan's hand to Kenneth scooping up Amelia.

Ethan pushed the barrel of the pistol in his mouth.

His eyes widened and he grumbled something incoherent.

“Shut up before I blow your brains out,” Ethan warned.

Kenneth gave him a look, silently asking him to not let the monster out but it was too late.

Once they were gone, Ethan grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him out the storeroom and through the back door.

They ended up in a dark alleyway. Ethan pushed him and he fell onto the concrete street.

Ethan knelt in front of him.

“Now, let's have some fun, shall we?”

“You're crazy. Absolutely crazy. I'm leaving.” He whispered, trying to get up.

Ethan pointed the gun at his head, clicking his tongue in mock sympathy.

“Don't make this harder than this needs to be.”

He shot him in the leg. He yelled trying to scoot away from him but his back hit the wall.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I will stop. I will…”

Ethan shot him again. This time in the arm. The man screamed and writhed in agony.

The music from inside the club muffled his cries for help.

“Please, please. No. I'm sorry. I won't do this again. Please.”

Ethan shot him again. The other leg this time.

“You don’t deserve my mercy,” Ethan growled.

The man scurried back into the darkness, fear and dread filled in those inhumane eyes.

“I’m… I'm bleeding out.” he sobbed.

“That you are.” Ethan hummed.

And it would be a shame if Ethan wasn’t able to see the look on his face before he pulled the trigger the last time.

“Who are you?” he managed to ask, eyes closed, lips moving in a prayer that was going to go unanswered.

An image of her flashed in his mind, blue eyes burning with a stubbornness Ethan had despised.

Lucifer, she had said.

Maybe she hadn’t picked the safe word especially for him like he had thought but it didn’t matter now. He was going to be her Lucifer. He was going to be the devil, the monster that was willing to do anything to protect her.

“I’m your death,” he said before he pulled the trigger one last time.

__________

Ethan smoothed down his shirt one last time, making sure there were no blood stains before he stepped out of the car.

He pushed the double glass doors of the hospital and the smell of antiseptics and medicines invaded his senses.

He held back a violent gag as he rushed towards the reception.

“I’m here for Amelia Harold. She was admitted here a few hours ago.”

“Let me check,” the receptionist said, clicking through her records.

“1st floor. Room 201.”

“Thank you,” Ethan said before he took the stairs, skipping two steps at a time.

He spotted Kenneth sitting on the uncomfortable, metal seats. He turned towards him on hearing the very loud footsteps.

“Oh, thank God,” he said, standing up. “What happened?”

“What happened here?”

“She's fine, now. Gained consciousness a little while ago. Was asking for you.”

Ethan nodded, keeping his face neutral when all he wanted to do was run to her and hold her close.

“I took care of everything.”

“What did you do?”

“I asked Noah for help. He'll take care of the body and anyone else who might have seen us.”

“Are you serious?” Kenneth said, staring at him with disbelief. “Noah, of all people?”

Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was so fucking tired.

“He's the only one who could have handled this situation perfectly.”

“At what cost?”

“We'll worry about it when the time comes.”

“Are you sure you'll be able to handle whatever he's going to ask?”

“I won't have any other option.”

“Let's hope it won't be something too bad.”

“He's my brother. It'll definitely be something bad.”

Kenneth nodded grimly.

“Go home, Ken. You've helped enough today.” Ethan said, patting his shoulder.

“Call me if you need me,” he said and Ethan nodded, watching him walk away.

Ethan pushed open the door of room 201, allowing himself to relax only when the door closed behind him.

He walked towards her with slow and cautious steps, observing the devices beeping over her head.

Her pulse was normal, steady. Her oxygen levels were okay as well.

He gathered the courage to look down at her, at the color now back in her cheeks, the messy waves of her hair and the freckles scattered across her face.

He focused on the steady movement of her chest and the weight of the night didn't feel as daunting.

He blinked back the sudden moisture in his eyes.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He'd only done what any other decent human would do. It shouldn't affect him this badly, her well being.

So, why did it feel like his soul had been put back in his body? Like he'd been given a second chance at life now that she was safe.

He pulled a chair next to her as quietly as possible, settling down.

He reached forward, brushing a stray brown curl away from her face.

Whatever he was feeling, it was dangerous. And it would only grow more dangerous if he didn't do something about it.

It needed to stop.

She was so pure, so good. He couldn't taint her.

She stirred and he immediately pulled back.

She shifted in her position, a sleepy hum escaping her lips before her eyes fluttered open.

It took her a moment to register his presence and a smile broke out across her lips.

Ethan would have killed a million more men for that smile.

He managed to smile back.

“Hi.”

“You should rest.”

“I feel like I've been sleeping for years.”

“How are you feeling?” He asked and her smile vanished.

“Better,” she nodded.

“Good.”

“I'm…” she cleared her throat and he saw the shimmering unshed tears in her eyes.

He should have hugged her. Held her close. Done something to comfort her.

He ended up clenching his hands in fists instead because he was sure he would have shattered if she so much as touched him.

“Amelia, you're alright now. You're safe.”

She nodded, not meeting his eye.

“Ethan, please tell me nothing happened.”

His heart broke for her.

And he was such a fucking coward. He couldn't even comfort her when she needed it the most.

“Nothing happened, I promise. Nothing happened.”

She nodded once again, wiping her tears from the back of her sleeve.

“It was so stupid,” she whispered.

“You’re allowed to have fun. There was nothing stupid about that.”

“No. No, it's not that. I’ve never been to a club before. And I knew what could have happened but I was careless and it’s…”

“Amelia, stop. It wasn’t your fault. And you handled everything perfectly. You protected yourself. You should be proud of yourself.”

She sniffed, rolling her eyes.

“I’m angry.”

“That’s fine too.”

“Thank you for finding me.”

He was always going to find her..

He only nodded instead.

They settled in a slightly awkward silence and Ethan cleared his throat, feeling the need to say something.

“Should I call a doctor?”

“There's no need. I feel fine.”

“Okay.”

“You can go home. They'll discharge me in a while and I'll call a cab.”

He didn't wanted that.

“You have never been to a club before?”

She blinked, frowning at the unexpected question.

“No,” she shrugged.

“Why not?”

“Because I never enjoyed those kinds of things,” she shrugged.

He knew she was lying. Maybe not completely but she wasn’t being entirely truthful either. He didn’t question it.

“So, what changed today?”

“I went back to my childhood home,” she paused, meeting his eyes.

Whatever she saw there made her sigh. Ethan blinked back whatever emotions that might have seeped onto his face.

“You really don’t have to do this, you know. Sit here and listen to my sob story,” she said, letting out a little laugh.

Ethan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. These were unchartered waters. He wasn’t sure about the right way to navigate through.

But he knew he couldn’t leave her like this. Even if he couldn’t provide the comfort she needed, he could at least listen to her.

“I want to know if you’re willing to tell me.”