"What the hell were you thinking coming here," Kai screamed at me as he pressed his hand over my throat, trying to stem the flow of blood. It was coming out more than I had realized at first and I was too lightheaded to answer his question, which may have been rhetorical anyway.

The elevator doors opened to pandemonium. Well-dressed people were running around, screaming and pushing each other out of the way. Small groups tried to stay together, but it was quickly devolving into everyone for themselves.

"Jin's gonna be pissed," I mumbled just before my knees buckled underneath me.

"Shit," Kai cursed under his breath, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me toward the door. I weakly threw my arms around his neck and buried my face under his jaw in an effort to stay as close to him as possible to keep someone from running by and taking off my head.

"How did you get here," he grumbled under the noise.

"Bike," was the only answer I could give him.

"Shit." He looked around at all the bodies jumping into cars and immediately turned to the left toward the parking lot where the security teams had met up. He moved as quickly as he could with me in his arms and stopped at the first car he came to. It took some juggling to move me around where he could free his hand and check to see if it was unlocked, but there was no luck.

"I'm okay," I whispered. "Just set me down."

"You're nowhere near okay and I'm not leaving you."

"You have to unless you want to explain to a lot of people why you're with me."

"Just shut up and let me think." After a moment, Kai threw his head back and growled before setting me gently on the pavement. I leaned against the car and watched as he ran around checking the cars. People were starting to arrive and I wondered if I was about to get ran over. But, lucky for me, I heard Kai's voice as he was talking to someone and coming closer. My eyes moved upward as a body knelt down in front of me.

"What did you get yourself into," Lucas asked, crouching in front of me with his eyebrows knotted together.

"Take her back to her apartment and wait for me to call," Kai said as he hauled Lucas up by the collar. "And don't tell a fucking soul."

"I don't know where she lives and I don't think she's going to be able to tell me in a minute."

"Here." Kai tapped something into his phone. "That's her address. Now go! I'll handle Taeyeon."

Lucas nodded curtly before squatting again and hefting me into his arms. "Come on little bird. Let's get you somewhere safe." He was taller and a little broader than Kai, so he had no problem hefting me into the passenger seat of a sports car at the edge of the lot. Tires were squealing, painting black on the pavement and cutting through my head like a series of spikes. He leaned over me, his bulky weight surprisingly substantial, as he grabbed something from the back seat and then pressed it against my throat.

"You're not bleeding as bad as you were, but it's not stopped, so hold pressure on that," he said quickly before running around to the other side of the car.

"Why is everyone panicking," I asked, my voice scratchy and tight.

"Right after you ran out of the room, a bunch of guys showed up with detonators and told everyone to get out before they blew the place."

"Oh my god! We have to go back and help!" I sat up too quickly, making my head spin.

Lucas cut his eyes at me before rolling them. "You aren't going to be helping anyone anytime soon. You're lucky Ravn didn't cut your head off. Looks like he almost did."

"Taehyung took him out before he could finish the job." My rapid healing was already sealing the wound, but I didn't let Lucas know. If he didn't already suspect I wasn't who I said I was, that little tidbit would seal the deal. "I'm feeling better, though, I should go help."

"Bangtan has it under control. They were anticipating something like this tonight, which is why they had so much firepower. They don't need the help of a rookie."

I sat back in my seat and seethed. Yeah, he had no idea who I really was. But Kai did and he had no right to pull me out of there like that. There should've been a way for me to get back in and help without the rest of the guys seeing me.

A few minutes later, we pulled up to my apartment in the stacks. Lucas offered to carry me, but I waved him away, still angry at him for calling me a rookie. Even if he had no way of knowing I wasn't. He just shrugged and pulled his gun, following me up the rickety old stairs. I unlocked the door and slipped inside, but Lucas shoved his foot in the door before I could shut it on him.

"Sorry, little bird, but I'm staying until Kai gets here. Boss' orders."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "You can stop calling me that any time you want."

He chuckled and looked around the tiny apartment, picking up a shirt off the floor and throwing it over the back of the couch. "No can do, little bird. I like it. It fits you."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to take a shower and get out of these bloody clothes." Lucas shot me a distracted thumbs up, plopping down on my couch and turning on the old TV. "Please...make yourself at home," I mumbled, shutting the bedroom door behind me.

My shirt was glued to my skin with dried blood and tears sprang to my eyes as I peeled it off. The water coming out of the shower head was barely hot, but it was enough to soothe my muscles, if only for a few minutes. I scrubbed at the blood caked around my throat and chest until my skin screamed in protest, then just stood under the spray for a few minutes as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do next.

I'd saved Seonghwa, at least. Maybe Hongjoong, though I didn't know if Ravn had gotten to him first. Bangtan was still alive the last I saw, but there was the chance that something had happened after I left. Surely if a bomb had gone off, I would've felt it, right? I wasn't that far from the auction house.

My breathing was coming out in short little gasps and my heart was beating so fast, I was nearly sick to my stomach. Just standing up made me so weak, my knees couldn't support me. I collapsed to the shower floor, gasping as the water poured in my face. It didn't even register to me that the whimpering sound was coming from me until the door to my bathroom burst open and the curtain flew to the side.

I weakly tried to cover myself with my hands while Kai looked down at me, his full lips falling open slightly as he looked down on the blubbering mess I'd become.

"Are they still alive?" It was the most coherent sentence I could put together in my condition.

"Ssh, let's get you out of here," he said soothingly. He reached in the shower and cut the water off, then grabbed a towel from the rack and threw it around me. I let him help me out of the shower and into my bedroom. The TV was off in the other room, so I guessed Lucas had already left.

Kai pulled me close, running the towel over my hair and squeezing the water from my ends. His breath was warm and soft against my face, his hands strong but gentle as they dried off the rest of my body. He was careful not to be inappropriate as he finished with the towel, then grabbed a t-shirt and some underwear for me to put on.

I was so out of my mind that he had to help me into my clothes, lifting each foot and guiding them into my panties before pulling them up. His fingers whispered across my skin as he dropped the shirt over my head. When he stood in front of me, his eyes were dark and searching.

He cleared his throat. "Are you okay now?"

"I don't know," I said on a shuddering breath.

"Okay, come here." He turned and walked to my bed, pulling me down onto it with him. When he held the covers up, I snuggled under with him, letting him wrap his arms around me and pull me against his chest. I didn't even consider the fact that he was still wearing his suit and that I was barely clothed. I just let the safety of his arms and the solid beat of his heart wash over me like warm water.

"Just focus on my breathing and try not to think about anything else."

I did just what he said and actually started to feel better. But it wasn't until he started to sing that I really let myself relax. And there in the moonlight filtering in through my grimy window, with Kai's soft voice humming a haunting melody and his fingers trailing through my wet hair, I felt comfort for the first time in months.