She was a mission, now she's my everything.
Elias
The sky was grey. Thick, unmoving.
The kind of grey that made the world feel like it had stopped breathing.
We were mid-operation—a hostage rescue, the mob's stash point.
Just another job. Just another door.
My heart didn't even flinch.
Then the smell hit.
Blood. Sweat. Wet concrete.
I kicked in the door and saw her.
She was curled up in the far corner, chained to a rusted pipe.
Barefoot. Bruised.
Her face the color of ash, arms wrapped around her knees like they were all she had.
God. She's a kid.
Ten? Maybe?
What the hell had they done to her?
Something inside me cracked.
I almost lost it right there.
My fists clenched. My jaw locked.
But training kicked in.
Secure the hostage. Don't lose your head.
She looked up.
Eyes wide. Frozen.
Like she couldn't tell if I was another nightmare or the end of one.
I cleared the room. One suspect down. The others had already fled.
My team was chasing shadows.
Didn't matter.
I wasn't here for them.
I was here for her.
"You're safe now," I said.
Lowered my weapon.
She flinched.
Shoulders jerked like she didn't know how to move.
I crouched, showed her my badge.
"Can you walk?"
Kept my voice low. Gentle.
I held out my hand.
For a second—longer than a second—she didn't move.
Then her fingers brushed mine.
Tiny. Ice cold.
Trembling like she was choosing whether to trust me.
She placed her hand in mine.
And I knew—
She didn't trust me yet.
But she was too tired not to try.
She stood. Or tried to.
Her knees buckled.
I caught her.
She weighed nothing.
Bone, skin, silence.
I held her.
Didn't know I was holding everything.
She didn't speak.
Didn't sob.
But her tears soaked through my shirt like they'd been waiting there.
It burned.
Just a little.
I didn't know why.
She leaned in.
Gripped my collar like she'd drown without it.
Like she didn't know if she'd vanish if I let go.
I remember walking out, still holding her.
Sirens screaming. Radios buzzing.
Gunpowder in the air.
She didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Her head was on my chest, eyes open but empty.
She didn't seem to know she was crying.
Like her body was grieving before her mind could catch up.
She looked at me like she wasn't sure I was real.
Like rescue was a story she'd stopped believing in.
I wasn't supposed to care.
We're not supposed to get attached.
But that look...
It stayed.
I was supposed to write a report.
Hand her off.
Move on.
But she wouldn't let go.
Wouldn't speak. Wouldn't eat.
Barely even looked at me.
Still.
She clung to me like I was the only solid thing left.
We knew she needed more than rescue.
She needed someone to fight her way out with her.
I wasn't qualified.
But no one else came.
So I stayed.
It wasn't protocol.
I'd never broken it before.
But this time…
I couldn't look away.
I didn't know—
Saving her would eventually destroy me.