Nathan's POV
"Nathan, stop."
The voice stopped everything. It was clear. Sharp. Familiar. And unexpected.
My heart froze. I turned slowly, my breathing ragged, my fist still clenched and aching to strike again.
And there she was. Hailee. Standing in the doorway, eyes wide, face pale. Her chest rose and fell quickly, like she'd been running. Fear in her eyes.
"Please…" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Don't."
For a second, everything around me went still. Mark lay groaning behind me, half dead and bloodied. Lolly had fallen to her knees, sobbing. And there was Hailee—watching me with so much hurt in her eyes, I couldn't breathe.
"I didn't ask you to do this," she whispered again, shaking her head. "You could have killed him, Nathan."
My clenched fist slowly lowered. My breathing was ragged. I looked at her—really looked at her—and realized… I had gone too far. For the first time, guilt crept into my chest, cutting through the rage.
"… Hailee," I murmured.
