Page 63 of Grim

Sophia’s heart slammed against her ribs. “Maddox!”

He slammed his elbow into the first man’s throat, ripping Sophia free. She stumbled, gasping, scrambling backward.

He caught the pipe bare-handed, twisting his wrist the way his old sergeant drilled into him — redirect, break momentum, counterstrike.

The man’s eyes widened right before Grim drove his fist into his jaw, sending him sprawling across the pavement.

The third man rushed him with a knife. Blade. Right hand. Underhand grip. Amateur. Grim stepped inside the arc before the man even finished the swing. He grabbed his wrist, twisted, and slammed him into the hood of a car hard enough to dent the metal.

The fourth Reaper tried to grab Sophia again.

Grim saw red.

He tackled the man, slamming him to the ground, punching until the man stopped moving.

Sophia watched, shaking, breath trapped in her chest.

Grim wasn’t fighting. He was destroying. He took down four men with nothing but his hands, his rage, and the terror of losing her fueling every blow.

When the last Reaper hit the ground, unconscious, Grim spun toward Sophia.

He was shaking, not from exertion but from fear.

He scooped her into his arms, holding her tight against his chest as he backed toward the hospital doors.

“You okay?” he rasped, voice shredded.

She nodded, trembling. “I—I think so.”

He cupped her face with both hands, his thumbs brushing her cheeks, his breath ragged.

“I can’t lose you,” he whispered, forehead pressed to hers. “I can’t. I can’t.”

Her hands slid up his arms, grounding him. “I’m right here.”

He kissed her, not gentle or slow but desperate and terrified and alive.

Then he pulled back, jaw clenched. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“Maddox—my shift—”

“No.” His voice was a growl. “You’re calling in. You’re not staying here. Not after this.”

She didn’t argue.

Not when she could still feel the imprint of the Reaper’s hands on her waist.

Not when Grim was shaking like he’d been the one grabbed.

He guided her back to the car, keeping her tucked against him, scanning every shadow, every corner, every movement.

He opened her door, helped her inside, and shut it hard.

Then he got in, started the engine, and peeled out of the lot.

Sophia called in from the passenger seat, voice trembling as she told her supervisor she wouldn’t be coming in.

Grim didn’t speak.