Page 137 of The Code of You

"Now,” he whispered, barely audible. "Now you die.”

Nathan’s last breath left him quietly. His head tilted to the side. His eyes stayed open. There was nothing left in them. Neo’s fingers lingered a moment longer at his throat, waiting for the last heartbeat. Then he let go.

He turned to the younger man, still lying on the floor, staring at nothing. In one fluid motion he lifted him by the throat until his feet left the ground. The man choked, face flooding with red, legs kicking uselessly in the air.

"And you?” Neo said. "What do we do with you?”

"Neo, no.” My voice cut through the air. "He’s different from the others. He . . . he had doubts.”

Neo froze. His fingers tensed around the man’s throat, fighting the urge to squeeze. His eyes still burned.

My lips trembled. "Please, Neo.”

He turned to me. Our eyes met, and something in him went soft. Slowly he lowered the man to the floor, but kept his gaze fixed on him.

"You’re lucky she exists,” he murmured. "Only for her can I hold myself back, when everything in me is screaming to crush you like an insect.” He pressed his hand to the man’s forehead. "You remember nothing. You were never here. You don’t know us. Go home to your family.”

The man blinked, confused, as if waking from a dream.

"You will never again hunt or hurt people for money,” Neo whispered.

The young man nodded mechanically, stood, and walked to the door without turning around, without understanding what had just happened. Neo watched until he was gone.

"Humanity doesn’t deserve you,” he whispered.

"Neo.” I tried to say his name, but my throat was raw. The tension left my body all at once. Exhaustion and pain rolled over me as a sob broke out of my throat.

He was beside me instantly. "Shh,” he murmured, and pulled me into his arms, held me while the sobs shook me. "I’m here. It’s over.”

In his arms I felt safe. His body was a shield between me and the world. I let myself fall against him, let him hold me. For the first time in my life, I gave up control willingly.

It felt like relief.

His gaze found mine. Amber, looking straight into my soul. But there was more—a pain so deep it frightened me. He pressed his forehead to mine, breathed me in, as if he needed to confirm I was real. His arms pulled me against his chest. A little too tight. As if he never wanted to let go.

"You can read thoughts now?” My voice came out thin.

He laughed softly. "The fear of losing you made me stronger.” His hand was still trembling slightly. "But they weren’t thoughts the way you know them. They were electrical signals. Every neuron that fires off creates an impulse. Everything is measurable.”

"Holy shit,” I murmured. It should have scared me how powerful he’d become. I’d just watched him torture and kill two men for God’s sake! Instead, I felt closer to him than ever. He was the villain, but I didn’t fear him. Because when darkness falls in love, it does so irrevocably, with no restraint and no intention of letting go. I knew that now. He loved me completely, the way a shadow loves the light—unable to exist without it.

He laughed again, quietly. Then pulled me closer. "Never again,” he breathed against my hair. "Never again will I let them take you from me.”

He pulled back and looked at what they’d done. The bruises on my face. The blood at the corners of my mouth. His lips trembled. Tears gathered in his eyes. He drew me back against him and held on. His grip around my ribs hurt. I said nothing. I wanted him to hold me that tightly, so no one could ever take me from him again.

"You stupid girl,” he whispered. "Why did you have to be strong? Why didn’t you just tell them what they wanted to know? Why did you have to be so goddamn stupid and sacrifice yourself for me?”

I blinked against the blur of tears. And suddenly I knew, with a clarity that shook me to my core.

"Because I love you, you asshole.”

Yes. I loved him. Not just the gentle man holding me, but the monster who had killed for me. The protector and the avenger. The human and the machine. I had loved him the whole time—since the very first moment he had looked at me as if I were the most valuable thing in the world.

God. I was in love. Hopelessly. Completely. Gone.

Everything made sense now—the jealousy, the longing, the way my heart raced every time he watched me.

He pulled back and looked at me. His eyes went wide, filling with tears.