Day stood over the body like it was just another inconvenience.
No hesitation. No panic. Just a quiet sigh and a glance at the alley around them. "We need to move," he said.
Sky was still on the ground, knees scraped, hands trembling.
He looked at the man Day had just shot—really looked. Blood pooled around him, staining the cracked pavement black. Sky's stomach turned.
"I—he was going to—" he choked.
"I know." Day's voice softened, but not much. He holstered his gun with the kind of calm that came from far too much practice. "You're okay now."
"I'm not okay." Sky's voice cracked. "I ran. I didn't fight, I didn't do anything. He could've—he almost—"
"You survived," Day said sharply. "That's enough."
Sky stared up at him, the weight of everything crashing down at once. The fake gala. The car. The knife. The gun. The fact that Day had killed someone like he was flipping a light switch.
"Is this what your life is?" Sky whispered.
Day's jaw clenched. "Yeah."
"And I'm just supposed to be okay with that?"
"No," Day said, glancing down at him. "You're supposed to stay away from it. From me. From all of this."
"But I'm not," Sky whispered. "I'm in it now, aren't I?"
They stared at each other.
For once, Day didn't have an answer.
A black SUV rolled up at the end of the alley—silent, efficient, scary. Two men in black got out. Not cops. Not anything as normal as that. Day gave them a nod, and they began dragging the body away like it was nothing more than a bad memory.
Sky looked away. He couldn't watch.
Day knelt beside him, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and gently pressing it to the cut on Sky's cheek.
Sky winced. "You carry silk handkerchiefs now?"
"I carry them for you," Day said flatly.
Sky blinked.
"I knew something would go wrong," Day muttered. "I should've stopped you from getting in that car. I should've never let you walk into my world."
"You didn't let me. I walked in."
"Then you're a damn idiot."
Sky gave a broken laugh. "Says the guy who's wiping blood off my face with designer fabric."
Day didn't smile. But he stayed close. And when Sky leaned his head against Day's shoulder—just for a second—he didn't move away.
For the first time, Sky wasn't sure which was more dangerous:
The people trying to kill him…
…or the one who would kill for him.