Chapter 20 · Blood Opens Doors

Ghost is on the floor and my father's gun is still smoking.

I drop beside her. Blood's spreading under her shoulder, dark and fast. She's breathing but it's shallow, each one a little hitch like her lungs forgot the rhythm.

"Rona." Dad's voice. I don't look up.

My hands are shaking. I press down on the wound and Ghost's eyes snap open, wild and white-edged. She tries to twist away.

"Stop moving," I say. My voice comes out flat. "You'll bleed faster."

She stares at me. Then past me, at Dad. Her mouth curls into something that might be a smile if it wasn't full of teeth. "Guess... family reunions... always go to shit."

"Rona, step back." Dad's closer now. I can hear Dax behind him, boots scraping on concrete, probably getting up from where Dad shoved him.

"No." I keep pressure on the wound. Blood's seeping between my fingers, warm and slick. The bond hums under my ribs, that sick-sweet pull that says *here, right here, take it*.

Ghost needs help. I can feel it. Her system's shutting down, prioritizing, trying to keep her alive. And mine is saying I can fix this.