One week.
It’d been one week since I reluctantly let her go and since then I’d felt like bricks were sitting on my chest and ants were crawling under my skin.
“That’s one hell of a right hook,” Nolan said as I sent my fist into the guy’s face. Maybe I was starting to come off as soft because the guy in the chair stole from me and thought there would be no consequences.
“Kai-Kairus, please,” he choked out. Blood spilled from his mouth as he spoke. “I’m sorry. I was, I was gonna put it back.” He coughed and his body sagged.
“You shouldn’t have put your hands on it in the first place.” I punched him again. Normally my knife would be my weapon of choice, but I needed to release some anger. My knuckles were already sore and swollen from when I caught the guy who dared to put his lips on what was mine. I left him bloody on the side of the diner after he stepped out for a phone call. Neither of these helped calm the storm inside me.
Stepping back, I stared down at my bloody, busted knuckles. I lifted my eyes to the man in the chair. His face was swollen and bloody, and a couple teeth were missing. My pulse pounded as the blood swirled through my head. The rush of causing chaos had me on a high.
I rolled my head between my shoulders and pushed a heavy breath through my nose. The smell of bodily fluids filled my nose, causing my top lip to curl.
“Finish him off,” I commanded and turned to leave.
“What? Wait. No, no!” he cried.
“You’ve been a force to be reckoned with lately,” Nolan commented after silencing the thief and falling in line with me. “It’s good to have you back.” He patted my back.
I shook his hand off my shoulder and side eyed him while clenching my jaw. He chuckled.
“Cheer up, no need to be such a downer.”
Pausing at the sink at the back of the warehouse, I turned the knob to wash the blood off my hands.
“You’re the most cheerful sociopath I’ve ever met,” I grunted, checking my knuckles out again. They were clean but busted with bruises and cuts. The sting and ache felt good, made my nerves light up and feel alive.
“No need to be so down and gloomy all the time. The thrill of the kill always puts me in a good mood.”
Not bothering to respond, I went into my pocket and pulled my phone out. I didn’t even have to click the app because it had basically become my home screen. In a fit of rage I broke the cloned phone, so this was my only way to keep up with her. Azeira was at her college, no doubt trying to reenroll in classes again. Since she’d been gone, I found myself on this app most of the day when I wasn’t working or watching her. Most would call it unhealthy but I called it keeping what was minesafe.
“I knew once you sent her back, you would get back to normal,” Nolan commented.
I ignored him and headed for the office. There was money that needed to be counted and that would work as another distraction for me.
I stayed hidden in the shadows, watching Azeira and Jatavia eat outside a restaurant downtown. She had been on the go all day since leaving the college. Now she finally was sitting down, seeming to be half-listening to whatever her friend was saying.
Azeira had mentioned how she always blended in and didn’t stand out, but she was wrong. She truly didn’t see the attention men gave her. It fired my spirit seeing them ogle her, but Azeira always seemed to be in her own world, not paying them any attention. The attention she got didn’t surprise me. She was a rare beauty and humble about it. A few times I caught her looking around as if she were looking for someone, looking forme.I never let her lay eyes on me, even though just being near was starting to not be enough.
I gripped my steering wheel tightly when two guys approached the table. Narrowing my eyes I noticed it was the same guy I had left bleeding out in the alley. Her friend was grinning widely, talking while Azeira looked like she was ready to jump out of her skin. Her eyes darted around and she shook her head at whatever the guy was telling her.
The two guys sat at the table. The one I left in the alley sat next to Azeira. Snatching my phone off my lap, I texted her.
Me: You let him touch you and this time I’ll make sure he doesn’t make it out the alley.
Hitting send, I watched and waited for her to check the message. Her eyes went to the table and she grabbed her phone.
One corner of my mouth lifted as she read it. Her eyes ballooned and she looked around, attempting to locate me. Azeira knew I was serious so she put some space between the two.
Azeira: Why are you hiding? Where are you?
Azeira: How do you always know where I am?
I ignored the texts and locked my phone. She didn’t need to know I had a tracker implanted inside her.
After a couple minutes went past I watched her shoulders sink forward. She lowered her phone back on the table and glanced at her friend. The guy next to her was talking and the table laughed. Azeira’s was fake, even from this far away I could tell that her smile wasn’t genuine. It didn’t make me feel good knowing I was hurting her this way. It was getting harder to stay away from her and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep away from before I broke and stole her away. The things Azeira brought out of me weren’t good for the kind of business I had. In order to keep myself in check I needed to keep the distance between us. I needed to run on fear to be successful.
I sat in the garden with a bitter feeling covering me. This place was once somewhere I found peace but now all I thought about was Azeira. She had come in and made it her own, claiming it, and leaving her mark. She took joy coming out here working in it, not caring that I paid someone to do it. My eyes landed on the peonies. I didn’t even care what plants were out here; I just enjoyed the peace the garden brought me. However, I’d wanted to see a smile on Azeira’s face and when she mentioned they were her favorite I couldn’t resist.
