My shock must’ve shown because he smirked like an evil son of a bitch. “You killed him?” I muttered.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean, you didn’t have a choice?” I snapped. “There is a justice system that can take care of fuckers like him.”
“No,” the vehement shake of his head gave credence to that single word. “I had to make sure he’d never get another chance to touch Rika again. I had to make sure he didn’t walk out of here alive today even if it meant my death.”
I shook my head, surprised. “Even at the risk of being caught?”
“I made it my mission in life to never get caught, Trent.” His gaze held mine, unblinking. “I’d do it again if I had to. Would you?” He gestured to Easton.
I glanced at the dead man. I hadn’t hesitated to pull the trigger because of the threat to life. Every inch of my brain knew the answer. No. I’d done it to protect Ashrika. And I’d do it again. “You do love her, don’t you?”
His laugh was low, strained. “I might possess the face of a saint and the heart of a sinner, but when it came to Ashrika, she was the light that encased my darkness, the angel that lured my pain, turning it into pleasure with just her smile alone. I’m not her hero neither am I her villain, both just fell in love...with her.”
Our gazes met. And in that pregnant silence, an unspoken conversation like the night at Incognito passed between us. His look read ‘it’s over for me’ and mine, ‘not yet.’ “Get the fuck up, Zayne. I’m taking you to the hospital,” I grunted, leaning toward him.
“No. This is it for me.”
“For fuck’s sake, don’t be a pussy! You’re not fucking dying—not on my watch.”
He snorted out a laugh, breathing hard through his nose while panting through his mouth. “You know something, Trent. I’m the kind of man mothers warn their daughters about. The kind of evil children hate in fairytales,” he rasped. “I’m nothing but a cold-blooded killer. I deserve to die.”
“And yet you were innocent once, I’m sure.” Giving him no chance to respond, I pushed a hand under his arm, slid it along his back, and gripped at the same time pulling him to his feet. “No one is born evil, Zayne. Sometimes bloodlust is forced upon you by circumstances you can’t control.” Supporting his full weight, we staggered to the car. As I pulled away from the curb, Zayne reached inside his pants pocket for his phone.
A few seconds later, his instruction was pointed and terse. “Yeah. I need a clean-up, stat.” When he was done giving the address, he cut the call and looked at me.
I shook my head. “I’m not even going to ask.”
“You don’t need to do this, you know.”
My laugh lacked mirth. “I just fucking killed a man. Something I would’ve never thought myself capable of until I met you. Fuck, the last time I broke a law was before I married and that was fucking child’s play compared to this.” My hands tightened around the wheel in a vice grip. What the fuck was I thinking? I was a goddamn father. I didn’t go around killing people.
“Hey,” Zayne touched my hand arm. “Nothing’s coming back to you.” I shifted my gaze from the road for a second. “I won’t let it.” I caught the sincere promise in his eyes before he broke into a coughing fit.
“You good?” I asked, stepping on the gas.
Breathing hard, he rested his head back against the seat. “Yeah. Promise me you’ll take good care of her, Trent?” he demanded but his tone lacked the usual hardness I’d become accustomed to.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I barked out instead. His attempt at a laugh was weak. “Look, I have no clue what you’re up to, what demons haunt your past, and what kind of evil you are, but to Ash, you’re her knight in shining armor. Don’t take that from her. If nothing else, live for her,” I urged.
“You’re her happy ever after,” he replied, yet there was none of the usual sarcasm in his voice.
“But you loved her first,” I countered. Our gazes met briefly. As fucked up as this situation might be to the average man, it was the truth. As simple as night became day with every sunrise, he’d loved her long before I arrived.
“And you’ll love her enough for the both of us.” Zayne turned his head to stare out the window, his breathing taking on a harder, faster pace.
I hit the gas, clocking speeds that would probably get me locked up but I didn’t care. It was a matter of life and death. I couldn’t let a piece of Ashrika die before she had a chance to live, fully and unconditionally. He was a part of her as much as I was, if not more.
