Raoul stands outside the door, jaw tight, shoulders squared, looking torn but unmovable.
I start pounding the window with both palms. The glass doesn’t even shake. My hands sting, but I keep hitting it anyway, like maybe if I hit hard enough, the world will crack with it.
Down the alley, shadows move.
A shape lifts.
A shape falls.
Someone is on the ground.
My stomach heaves violently, and I taste bile as realization slams into me.
They’re hitting him.
Hitting Mercs.
“Raoul!” I scream, my fingers smearing tears across my cheeks as I try to see around his body. “Raoul, you motherfucker. I swear to Gaia if you don’t go back and help him, I will fire your ass!”
He shifts his stance but doesn’t move from my window.
Guarding me.
Watching him.
Another shadow swings something heavy.
Mercs curls tighter on the pavement, and my chest feels like it’s being torn open from the inside.
Yes, I’m angry with him.
Yes, I’m hurt about whatever this is.
But this?
This isn’t justice.
This isn’t karma.
This is a beating in a dark alley, and I am forced to watch the man I love get broken.
“Do s-something,” I beg, my voice fracturing. “Anything.”
Raoul’s thumbs move rapidly over his phone.
What the hell is he doing?
Mine buzzes in my hand.
I nearly throw it aside, because how can a notification matter when Kaden is being destroyed thirty feet away? But instinct wins, and I open it.
Raoul:Effa, as much as it is killing me to watch this, my duty is to protect you. I can’t leave your side. I know Mercs wouldn’t want me to. I’ve contacted the police, and I’m recording the assault. Please try to stay calm. We don’t want them shifting their focus to you. The car is reinforced. The windows are bulletproof. It’s the safest place for you right now.
Letting out a gasp of air, I look up, and Raoul’s phone is angled subtly toward the alley.
He’s recording.
Evidence.
