And I’m not about to let her down.
I’m doing everything I can to keep Kiara off his radar without abandoning the search for my sister, fabricating false leads for the sphinx to get these men the hell away from Mercy Ridge. I don’t want my fated mate within five hundred miles of this mess.
All I can do is hope that wherever the sphinx ended up? He made it somewhere Sebastian Thorn's men will never find him.
Chapter 39
Kiara
“Think they’re going to kill each other?”
Zayd snorts. “Nah, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Devlin is sporting a couple of new stab wounds when we get home tonight.”
“... Fair.”
The two of them came to blows last night after Devlin announced he didn’t want Havoc stepping foot in his house, but knew he’d just stalk us and break in, so none of us could go home. We ended up crashing at my old place and getting a terrible night's sleep, and honestly, as much as I empathize with them both, I’m overtired and already over it. If they haven’t worked their shit out by the time I lock up tonight, they can have a slumber party on the couch and keep each other company while Jules, Stryker, Zayd, and I go to bed early.
Now that I opened the box Devlin so helpfully labeled ‘Snake Shit,’ and have six months worth of Havoc’s financial contributions stuffed in the bottom of my bag, we might even pick up a nice dinner first. The letters, though, are going to sit there collecting dust bunnies until I’ve had a good night’s sleepand picked up enough wine to deal with that emotional gut punch.
“Where do you want these?” Stryker lifts a box of syringes, and I point to the cabinet by Zayd’s legs.
The two of them have done wonders to whip this place into shape, and I’m feeling pretty optimistic until Stryker's power jumps erratically and blows out one of the fluorescent lights across the room.
“Shit.” He winces, brow furrowing as he shakes out his hand, staring down at it curiously. “Why don’t you two move onto the next room while I get this cleaned up and replace the bulb?” He grunts as Zayd suddenly tackles him to the ground, snarling in his face.
“What the fuck, man?!” Bucking him off, Stryker rolls and pins Z’s arms above his head. He manages to jerk his head back a split second before Z breaks his nose with a vicious headbutt, but it gives Zayd the advantage to use his momentum against him. The two of them wrestle for dominance, Z starting to shift, and Stryker sends a low grade shock through his body to stop him.
Zayd jerks as he’s equivocally tased, and I watch his eyes dilate further and start to panic. “Stryker, seriously, you need to let him go. Pretty sure whoever tortured him used cattle prods or tasers, he needs to remember he’s not back there anymore and is safe here.”
He grunts, bringing his knee up to pin Z’s chest to the ground. “Can't just let him go, babe. He's too out of it, he could hurt you or himself.”
“Well at least stop fucking shocking him! Zayd would never hurt me,” I declare adamantly. “Let me try and calm him down. Go stand in that corner, away from both of us so he doesn’t feel as threatened.”
Stryker’s lips press into a thin line. “He’d never forgive himself if he hurt you. Or me if I let him. It’s better if I justknock his ass out, Kiara, he’ll understand. Probably thank me for it when he wakes up.”
“I know,” I say, watching Z's wild eyes as he tenses up like he's expecting another shockwave of pain. “But he’s never going to get better if he doesn’t trust himself, either. This would only confirm he’s a threat and make him retreat further into his head later on. So let’s try it my way, and if he doesn’t show signs of calming down, we’ll tranq him. Deal?”
It’s clear he doesn’t like the idea, but Stryker slowly releases him and retreats to the opposite side of the room from me. Enough distance that Zayd won’t feel like he’s a threat to him or his mate, but close enough to intervene if he freaks out again.
“Hey, it’s okay. Nobody here wants to hurt you.” When he doesn’t respond, I slowly step closer, keeping my hands in plain sight. I stumble to an abrupt halt when Zayd whips his head in my direction and releases a deep, warning snarl that emanates from the depths of his chest. It hurts more than I want to admit. Sure, the day we met, he was in a similar state, lashing out because I was a stranger, but we’ve come so far since then. Or at least, I thought we had.
If he's so far lost in his head that he doesn't even recognize me, how the hell am I going to bring him back? Was all of the progress we made just a fluke?
Something flashes across his eyes before his face crumples in a tortured expression and he stumbles back into the counter, clutching his head. Breathing ragged, he releases a pained sound that pierces straight through my heart, his chest heaving.
“That’s it. Nobody’s upset with you, we’re on your side. Come back to me, Zayd. I need you.”
Each second feels like an eternity, but eventually, his breathing returns to a steadier rhythm and a little of the haze clears from his eyes. “Ki-”
The door beside me slams open, Killian storming into the room. “Seriously,Kia? I have to hear through the rumor mill that you sold your house? What the hell is going on with you lately-” he stiffens, clocking the scene in an instant and switching to triage mode; calm under pressure, diffuse the situation, and calculate potential risks, all in the blink of an eye.
“Walk slowly, one at a time, but don't turn your back on him,” my brother orders, voice low, but laced with firm command. “As soon as you're out of the room, Kiara, go call for help. You,” he says to Stryker, “find something to bar the door as soon as you’re clear. We'll lock him in here for the time being.”
I see a flash of Stryker’s thumb racing across his phone screen, heart sinking when he nods in agreement to Killian’s plan.
“Kills, no, it's not like that. He's-”
“Kiara,go.” When I don’t spring into action, he treats me as if I were in shock, snatching my wrist and dragging me behind him, then shoving me towards the door without taking his eyes off the biggest threat in the room.
