Chapter 44 Chapter 44
Tessa
He didn't pause; he didn't say a word. He didn't use the knife. He just moved.
I watched, numb and utterly mesmerized, as Kai grabbed him by the throat and started punching him. He was so efficient. There were low, meaty thuds and sharp, crunching sounds. Kai was a dark, heavy shape of pure menace, moving with a controlled purpose that was purely deadly. In the second I wasn't afraid of him; I was horrified and stunned at the sheer brutality and ease of the execution. Alex stopped moving, his head slumped sideways against his chest. It was over in seconds.
Kai stood up straight, towering over Alex’s unconscious body. He didn't spare Alex a glance. His attention snapped back to me. His face was still mostly hidden in the shadows, but now, with him standing closer to the light, I saw his eyes reflecting the dim light, and they were fixed entirely on me.
He took one slow step towards me. I was still sitting on the floor, clinging to the towel, but I didn't flinch. He came over to me and picked me off the floor and walked back into the closet and put me to stand.
"Are you hurt, beauty?" he asked. His voice was soft.
“No, I just fell over,” I managed to whisper. I was shaking, gripping the towel, my eyes locked onto his. He was a violent, inhuman entity, a dark shadow that had just saved my life by destroying my stepbrother.
The truth of it settled over me heavy and cold. Alex, Mark, Zaiel, whatever mess I was in, it didn't matter anymore. What mattered was the man standing over me. The violent, life-saving ghost.
He was my protector, my warden, and my demon, all wrapped up in one massive, silent package. He didn't move, just kept staring at me. His hands came up, and I flinched, and he stopped, but only for a second; he caressed my cheeks.
“Get dressed and relax, beauty. “I’ll be back later,” he said, walking out, leaving me standing there.
"You knew he was here," I asked, and he stopped in his tracks; he didn't turn around.
“He couldn't get near you without me allowing it,” he replied before walking out.
I hurriedly dressed and walked back out to the room; he was gone, so was Alex, and I knew what was about to happen. I walked into the living room; it was empty. I made my way over to the front door and pulled it open; the hallway was empty. Jax wasn't there; neither was Rob. Why would they be here? There was no more danger. Alex was finally gone.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine. I went to the balcony and just stood there looking out at the Manhattan skyline. I sat there drinking; I remembered the first day I met Alex. Dad had introduced him as my new brother.
He was nice, kind, and what a brother should be, and then it all went downhill. The first time he raped me, I screamed. I cried; I tried to tell, but no one believed me. His own mother knew and did nothing to stop him. After Dad went to jail, I ran. I was living in a small apartment when he showed up; it was six months after the entire thing.
I don’t know how he found me; I was working in a restaurant as a dishwasher. I hadn't turned 18 as yet. When I got home that night, I found the yellow roses in front of my apartment door. I didn't go back to the apartment that night; I stayed at an all-night laundromat and then ran the next day.
I was still sitting there, drinking a second bottle of wine, when I felt the pressure drop and I saw the shadow. I didn't even turn or ask him anything. There was a strong metallic smell, and I knew exactly what it was. Blood. He was moving closer; his shadow was over me.
“Kai, please don't touch me if you have his blood on you,” I said, my words slurring, and he stopped moving. I saw his shadow move away. I sat there drinking, and then the lights in the living room went off. I saw him walking towards me; he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder and walked back into the apartment and straight into the room and dropped me onto the bed. I was too drunk and too tired to stop what was happening. I felt the bed dip as he got onto the bed, and I braced for it, but it didn't happen.
He grabbed me, pulling me up onto the bed, and just held me as I lay there. Okay, what the fuck was happening here?
“Relax, beauty; I just need to hold you,” he said, his voice muffled.
“Ale…” The name was cut off because he grabbed my hair, tilting my face upwards. I could feel his warm breath on my cheeks.
“Never utter that name again,” he said with a growl.
“O...Ok...Okay,” I whispered.
He just held me tighter. I swallowed before saying it. “You said what happens now depends on me.” He didn't move or anything; he just remained quiet.
“And?” he asked, his voice low and cold.
“I want to lea…..” He pulled away from me. I sat up on the bed and pulled my knees up to my chest.
“Ever since I was 15, my life has always been about staying safe. My life has never been mine. First Alex and his brother, now you. You did something that I never thought would happen. For the first time i can breathe freely because Alex is gone but you are the same. Thank you for getting rid of them, but this... this apartment, the money, isn't me. I want to work because I want to, I want friends, and I want peace of mind. I can't do that being a prisoner in your world. You said what happens after Alex is gone depends on me. Let me go, Kai. Please,” I said quietly, looking towards his silhouette standing by the window.
He didn't answer; he began walking. He walked out the door, closing it with a slam that made me jump. There was a loud crash from the living room. He was pissed. I waited for a few minutes to see if he would come back, and I was about to stand up when the door opened and he came back into the room. He walked straight to the bed and grabbed me. He took my mouth, kissing me hard and deep; his mouth trailed kisses down my neck, and he bit me, leaving his mark.
“You’re free. “Go,” he said before walking out of the room. I sat there stunned. He was letting me go; he was really letting me go. I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, Jax was there.
“I’ll take you home,” he said quietly.
I went back into the room and grabbed my backpack along with the seashell necklace.