Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty One
Kai
I’m barely thinking as I continue to bring the bat down on his head, each blow landing with wet smacks.
I don’t even stop when he stops moving or as the back of his head sinks further into the soil.
Not even the burn in my arms stops me from continuously striking him, even when I know that he’s dead.
A small arm wraps around my waist, and something wet and cold flushes against my back while the stench of ammonia invades my senses.
A hand pries the bat from my hand, causing Tokyo’s bat to fall to the ground.
I can’t bring myself to look at Roman. To look at the bleeding woman he holds in his arms. The world is silent, even as his lips move.
I can’t make out the words. Not until Xena comes into view, smacking me harshly in the face before cupping my jaw in her warm palms.
“She’s alive, snap out of it.” My eyes move past her and towards Tokyo, who waves gently in the air, sparking life back into my beating organ and oxygen back into my lungs, despite the heat of the fire that now surrounds us.
The groaning of the wood, the screams, and flames flickering through the air became a background noise.
It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters, only that she’s okay.
“Trouble.” I breathe out the word as my feet drag me forward. Roman groans as he lifts her, and I quickly yank her out of his arms and pull her into mine, kissing her forehead. “Let’s get you home.”
She shakes her head, her arms extended, and looking over my shoulder, I see Tokyo’s fingers intertwined with Xena’s.
“Thank you,” Xena says with a small quiver in her voice. My heart could explode with pride. My Tokyo turned out to be selfless after all—stupid and reckless—but this is her atonement. Thankfully, she seems okay, but is still bleeding a little too much for my liking.
“Follow me out.” I cock my head to the clearing that leads to the parking area. “I have a ride.”
“Kai, I’m di—zzy,” Tokyo bites out, squirming in my arms as she grows colder by the minute.
Her body shivers against my arms, trying to use my body to warm her up.
I can hear Roman groans behind me as he leans into his girl.
The chaos around us is insane. People holding up their phones, exposing the truth of tonight’s partygoers crying as they look for their friends and find multiple corpses lying around the fields.
I don’t look back as I walk out with my heart in my hand.
We walk in silence until we find the clearing with the designated parking lot. Chino notices, running towards me.
“You got her, you good?” I nod just as he looks at Roman. “You good, bro?”
At first, I thought Roman wouldn’t answer. It’s not like he cared much for anyone but Xena, but a deep chuckle rumbles through him before he replies, “I’m good.”
Chino focuses back on me, noticing the blood that I’m sure is pouring down my body. She’s dying. The words hit me harder than anything I could ever prepare for. “Chino,” I bite out as I push past him. “She’s dying.”
“Nah, fuck that,” Chino says as he opens the door, motioning me to get inside. Cradling her into me, I slip inside and cry as I feel her grow weaker.
“Ka–i,” she says my name weakly, each letter sending a dagger into my heart. “Shh,” I plead, not sure what I’m asking her to do as we peel out of the devil’s playground…
I pace back and forth, blood coating every inch of my body, as Chino sits on a metal chair, looking down the hall as if he can give me answers.
I’m normally a patient man; however, right now, I can’t find a drop of any.
All I can think about is the bluish tint on Tokyo’s lips as they placed her onto the stretcher, and the chaos around us as they worked on her before wheeling her back into surgery.
Roman and Xena are in a separate room, talking to the cops after Roman woke up from surgery on his knee to remove the bullet.
Thankfully, the one on his side was a clean hit.
My girl wasn’t as lucky. Right now, things are looking grim, and the longer she’s in there, the heavier the realization weighs on me.
“You gotta stop pacing, man,” Chino says as he leans back into the chair, resting his bald head on the tall window behind him. “It’s not going to make time go quicker.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” I snap back, glaring at my friend, and feeling instantly guilty for my response. He’s trying to help—all this time, he’s done nothing but help. “I can’t.”
It’s all I can say before taking a seat beside him, bringing my hands to my temples as I rest my elbows on my knees, just as the double doors open and light spills into the soft glow of the waiting area.
“Family of Tokyo?”
“Here.” I clear my throat, unsure of how to reply, so I say the only thing that will always remain true to me despite the blood that runs through our veins. “I’m her brother.”
Chino holds back a laugh, and it makes my lips curl slightly.
The surgeon is an older guy, and he removes his duck surgery cap and tussles his graying hair.
“She’s out of surgery. The bullet was lodged in her spine.
We won’t know until she’s awake if she will be able to walk, but for now, she’s alive and out of danger. Would you like to see her?”
I nod, as tears fall down my face. “Yeah.”
She’s alive, and for now, that’s enough.
Roman
“Do you hate me?” Watching Xena’s features morph from sated and freshly fucked to confusion. Her pouty lips purse together and her thin brows furrow… but still, she smiles.
“Don’t be silly, Roman, I could never hate you,” Xena breathes as she brushes her finger down my jawline.
It feels like a dream being here with her, being free and clean.
Even though I hide things from her, it’s all to keep her safe.
I couldn’t tell her that Vik isn’t the only threat to us, but there’s someone else.
Someone hell bent on making sure I don’t forget…
Dread coils up my spine, moving quickly to my throat and choking me with lies. My mouth opens before slamming shut, taking into consideration how happy my little snake is now that she has a friend. Someone who sees her for who she is and not her past.
And though I want to keep her safe… her joy will always be the source of mine. Pulling her close to me, I inhale the sweet smell of her shampoo, closing my eyes as her finger traces a pattern on my chest before I drift off to sleep.
“Roman, wake up!” Xena shouts. “WAKE UP.”
The ache in my body doesn’t go unnoticed as I’m pulled out of my dream.
The sound of Xena’s soft snores and the beeps of the machines greet me before I open my eyes.
For a second, I lay there in complete awe—watching my little snake curled up in the hospital’s lounge chair.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I think back on the last couple of hours and feel relief that the last of them are dead.
Kai killed him, and now, he’s nothing but a fucking memory I’ll soon bury.
Thanks to all the videos uploaded on the night of the rave, the cops found more than enough evidence to arrest whatever members of ODM were left behind.
According to the detective, that was the last of the golden boy’s brothers, so thankfully, there should no longer be any problems. The case made it to the news, raising awareness of the corruption within the circle of rich assholes and how the missing people factor in. Now it’s time to start fresh.
I sit up, trying to be as quiet as a mouse, and careful not to startle my little Xena Bean, but it’s useless when we’re so connected. My very presence alerts her, and she stirs in her sleep before she opens her eyes and smiles. “Ro.”
Shifting to the side, I pat the now-empty, but warm, spot beside me.
“Come, too much distance.” My girl chuckles at that, and the sound is music to my fucking ears.
Xena wraps herself up in the hospital’s blanket before walking over to the bed and lying next to me.
“You’ve been out for a while,” she whispers, interlacing her fingers with mine. “No more looking over our shoulders.”
I snort at the comments. There will never be a time that I wouldn’t look over our shoulders—my job is to protect her. Protect what’s mine and the life that I’ll soon place inside her. There was no more waiting. No more hiding. This is it.
“Marry me?”
This time, it is she who scoffs, as if the question surprises her. Why? Who knows, but I meant it. “Don’t look shocked, I told you I wanted to make an honest woman out of you.”
I wasn’t a traditional man; however, I wanted to be so locked in with Xena—so close that if we could share the same body, I would crawl inside her.
Since I can’t do that, I want to give her everything else: my name, my body, my fucking soul, and my seed.
Anything that can permanently stain her with me.
“You’re gonna make me fuck the answer out of you? ”
“Ro.” She laughs nervously, causing her to snort again. “Of course.”
“Good.” We lay in silence for a moment, enjoying the sound of our mingling breaths and the warm sun that shines through the small window.