Knowing they're coming, I hang up the phone and get out of the car. At least now, whatever happens, they won't be able to cover it up. If Blade wins, if he buries that knife inside of me, he won't have time to cover up the crime. He'll go to prison for my murder. And if I come out triumphant, I'll go to prison for his.
It's now or never.
I walk around to the back and see that the cellar door is unlocked and open. Taking a deep breath, I head inside. Blade, Ray, and Marco are all sitting around, separating cocaine into smaller sections and bagging it up to sell. All eyes are on me the second I get to the bottom of the steps. It looks like both Marco and Ray are ready to rip me apart like a couple pit bulls, but I hold my ground.
Blade smirks at me. “You've got a lot of nerve coming here, Zaynie.”
“I'm tired of this,” I tell him. “I'm here to end it.”
An evil laugh bubbles out of his mouth. He stands up and the other two follow, but he shakes his head.
“You two go wait outside,” he orders. “This one is mine.”
They both walk past me, shoving me with their shoulders on the way by. Blade steps up in front of me. The two of us are eye level, and neither one is backing down. This is a battle that was bound to happen since the second Easton got involved with him. When Blade dealt him more and more drugs, simply because he was entertained by his downfall. It was always going to come to this.
He moves first, throwing a punch at my face, but I dodge it and land an uppercut straight to his jaw. We each take turns swinging, and it's obvious he's been training since we last fought. He has more agility this time. It's like he knew this was coming, and the time he disappeared for a bit, he used it to prepare. I may actually lose this one.
No. I can't. Amelia needs this.
Grabbing him by his shirt, I slam him into the row of shelves. Everything crashes onto the ground as I slam my head into his face. Blood spews from his nose, and while he manages to punch me in the jaw, I throw him down onto the ground. With every time my fist meets his face, I can see him starting to weaken. Finally, I wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze. Panic crosses his face as his hands grip at my wrists. I watch as he struggles to breathe, and the life starts to leave his eyes.
“You'll never hurt anyone I love again,” I growl.
“Zayn!”
The sound of Amelia's voice catches me off guard and by reflex, I turn to look at her in total horror. She was never meant to see this. Her last memory of me was supposed to be the moment we had in the kitchen.
“Amelia?”
Blade uses all the strength he has left to flip us around. He must have a rush of adrenaline, because he pins me down like he wasn't just damn-near dead a few seconds ago. Holding my arms under his knees, I'm trapped, and I can't break free.
I try to fight back, to push him off me, but I can't. He's in a fight for his life, and he's not ready to go anywhere.
“I'm so going to enjoy this,” he murmurs.
He holds the knife up and is about to plunge it into my chest when Amelia screams. I watch in utter terror as she runs toward us and tries to stop him, only for him to turn the blade on her and shove it deep into her stomach.
“No!” I scream.
As he pulls it out, blood pours from the gaping wound. Amelia covers it with her hand as she collapses to the ground. I scream and struggle against Blade, trying to get to her. Sirens can be heard in the distance, and Ray comes running down the steps. He takes in the scene in front of him, but then focuses on Blade.
“Cops! We've got to get the fuck out of here!”
He jumps off me and heads for the door as I scramble to get Amelia in my arms, but just before he leaves, he stops and turns to face me. The devious smirk on his face taunts me as he sticks out his tongue and licks Amelia's blood right off the blade. And then he disappears out the entrance and leaves me alone as Amelia bleeds out on the dirty floor of a cellar.
“Meelz,” I call her name, but she doesn't answer. “Amelia!”
I throw my hands over the wound to stop the bleeding while she stays so still it's alarming. Her body is probably in shock from the pain, because she's still breathing, but I need her to answer me. I need her to be okay.
“Fuck,” I roar in total agony. “Fuck!”
The bright lights cause a pain to shoot through my head. As I groan, I realize how tender my stomach is. The only sound in the room is the beeping of the heart monitor. I move my hand slowly to my stomach and wince when I feel a huge bandage.
“Easton,” I hear Kennedy whisper.
I force my eyes open to s
ee the two of them standing on either side of me. Kennedy grabs my hand and squeezes while Easton sighs in relief.