“Please, what?” I folded my arms over my chest as I stood over her groaning boyfriend.
“Please let him go.” Her soft little chin trembled, but she held it high.
I cocked my head. I had every intention of letting him go, but I still wanted to see how this would play out with her. “Why should I? Do you have any idea what your boyfriend was doing?”
She shook her head. “He’s not—”
“Zadie, baby,”—Schiffer crawled onto his knees—“don’t talk to him.”
Julien gripped my arm, holding me back from taking Schiffer down again. He didn’t get to tell Zadie what to do—not when it came to talking or not talking to me.
“Please, Amir. He won’t do it again.” She took a step toward me. The outside spotlights glinted off her silky, light-brown curls. “Just let him go and—”
“What will you give me, Zadie?”
She blinked. “Give you?”
I nodded slowly, shrugging Julien’s hold off my arm. “I told your boyfriend I need assurance this won’t happen again. Since I don’t believe him and you’ve thrown yourself in front of him, what willyougive me to assure me this shit is done?”
Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips. “Um…well, I don’t have much, but—”
I slid my piece from the back of my jeans, aiming it at Schiffer’s head. Zadie squealed. Schiffer whimpered and most likely pissed his pants. Julien threw his arms out. I didn't look at him to see his expression, but I knew he thought I’d lost my mind. I knew exactly what I was doing.
“What. Will. You. Give. Me. Zadie?” I gritted out.
Schiffer attempted to block his head with his arms. “You can have her! She’ll work for you or suck your cock. You can take her. Please, Amir.Please.She’ll do anything you want her to do.”
That...surprised me. If I had less control, I would have blown his head off for making the suggestion. For giving Zadie away instead of sacrificing himself.
“Too fucking far,” Julien ground out. “Way too fucking far.”
Zadie mewled like she’d been physically injured. But she didn’t cry, nor did she drop to her knees. Her eyes grew rounder, never leaving me, not even to glance at her boyfriend who’d just unnecessarily sacrificed her to save his own ass.
“I’ll do it,” she rasped.
My nostrils flared. “You’ll suck my cock, little Zadie?”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. “If that’s what it takes for Elliott to walk out of here alive.”
My chin lowered. I blinked at her, wrapping my head around what she was saying. It was almost impossible to understand. No, Ididn’tunderstand. It enraged me that she cared about this piece of shit so much, she would give me her body to protect him.
And he would let her.
“All right.” Safety on, I tucked my piece in my pants and held my hand out to her. “Come here, Zadie.”
She came without hesitation, slipping her small hand in mine. “Please, Amir,” she whispered. “I think he gets it. He won’t do it again.”
Little Zadie Night was a trembling flower in a storm, but she’d put on her brave face for her man. Then again, she’d shown the same annoying courage the first time we met. At least then it hadn’t been as misplaced.
I shifted my attention to the blubbering waste of flesh on the ground. “Get up, Schiffer.”
He lifted his head first, wincing at Zadie by my side, but his mouth stayed shut. Then he staggered to his feet, swaying slightly, his shoulders rolling forward. All that false bravado he’d had minutes ago had fled as quickly as his loyalty to his girl.
“Are we clear here?” I asked.
His head bobbed on his neck. “Yeah, we’re clear. It won’t happen again.”
Releasing Zadie’s hand, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and jerked her against me. “And this little treasure is mine now. Do you understand?”