Her breaths came short. "I need to breathe."
He held her tighter. "You said you'd stay."
She writhed in his arms. "Let go! I can't breathe."
"No, no, please!"
"I won't leave... Just... Let me... Go..." She choked on the air, starting to see dark spots.
As soon as he loosened the grip around her, her legs wobbled, and she fell on all fours, wheezing.
He was in front of her in an instant. "Giselle?"
Nauseated, she looked up at him crouching before her, his face haunted. A killer.
She gasped for air.
She could see him holding a bloody knife over a dead body at the back of her head. A killer.
Unaware of how long she tried to calm herself, she kept her eyes on his face. He stared back as if he'd seen a ghost. Once her breathing calmed a little, she sat on the floor, her body weak and aching. He made no move to hold her.
She said, "I wanna go home." Before he opened his mouth to say something, she continued, "Please. I'll see you soon. I promise. I'm not leaving you. I just need to go home for a while."
He blinked a few times, then lowered his head. "You said you'd stay."
"I will keep my promise. Do you trust me?"
He looked at her and exhaled in defeat as if he didn't trust her at all, but said, "Yes. And do you trust me?"
She waited a moment, then nodded sincerely. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Okay?"
He pursed his lips and blinked. Once she was sure she could stand, Giselle got to her feet and walked away, feeling his eyes on her back till she was out of his sight.
Chapter 7
Xavier's eyes stung with the sharp metallic smell of blood but he walked unfazed toward his gang's den, his only friend by his side. Their boots thumped against the cobbled alleyway lit only by the full moon, the gate a few feet away.
"You shouldn't have come to the hill," said Xavier, "She knows about the gang now, and I don't know if I'm ever gonna—" He sighed. "You shouldn't have come."
Stewart walked beside Xavier, hurrying with his long strides. "What was I supposed to do? Sean was flipping! You didn't even attend the meeting."
"What meeting? It's a shit-show discussing new strategies to assault, murder, and steal. What kind of weekly torture is that?"
His friend shrugged. "I don't know, man. But it's mandatory. Why do you keep trying to rile him up?"
"Because he's a piece of shit and deserves to suffer."
"I agree, but you need to lay low. That Sasha business was enough for him to lose his mind."
Xavier gave his friend a sharp look. "Sasha was not my fault."
Stewart raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, you don't have to convince me. I'm on your side."
"But not in front of Sean," said Xavier, instantly regretting his retort.Nobody owes me anything, he reminded himself.Why should I expect anyone to stand by me when it serves them no purpose?
"I don't wanna lose my head, mate," said Stewart, "especially not for your routine arguments. And the steady flow of money isn't that bad, either."
"Or seeing Ashley."