Page 146 of Delilah In Discretion

I tried to step back again, but I yelped as he fisted my hair and brought me closer to him. He tightened his grip around my hair, and I stayed silent as tears rolled down my face.

“I asked you a fucking question!” he yelled, and I continued to cry as he reached for his gun.

I closed my eyes as I thought he cocked his pistol, but my eyes opened as I realized one of his hands was still on me, and he couldn’t have possibly done it with the other one. He seemed to be taken aback, and my eyes widened as a voice rang out in the alley.

“You know… she doesn’t really have to answer you,”the man muttered.

Michael pulled away from me as a gun rested against the back of his head. Recognizing the voice, I looked up and made eye contact with the “legend” himself, or the ninja, as Uncle Blaine puts it… Uncle Eugene.

“Delilah, behind me. Now,” Uncle Eugene ordered without room for question, and I ran behind him as I faced his back, not wanting to see Michael... However, when I came over, Uncle Eugene didn’t lower his gun.

He was just scaring Michael… right?

Michael noticed, too, and he held his hands up in surrender. He was shaking as if he didn’t think this would happen. Uncle Eugene, in contrast, was calm… way too calm.

“Please… Please don’t. I have adaughter,”Michael begged.

Uncle Eugene tilted his head to the side in thought.

“So do I.”

I covered my ears as the gunshot rang throughout the alley and choked as Michael’s body fell to the ground. My chest heaved up and down, and I noticed a tiny speck of blood splattered onto my shoe.

I felt like throwing up my lunch as my stomach flipped. I glanced at Michael’s lifeless eyes as they stared directly at me, and I almost threw up in my mouth once again.

Uncle Eugene turned around, and his face remained emotionless. Almost like he wasn’t fazed.

We held eye contact for what felt like forever before I attempted to run from the fastest man I knew. A very stupid decision on my end, but I’ve made my fair share thus far, so nothing new.

He grabbed me before I could get too far and shielded me from the body as he held me against the wall to keep me from running.

“You killed him,” I whispered as he glared at me.

“And he was going to kill you. What the hell are you doing here!? Do you know how dangerous this is and how wrong this could’ve gone!” he boomed.

I shied away from him in fear as my tears fell and sobs racked my chest. Trembling, I wiped my face with my hand, and his face softened.

“Y-you killed him. You really killed him,” I cried, and he sighed.

“God, you’re just like Brielle,” he muttered, and he pulled me into his chest for a hug.

I felt both a sense of terror and comfort and my mind was in a constant battle with my body as I wrapped my arms around him.

After a few minutes, he spoke softly. “No more crying… please. When the two of you cry, I feel hopeless, and I don’t know what to even do with myself.”

I tried to stop my tears, but they flowed like a river.

“W-Why did you kill him, and how did you know I was here?” I asked, and he sighed.

“As I said, he was going to kill you or, rather, kidnap you and torture you for money. I’ve been following him for some time, and I’ve been trying to find the right time to… get it over with, but I couldn’t.”

My mind raced with a thousand possibilities and theories of what could have happened.

Uncle Eugene grabbed my chin and tilted my head to look up at him. “Benjamin and Nathan know you’re with me. You need to go home, Delilah, and get some rest.”

I nodded softly, and he wiped my tears from my cheek as he continued to gaze down at me. He had an empty look in his eyes, but at the same time… they were filled with love and care.

“I will doanythingto keep my family safe, Delilah. You need to learn that quickly. It’s not the first or last time someone will be after you. If and when they are... I will protect you. Always.”