Page 58 of Property of Azrael

“Hallie, you’re not a nobody,” I growl. “You’re strong, beautiful, and so fucking loyal, it makes my head spin. And yes, we may live two very different lives, but I don’t give a shit about our differences. I don’t care that nothing about this is normal. I like it that way.”

“Az, I...” She wants to fight it. It’s in her nature to question everything before she has time to over analyze it like a dead horse.

“Don’t overthink this. Feel it, Hallie.” Pressing my hand against her back, I tug her closer to me. “Think about how you feel when you’re with me.”

“I feel safe,” she admits. “You feel like home.”

“You’re home to me too, baby. I think you have been since I saw you on that roadside. Something just clicked inside of me, like I’d been waiting for you to come storming into my life. A piece missing to my puzzle. I want to wake up every single fucking morning with you wrapped around me. I want you to have dinners with my club, slinging shit to Fox, and laughing with them. I want to give you the world.”

Her green eyes blaze with uncertainty, fear, and so much fucking love. Maybe she hasn’t realized it yet, but fuck, I have. It’s too soon, but I don’t fucking care anymore. My argument with Asher this morning made me realize that I’ve been coasting for a long time, waiting for some epic love to come barreling into my life. I want what he had with Kennedy before the world went to shit. I want that with Hallie.

“I love you, Hallie.” Eyes wide, she gasps at my declaration. “I don’t need to hear you say it back, baby. I know that big brain of yours needs time to process it all, but I can’t go on without you knowing how I feel.”

She pushes up on her tiptoes and kisses me. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For loving me. For understanding me more than I think my family does.”

“Then they don’t really know how special you are, baby girl.” I lean down and say into her ear, “How about we get out of here?”

Her smile is breathtaking.

We swing by our table, toss a couple of twenties down to cover her drink and a tip, and head to the door. She slides onto my bike first. The confidence she’s gained since we met shines more than that dress of hers under the moonlight.

“Jacket,” I remind her as I take my spot in front of her. “You hungry?”

“Famished.”

“There’s this little street taco place a mile up the road. We can stop there to grab something before we head back to the house.”

“Then what?” she teases, settling herself behind me.

“I’m planning to show you all the ways I love you, baby. And after, we’ll burn the ripped pieces of that fucking dress.”

I flick the switch for the ignition, and we speed off toward the taco stand. We’re only a few blocks away from the bar when Hallie taps me on the shoulder and points to the side mirror. A white van is barreling toward us from behind, getting closer and closer. Even as I move over to the side of the road to give them space to pass, they floor it.

I rev the engine, spotting a pull off not far up the road.

“Hang on.” We speed off toward it, but the van catches up, moving to the left of us on the opposite side of the road.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell at the man sitting on the passenger side, his face obscured by a black ski mask. “Shit,” I snarl. “Get your head down, Hallie!”

He brandishes a gun, the glint of the metal shining under the moonlight. He fires once but it misses, smashing into the tree we pass. Hallie screams, clawing at my stomach. “Stay down!” I yell.

The pull off isn’t going to work. It’ll only leave us sitting ducks. I do the one thing I can think of and hit the brakes. My bike lurches forward, but it’s too late. Three loud booms explode around us, and there’s a sudden pain in my chest. Hallie screams again.

The world starts to spin, inky blackness dotting my vision. The world floats away from me when I feel the grinding pain of asphalt and the crunch of metal skidding, and finally, the sound of Hallie’s voice still screaming my name before the world fades to total darkness.

HALLIE

The world shifts,the darkness of the night blinking back into existence when I force my eyes open. My body is alight with pain. I groan as I move. Something heavy is lying over me. I blink over and over again until my vision clears completely. There, across my body, lies Az. Just past him is his bike laying on its side, motionless.

“Az?” I call out. “Azrael?” Silence answers back.

Drawing on all my strength, I sit up, fighting against his weight. I shake his shoulder, but get nothing. I shake him harder, but still nothing.

Oh, god. No. No. No. No. He’s not dead. He can’t be.

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