Page 72 of I Am Lioness

I chuckled, nodding. “Thanks man.”

He undid the bindings, first around my arms, then my ankles. His massive hand came down on my shoulder as I stood on shaky feet, my head spinning for a brief moment. A gurgled, painful yelp set me straight, both Manny and I turning to the sound.

Hazel was dragging Lexi,by her hair, across the room where she hoisted her up by her shirt and pinned her against the wall.

“You're lucky I have no desire to spend my life in prison, otherwise I would point that gun straight to your head and blow it off.” Hazel gritted out. “So here's how this is going work. I'm going to let you walk out of here and you're going to keep your mouth shut. If you run to the cops, I'll let them listen to the recording on my phone, which in turn will screw up your master plan to play the victim. You got that?”

Lexi nodded, a stream of crimson pouring down from her nose and mouth.

Hazel pushed her further into the wall. “Oh, and, what you experienced tonight…that was only a mere fraction of the hell I’m going to unleash on you in that cage Friday night. I promise you're going to wish I had killed you.”

A chill coursed through me at the severity of Hazel’s tone. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d ever hear something so murderous come out of her mouth. It was frightening yet I found myself admiring her bravery.

She was scared, I knew she was, but her instinct to survive and protect what was hers was far greater than any fear could ever trump. AndIwas hers, much in the same way that she was mine. Had the roles been reversed I would’ve done the same without hesitation.

I think it was then I realized I was madly in love with Hazel Perry…

As though she sensed my stare, she turned to me, eyes wild, chest heaving. She shoved Lexi away and advanced toward me, moving a little quicker with every few steps until finally she collided into me and wound her arms around my middle. I crushed her against me, breathing a true sigh of relief.

“I hate to be the one to break this up but Fremont is about to wake up any minute now. We should go.” That was Emmanuel.

Hazel and I turned to see Jason’s limp body bound to the chair I'd been sitting in not long ago.

“I'll come back for him but I want you two out of here before that. C’mon.” He said, bending down to pick up the bat he'd used on Jason.

The three of us took off for the exit in silence. Hazel death-gripped my hand like I'd disappear before her very eyes as we followed closely behind Manny.

“You're not going to…” She trailed off, but we all knew what she was insinuating.

Manny shook his head as we descended several flights of stairs with only a cell phone light illuminating the way. “No, Hazel. I'm not going to kill him, but I can assure you he’ll never try anything like that again.”

Emmanuel wasn’t lying about going back for Jason. When we made it back the hotel, he did a sweep of our room for precautionary reasons and advised us to lock the door before shutting it behind himself.

As advised, I latched on the lock and led Hazel to the bathroom without so much as a word. The silence stretched on through our shower. It wasn’t tense, more like an aftershock from the events that unfolded over the course of a few short hours.

I took my time washing her hair and then she washed mine. She also took special care of cleansing my face, fighting back pained tears all the while. I wanted her to set them free, to let go of it all, but she remained hard as a rock.

“What are you thinking about?” I questioned, running my fingers through her damp curls after we crawled into bed.

“That I’ve never been more scared in my life than I was tonight.” She traced a finger down the side of my face and along my jaw, tears finally spilling free. “I don't know what I would have done if he would've…”

“Shhh.” I took her face in my hands, wiping away the wetness now clinging to her cheeks. “I'm okay, baby. A little banged up, but I'm right here. I'm good.”

“I can't lose you, Knox.” Her voice trembled, bottom lip quivering. “If I lose you, I lose everything.”

“I've told you once and I'll tell you again. You’re not going to lose me.”

“I could have, had things not played out the way they did.”

“But they didn’t. They happened exactly as they were meant to and that’s what we need to focus on. Don’t dwell on the what if’s that never happened, it’ll drive you crazy.”

“I know.” She agreed, leaning in to my touch. “It’s just hard when all I keep seeing is you tied to that chair and Jason pointing the gun at your face.”

“I’m okay.” I reminded her because I wasn’t sure of what else to say. Forgetting what happened tonight would not be an easy feat for either one of us. I just hoped it wouldn’t stir the demons that haunted her for so long. She didn’t deserve it then and surely she didn’t deserve it now, not when we were both alive and well.

“Kiss me, please.” She whispered, clenching her eyes tightly.

With her cheeks still nestled in my hands, I sealed my mouth over hers, pouring every last bit of what I felt for her into that kiss.

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