Page 90 of Alfie: Part Two

“I don’t think you’re sorry yet,” I rasped.

I didn’t let him respond. Over and over, I punched him across his body. I wanted every square inch to hurt before he took his last breath.

I hadn’t been able to protect her.

I hadn’t kept her safe.

“Help!”

The next punch knocked out two of Jakov’s teeth.

I lost track of time and space, where the walls around me became blurry, the light flickered, and I only found stability in the rhythm of choppy breaths and forceful blows.

Was he in as much pain as he’d caused yet?

I wasn’t convinced.

“Just k-kill me!” he sobbed.

I heaved a breath, and I kicked him in his stomach. His crotch, his legs, his chest…

I stopped hearing noises, aside from my labored breaths.

He gagged too.

At some point, Bran came in, picked Luka up off the floor, and righted his chair.

One more punch to Jakov’s nose, and…I was stopped.

One hand on my side, another sliding down my arm. I shuddered violently, wondering what the fuck was happening. The touch was so comforting that I didn’t recoil from it, and then I heard a thump as the brass knuckles fell to the floor.

For some reason, it felt like my hand had its own pulse.

“It’s no longer about them, sweetheart.”

I turned toward the low murmur with a single name in my head.West. It was him in his black winter coat. He was here. He put his arms around me, and his warmth brought my mind to rest in a matter of seconds. I hadn’t even noticed the chaos until it was settling down. It was like waking up from a nightmare and then rolling over to find peace again.

Evidently, there was a lot of shit I hadn’t noticed. Like how loud my breathing was, how quickly my heart was racing, the throbbing ache in my right hand, or that a headache had enveloped my skull like a helmet.

“Cover your ears,” West whispered in my ear.

I glanced up at him and blinked. “What?”

You’re really here.

“Cover your ears.” He brought my hands to my ears, and I was way too slow on the uptake. I did as told but didn’t fucking get why.

Then he turned slightly to Jakov and Luka, and I blinked again. Was that a— Oh my God, he had a gun. He fired two quick shots that blasted through the house, and just like that, their heads fell forward and blood gushed from two forehead wounds.

I choked on a breath. My ears rang loudly. Shock pulsed through me in a thick, slow-moving lava river, only to speed up with every breath. He’d shot them? He’d killed them? West had killed them?

“No… No, no, no…” I shook my head and staggered back. “No.” No, he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t do that! No. Oh fuck, no. He couldn’t have blood on his hands. He’d regret getting back together with me. He’d grow to resent me. “No!” Panic set in and grabbed hold of my chest, and I shoved at him. “What’d’ju do that for!” I yelled. “You’re not supposed to be here at all!”

He was unyielding, and his expression was frustratingly composed. Giving me no space whatsoever, he cupped the back of my neck and pressed his forehead to mine.

“You’re only prolonging your own suffering at this point, Alfie.”

“But you can’t kill them!” I tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t have it. “You can’t be a killer—you’ll hate me!”

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