Page 205 of Teacher's Pet

My boot kicks Jake’s gun away as I straddle him, yanking his broken body onto his back. His mouth gapes open in pain, but I don’t let him speak.

My fist crashes into his jaw. Once. Twice. Again.

Bones crunch beneath my knuckles, his head snapping to the side, blood spitting from his lips. His legs are limp, his eyes wide, panic setting in as he realizes what’s happened.

He can’t move.

I’ve paralyzed him.

A fitting end.

Around me, Roman’s men move in like shadows, working in grim silence. They haul the bodies, stuffing them into black bags, wiping this scene off the earth like it never existed.

"Noah," Roman hisses, stepping closer. "That’s enough, man-"

I shove him off, my fist readying for another blow—

But Roman’s hand catches mine midair.

His grip is iron.

"Noah." His voice is sharp, cutting through the haze. "Ana needs you now."

Ana.

The name pulls me back.

I hear it then, the distant wail of ambulance sirens.

Reality crashes in.

Roman turns to his men. "Get her to safety. We’ll handle this shithead."

But I don’t care about Jake anymore.

I only care about her.

Snapping my head toward Ana, my breath catches.

Her eyes wide despite the swelling.

Her body trembling, covered in bruises and blood.

I don’t think. I just move.

In a second, I’m there, wrapping her in my arms, pulling her against me, my jacket thrown over her fragile frame.

She melts into my chest, her fingers gripping my shirt with what little strength she has left.

"Noah," she sobs, pain thick in her voice, "I thought I was dead-"

I press my lips to her hair, my voice breaking.

"It’s okay, Princess."

But as I look around, the mutilated bodies now being shoved into bags, one thought slams into me.

Did she do that?

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