Page 36 of Rose
“Somebody stop him before he kills the man!” Kyre called out, her voice panicked as she turned toward Savior.
Savior gave a subtle signal to Macho, who moved fast, wrapping his arms around A’Mazi and yanking him back just before the man lost consciousness. Blood splattered the sidewalk. Ahzii thrashed.
“Let me the fuck go,” she snapped, and that’s when Savior realized—he was still holding her. He loosened his grip reluctantly, releasing her even though her presence lingered in his hands like heat from a flame.
Kyre rushed to check A’Mazi’s bruised hand, while Ahzii stood in stunned silence—shaking, breath ragged, eyes glassy with unshed tears. The sight of her like that made Savior’s chest tighten. Not with guilt. With rage.
The man, barely standing, leaned against the shop’s window, blood trailing from his mouth like regret.
“Get yo pussy ass off my windows,” Macho muttered before kicking the man in his leg.
Ahzii jumped.
A’Mazi reappeared with an ice pack from Aunt Marley, shame written all over his face. Kyre returned too, fire in her eyes.
“Let’s go, Ky,” Ahzii finally muttered, her voice hollow. She pulled on her helmet without another word.
Savior wanted to speak—anything to ease her—but he knew better. She was pissed, rattled, and she didn’t even know him. Whatever he felt… it wasn’t the time.
“Zii?” A’Mazi tried, his voice low, full of regret.
She ignored him. Revved her engine like thunder in her throat.
“I got her, Mazi. Come by the house later,” Kyre said, kissing his cheek before hopping on the back.
The minute her helmet clicked, Ahzii peeled off—burning rubber, spitting smoke, and flipping A’Mazi off on her way out. The roar of her bike echoed down the street like a war cry, leaving everyone frozen in her wake.
Savior stood there, staring until the bike disappeared. That woman… she stuck with him. The sharpness in her voice, the tension in her frame, the warmth of her body when it pressed against his. He remembered everything.
Her skin. Her eyes. Her name.
Ahzii.
“What the fuck happened out here?” Aunt Marley asked, dragging him back to the present.
Savior looked down at the man still bleeding on the sidewalk, barely able to stand, barely able to breathe. His jaw clenched.
“Don’t worry, Auntie. I’ll take care of it.”
There was death in his tone—quiet, certain, final.
Aunt Marley followed his gaze, then looked at A’Mazi, at her son, then back at the man on the ground. She sighed and stepped in.
“Whatever the fuck you’re gonna do, do it far from here,” she said coolly before turning to A’Mazi. “That was your sister?”
He nodded, still catching his breath.
“Don’t ever feel guilty for protecting her,” she said, her voice steel wrapped in velvet. “That pussy deserved every ounce of what he got.”
“Thanks for the ice pack,” A’Mazi murmured.
“You’re welcome.” Aunt Marley smiled faintly, then glanced down the block. “I see why she got men out here ready to kill for her. She and that woman with her? Both beautiful as hell.”
Even in thick tension, laughter slipped through like light under a locked door.
Then her smile disappeared as she turned to the man who had finally staggered to his feet.
“Andyou... get the fuck off my block. No man who can’t respect the wordnodeserves to breathe the same air as my family. You might want to leave now—while you still have lungs full of air. Ain’t no telling when your next breath might be your last.”
