Page 129 of Double Standards
“Aiden, please?—”
He laughs, wild and unhinged. “Oh don’t act so surprised!”
“Why… would… you… do this?” My fingers dig into his wrist, but his grip is unbreakable.
“Because this city needs a cleanup,” he hisses, his sweat slicking onto me. “And you people are part of the fucking rot.”
“Killing him… is not… a cleanup.”
I’m barely upright now, toes scraping the ground, lungs collapsing. My vision blurs, stars exploding behind my eyes. I’m close to blacking out.
“Shut up!” he screams, yanking me forward and slamming me back again. My head cracks against the brick, dazing me.
Then I hear it.
The click of the safety.
He’s ready.
“Aiden… you don’t… want… to do this.”
“Oh, I do.” He grins like the devil.
And that’s when I see him. A second shadow down the alley.
Panic freezes me. If Aiden has backup, I’m dead.
“Hey!” a deep voice bellows.
Aiden jerks. His grip loosens just enough for him to slam a fist into my face.
Pain detonates through my jaw like a grenade going off beneath my skin. The force sends me crashing to the ground, my knees slamming into the pavement as I crumple. I’m coughing, choking on the bitter mix of blood and spit pooling in my mouth, thick and metallic. My fingers fly to my cheek, finding it slick and hot—torn skin, maybe bruised bone. The sting is blinding, radiating through my face like a live wire. Tears spill over, unchecked, tracing hot, salty lines down my cheeks, but I bite back the sobs. I won’t give him that. I won’t let him see me break, even as my body trembles and my breath stutters in my chest.
“Hey,” the voice comes again; gentler, closer.
I look up, eyes blurry, and recognize the sharp lines of his face.
Dark hair. Darker eyes.
Noah.
Relief crashes into me, and I sag into his hands.
“Cassie? Shit, are you okay?” He pulls me upright, one careful motion at a time, guiding me out into the light.
“Shit,” he mutters, scanning my face. He lifts my chin, expression shifting from concern to fury. “Let’s get you checked out,” he says, already moving.
“No!” My voice is hoarse, but I fight him off. “I need to see Axel,” I plead, the fear curling inside me like a storm.
“Who?” he asks. His brows furrow, and something in his tone isn’t from confusion. It’s clarification.
“Axel!” I scream his name like it’s a lifeline.
Noah blinks, then throws his hands up. “Okay. Okay.” He digs in his pocket and gestures to a car parked nearby. “Tell me where to go.”
“Cassie?”
I flinch and turn, my throat searing with pain.
