âSit on my fucking face and suffocate me with your cunt.â
My head hammered as I struggled to push my heavy lids open. There was a constant ringing in my ears and my face felt warm. Something burning made me cough, and I forced my eyes to blink.
I could see shattered glass and the tight belt around me, holding me to the seat. I looked beside me and let out a whimper. Zayed was bleeding from the temple and his eyes were closed. The car was burning. We had to get out.
âZ-Zayed,â I coughed out. I winced, pushing the button to unlock my seatbelt and fell on the ground. My legs were bleeding, but I could move despite the soreness in my body. I did not know what happened, but I was scared and needed Zayed to wake up.
âZayed, wake up!â I tried to yell, but my voice was hoarse. Leaning up, I undid his seatbelt, his unconscious body falling on the roof of the car. I needed to get him out.
Crawling out of the small window, I stood up on my shaky legs and held his shoulders. âZayed, wake up, please,â I gasped out, dragging his heavy body. I kept pulling, using all my strength. Elena will kill me if anything happened to him. Oh god, he was a royal. So not just Elena, but entire Azmia would kill me.
âElena?â he sputtered, blinking his eyes open.
âFinally!â I kept dragging, and he was almost out of the car. âYou need to wake up and callââ
âNow, thatâs alright, little Emma.â
I froze hearing another person and turned around. My mouth parted into a scream, but the man in the black ski mask rushed closer and put a cloth on my mouth and nose, forcing me to inhale the burning chemical.
Groaning, I squirmed in his tight hold while he tried to quiet me. I tried to kick him, but my legs were still shaky from the accident. My head swirled, and I dug my nails into his forearms and tried to scratch him anywhere I could. Clawing his neck, his face, I heard a satisfying scream when he pulled back.
I fell on the ground, coughing as tears slid out of my eyes, and held a shard of glass when he tried to come closer.
âStop fighting, little Emma, we are going home,â he cooed, and I couldnât see his eyes through the tears and slashed at him.
âG-go away!â I tried to shout, wishing Cillian was there.
The smell of metal hung in the air and I noticed that the fire was slowly licking away at the car, its scorching heat making me sweat.
A yelp of pain coming from the man made me snap my eyes at Zayed. He was standingâno, barely standing and holding a dagger-like knife in his hand against the man who was possibly my stalker. My vision was getting hazy, my limbs shaking when I tried to stand up.
âIâm protecting you, little Emma!â the man yelled, pulling out a little pocket knife. It made Zayed grin, his lips bloody. It made me shudder to see him like that. âDonât worry, Iâll take care of him.â
How dare he call me little. Hurting me for months, the mental toll of looking out of the windows and closed curtains, the distressing feeling of always being watched just because he had some sick fantasy of me in his rotten head.
I tightened the broken glass in my hand, not caring that it cut my skin made me bleed.
I hated him. He had made my life a living hell, and I hated him for it. Killing my mother, my self-esteem, and making me live with fear day and night.
âStop speaking to her, you delusional fuck,â Zayed wavered, but swung his arm out when the stalker tried to kick his leg.
They both fell. I didnât care what happened to me as I let out a cry and forced the shard of glass onto him. He turned away, but I felt it gave way and sink into his skin when he yelled, pushing me off him with a tug on my hair.
âEmma, kitten, come on,â Zayed held my shoulders and dragged me away, lifting me up as the car burned, and I cried out.
âLet me kill him! Let me!â Even though I tried to scream, my voice was small, and my head was throbbing. Maybe I had inhaled enough chemical that it was making me unconscious.
âSh, itâs okay. Calm down.â
Those were the last words I heard before darkness took me again.
Cillian
I walked the same hallway again and again. Pacing from one end to another. My black polished shoesâthe ones she bought for me a week agoâpadded against the marble white floor. The bright white lights were adding to the headache that the grim scent of medicine, cleaner and scrubs were giving me.
âWill she be okay?â Mia asked for the umpteenth time, sitting beside Summer, whose knees couldnât stop shaking.
âThe doctor will let us know soon, Princess,â James, her rich old boyfriend, said, then looked at me. âBut it wonât help if you keep pacing like that.â
I shot him a glare, his piercing blue eyes matching it as he crossed his arms. âWhere were you, anyway? You are her bodyguard, arenât you?â he asked, tilting his head. âWhy was she alone with a Sheikh of Azmia out of all people?â
âItâs none of your business,â I gritted out of my teeth and kept pacing, raking a hand through my hair.
The call from Zayed had been devastating, and I was already driving when Elena ended the call. Seeing Emma unconscious and hurt had made my heart stop until Zayed promised that she was breathing and well, just fainted. I had stayed in the back seat, holding her while Elena drove us to the nearest hospital.
My hands were red even though I had scrubbed off all the blood. Her blood. That was still clinging to my clothes.
What have I done?
âSecurity from Azmia will arrive soon,â Elena said, her green eyes weary as she looked at Emmaâs friends and pulled me aside. âHer brother?â
âOn his way.â I had to ask her. âWill they find him?â
She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. âZayed cut his stomach and Emma stabbed his thigh with a piece of glass. But he still escaped.â
âFuck.â I ran a hand across my face and sighed, âShe shouldnât have to stab someone⦠itâs my fault.â
âWe will talk about the blame later. For now, stay calm.â
âI canât stay calm, Elena. This is the first time someone got hurtââ
Her eyes sharpened, âMy husband is lying on a hospital bed. Donât you think I want to maul and skin that piece of shit alive? Because trust me, I want to hurt him. More than you do. But right now, the only thing we have in our control is our patience.â Everyone was staring at her, nurses, doctors, Mia, Summerâand a narrowed but calculating gaze from James. She lowered her voice and said, âFocus on Emma. Tell her friends the truth and no one else.â
âI will.â I swallowed the lump in my throat, my jaw clenching. âI have to.â
âThe crash will be reported everywhere.â
âWhy?â I gaped at her.
âZayed. He is a Sheikh, and I donât think Zain or Khalid would listen to me on this. The stalker, whoever he is, has made a huge mistake trying to make Azmia his enemy.â She rubbed her forehead, and we both leaned on the wall. âCops will track him and maybe even CBI will try to find out if he went to any of the nearest hospitals.â
âBut this would mean Emma will have more eyes on her than ever before.â
âYes. Unfortunately.â She looked at me, her face stern. âThatâs why I hired you. To look after her. Donât disappoint me.â
âYes, maâam.â