Chapter 33
Chapter 33:
Fear.
Helplessness.
Agony.
These three words are the only ones I can use to describe the horror etched across Isla’s face. My heart tears apart at the sight of Kai’s hand gripping her bloodied face, the pain he has inflicted on her body filling my mind with a million gut-wrenching ways to kill this bastard.
“Kai p>
I scream, trying to rush at him, but he moves as fast as a snake. Within seconds, I find myself with my hands raised in the air, staring wide-eyed at a gun aimed directly at my head.
“Don’t be so quick, Asher, or this place will be filled with two corpses instead of one p>
I gulp down a breath. My heart hammers so loud and hard that my arms tremble at the sight of the black revolver trained on me. I have never had a gun pointed at me in my entire life. The fear that I could die any second strikes through me like a bolt of lightning—but the greater fear is that I could die in front of the woman I love, without ever telling her how I truly feel. That dread nearly drives me to my knees.
My eyes dart back to Isla, who stares at me with pain and anguish swimming in her gaze. Her beautiful face is smeared with blood, and I curse under my breath when I spot a deep cut above her right eyebrow, dripping scarlet down the corner of her eye. Her hands are tied cruelly behind her like an animal, her body slumped against the wall, beaten and helpless.
I snap my attention back to Kai. “Kai, what do you want p>
“You know, Asher,” he snarls, “I could kill you right now and get right back to the conversation I was planning with Isla. But then I realized—you’re the bigger fish here. Killing you straight away would be a waste. So why don’t you join Isla over there, and we can start our conversation together p>
He jerks his gun toward Isla’s corner on the floor. “Go on, Asher. Sit with her p>
“Asher! Don’t listen to him! Get out of here!” Isla screams, shaking her head violently.
Everything happens so fast.
A loud bang.
A shrill scream.
And then, sudden silence.
It feels like I am dreaming, but when Isla screams again, I am reminded that this is the harsh reality of the world. My eyes dart over to her, and it feels like all the air in my lungs has been sucked out at the sight of the pool of blood gathering around her legs. The scene shatters every restraint I’ve been clinging to, every ounce of control I’ve forced myself to hold, stopping me from attacking Kai blindly.
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I lunge at him, slamming into him with all my weight. We crash to the ground, and the gun in his hand fires off. The bullet blasts into the ceiling, the gunshot echoing through the room. Towering over him, I kick the gun out of his reach and smash my fist into his jaw with a punch so brutal that pain ricochets through my knuckles. I keep going, blow after blow—his jaw, his nose, anywhere on his face that I can disfigure.
A rib-cracking punch slams into the side of my stomach, ripping a pained yelp from me and knocking the air out of my lungs. The distraction gives Kai enough leverage to throw me off.
“You bastard!” he yells, landing a brutal fist to my face, then another to my head. My vision spirals for a split second, colors twisting in a chaotic blur.
“Asher!” Isla’s cry cuts through the haze, dragging me back to my senses in time to see Kai scrambling toward the spot where the gun lies.
In a flash, I pull out the knife I had grabbed from his dining table. With all my strength, I drive it deep into his leg, burying it to the hilt.
He halts, screaming in rage. But before I can finish him, his other leg whips around and smashes into my head with raw force. The blow sends me crashing to the floor, the back of my skull cracking against the hard ground.
My vision blurs, colors swimming like a broken mirage in a dizzy, glassy haze. Blood pounds in my head, deafening in my ears. Warmth trails down from my nose, and the copper tang of blood fills my lips.
“Asher p>
I could hear her voice again. Isla is calling my name. The desperation in it pushes me to roll to my side, my elbows and knees trembling as I fight to push myself up.
But it’s too late.
A gunshot rips through the air. Then another. Then a third.
Instead, I focus my blurry vision on the pendant of the necklace I gifted her—the diamond heart that carries so much of the love I have for her. I know I don’t have much time, but I can’t bear dying without telling her the three words that always sounded so simple, yet felt so impossible for me to say all these years.
“Isla,” I cough out, blood spattering over my mouth and neck.
“Shhhh, Asher,” she whispers. “Don’t say anything p>
My breaths grow sharper, shorter, coming out in ragged pants. It is now or never.
“Isla,” I croak. “I… I love you p>
Another heavy breath rattles out of me. I feel something warm and wet drop onto my face.
“I love you, Isla… I love you with all my heart. I just…” I cough again, more blood coating my lips. “I wish I had told you earlier. I wish I had more time… more time to show you… to show you how much I love you p>
Despite how broken and messy I must look, I manage to spread a weak smile across my face. It feels strangely comforting to finally release the burden of my feelings, even as the cold hands of death begin to wrap around me like the icy lakes of Alaska.
My body starts to convulse, my muscles trembling. More blood fills my mouth.
“Asher p>
Isla’s voice, crying out my name, is the last thing I could hear before I slip into darkness.