“You should never have betrayed me,” he says softly, the devil in his voice and eyes.
“You should never have come after my brother and my woman.”
“Then you admit she’s your woman,” he replies dryly. “Good. Now I know to fuck her before I kill her.”
He’s trying to provoke me into making the first move, but I don’t make the first move. I wait. I wait until the crowd roars and Waters’ ego says he must act. He throws a punch. I duck and backup. He charges me, and we begin what becomes a brutal back and forth. He’s down. I’m down. He’s down again and I see Pri’s face in my mind, and that’s all it takes. I’m choking the hell out of him, but someone hits me from behind.
My ears ring and the world spins. I fall off of Waters, and he’s on top of me, hitting me. Pri, I whisper in my mind. Pri. I gouge his eye and he roars, falling off of me and I press him to his back, landing a knee in his groin. Someone hits me again from behind and I whirl on a guy named Ted, a wannabe Deleon.
I grab him from behind, and I choke him the fuck out, letting him drop to the ground. At this point, Waters is recovering, on his knees, about to get up. That’s when Bella steps to the circle with a gun in her hand. She’s shaking, tears streaming down her face.
“Bella,” I say. “I will help you. You don’t have to do this.”
And then to my shock, she turns to Waters and shoots him. And then shoots him again. And again. She drops the gun and Waters lets out a gurgling laugh before he falls face-first into the dirt.
He’s dead, not by my hand, but at the hand of a woman he’s abused.
I wish it could have been me, not for the revenge, but to save Bella the aftermath. She killed him. That will haunt her forever, but Waters will never touch her, or anyone else, again.
Chapter Forty-Seven
PRI
After nearly three days have passed since Raf and I arrived at Adrian’s apartment with no word from Adrian or Savage, we’re both losing our minds. It getting late, the night sky promising yet another night will pass without Adrian coming home. Adam and Jacob, who are taking turns babysitting us, have tried to offer comfort, but to no avail. Raf and I just want Adrian home. Or at least to answer his phone.
At present, Adam is upstairs watching television, while Raf and I play cards at the kitchen island.
“I’m fairly certain Adam’s choice of televisions is his way of assuring us he doesn’t have to hover because we’re safe here,” Raf says, as his cellphone buzzes on the counter. He eyes the caller ID and sighs. “And that would be my management calling for the fifth time in three hours. And the fifth time I haven’t answered. They want to know when my tour starts again.”
“Are you worried they’re going to reach a limit?”
“I’m worried about Adrian,” he says. “They can wait.” He yawns. “Damn,” he murmurs. “I’m shockingly tired.”
“It’s not shocking at all,” I say. “Neither of us has rested. You should try to sleep. You do have a tour to get back to.”
“I might go and try to lay down a bit, but not because of the tour. Screw the tour,” he says, and I can tell he’s really not worried about his management. He’s a star. His bus blew up. His people have to know his safety is in play here.
Raf stands up, still fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and I suspect he feels as I do—a need to be ready for anything. “Don’t you think Walker has to know more than they’re telling us?” he asks.
It’s a conversation we’ve had over and over again, but I’m all in. “I do, but I was thinking about that. What if Adrian and Savage haven’t found Waters? Maybe they dumped their phones and haven’t called in?”
“Or something worse,” he says. “And on that note, I’m going to grab a bottle of whiskey, of which my brother has plenty, and drink myself to sleep.” He holds up a hand. “Not a normal habit, but I think I’ll make an exception.”
“Understood,” I say. “Goodnight.”
“Are you going to try to rest?” he asks, giving me a worried look.
“Soon,” I promise.
He hesitates but heads up the stairs. I stand up, comfy in my leggings and a tank top that I will sleep in if I sleep at all. Because as I sense in Raf, I just need to be dressed and ready if anything happens. I’m not sure what “anything” means, but I just need to be ready. Antsy, nervous, needing Adrian to just call me, I grab my phone, walk to the window, and dial Blake. He doesn’t answer. Of course, he doesn’t answer. I try Lucifer. He doesn’t answer. “Damn them,” I whisper, and stare out at the city lights, that twinkle like a lighthouse calling Adrian home.