Page 71 of Crown of Death

Shylocks eyes gowide.

They stay thatway.

Even when his head relaxes back abit.

And then there’sblood.

One short breath huffs out of my mouth. And then I press my hands over it, trapping the scream behindthem.

Cyrussqueezed.

Andsqueezed.

And squeezed right through his neck. Snapping his head rightoff.

I turn, crouching down into a squat, holding my hands over my mouth so that the screams don’t spill from mylips.

Sharp breaths pull in and out of my nose and tears prick myeyes.

I’m not sure how much time passes. I hear the sound of the dumpster at the end of the alley open and close, something heavy hits the metalbottom.

But then there’s a warm hand on myback.

And the emotions rip through me at tornadospeed.

I shakily rise to myfeet.

And I bury my face in Cyrus’ chest, letting tears overtakeme.

He wraps his arms around my back, holding me close. “It’s over,” he whispers. “He’ll never, ever bother you again. Whatever debt you owed him, you’ll never have to worry about itagain.”

I sob. Itremble.

Because all I can think about is the feeling of Shylock’s hands on my rear. His fingers slipping inside my waistband to unbutton my pants. The evil look in his eyes as he decided exactly what kind of interest I wouldpay.

“It’s over,” Cyrus whispers again, pulling mecloser.

Shylock would have rapedme.

His fingers were rightthere.

Too strong, too possessive. The look in his eyes told meeverything.

He would have taken me, right here in thisalley.

“Let’s go home,” Cyrus says quietly, cradling my head against hischest.

I squeeze him tighter, clinging tohim.

Safe.

Not just safe,protected.

And those two words, they make me pull back, and I look up into Cyrus’ eyes. They no longer glow red. He looks back at me, and everything in his eyes echoes those twowords.

How?I think to myself.How could I possibly feel that way around this dangerousman?

“Come on,” Cyrus says. He takes a step back, but takes my hand, guiding me. To my car, he leads me. He opens the passenger door and I sink into it. As I give him the keys, I realize my shirt is torn open, exposing my chest and most of my stomach. I pull the fabric closed, attempting to covermyself.