Chapter Nineteen
Laila’s POV
Go home.
The two words echoed in the tense, suffocating quiet of the room, heavy with absolute finality.
Zane stood over me like a dark monolith, his eyes blazing behind the slits of his leather mask. Blood was still dripping from his pocket knife onto the floor, but he didn't care. He was already turning his broad back to me, treating me like a minor inconvenience he had already swept aside.
My mind raced at a dangerous, terrifying speed.
If I walk out those doors right now, it’s over.
The image of my mother’s monitor flashing red in that hospital room flashed in my head. I thought of Rico’s sinister smile, the loan sharks waiting to tear down our family bar, and Kim’s cruel laughter as mud soaked through my clothes. Twelve thousand dollars a month. One
