Page 62 of Stalked By the Alphas
She launches herself into my arms, clinging to me desperately. I hold her close, burying my face in her hair as she sobs against my chest.
“Shh, it’s okay,” I murmur, stroking her back gently. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
Picking her up, I cradle her, looking around for something to cover her with, but there is nothing. I disappear up the stairs, leaving Zach and Noah to finish this as painfully as possible, but Hazel doesn’t need to see anymore.
It’s nearly dark when we emerge from the old school building. A car is parked up, visible in the waning light. It’s a dark blue sedan. Basic, ordinary. I peer closely at it, holding Hazel closer. Caution races through me.
The car door opens, and Leah climbs out. She is frail-looking, too thin, with dirty hair and old, baggy clothes. Her pale face is set as she approaches us.
“Don’t come any closer,” I warn her, stepping back with Hazel still in my arms.
Leah doesn’t stop. She moves at a slow, steady pace, and then I see the gun in her hand. It’s small, but it appears big in her tiny hand. “Is he still alive?” she asks as she walks past me into the school.
“Not for much longer.”
I crouch down against the wall, making sure Hazel is comfortable as I remove my shirt. It’s all I’ve got. Idrape it over her, and she chokes back a sob, pulling it to her and burying her face into the collar. It makes my dick go inappropriately hard.
The sound of the gunshot rings out, making Hazel jump. But I’ve got her.
39
ZACH
I standover Ayden’s mutilated body, my chest heaving and arms aching from the exertion. The machete slips from my blood-slicked fingers, clattering to the floor. The red haze of rage clears from my vision as I take in the carnage around me.
Noah is still working on David, the drill whirring as he methodically destroys the monster who hurt Hazel. David’s agonised screams have faded to weak whimpers. Good. He doesn’t deserve a quick death.
A small figure appears at the bottom of the stairs like a ghost.
Leah.
Her face is a mask of grim determination as she approaches David’s broken form. Noah looks up grimly and then takes in the gun in her hand.
“You can do this?” he asks quietly.
She doesn’t reply. She crouches down, looking intoher father’s pain-filled eyes. “You ruined so many lives,” she says softly. “Including mine.”
David tries to speak, but only manages a wet gurgle. Leah raises the gun, pressing it to the middle of his forehead.
“Goodbye, Daddy,” she whispers.
The gunshot is deafening in the small space. David’s body goes limp, his eyes vacant. It’s over.
Leah stands, her hand shaking slightly as she lowers the gun. “Is it done?” she asks, her voice hollow.
Noah checks for a pulse and gives a nod.
“It’s done,” I say quietly.
She takes a shuddering breath, her eyes roaming over the carnage in the room. Her gaze lands on Ayden’s mangled corpse, and she flinches.
“He was my cousin,” she says softly. “I didn’t know until recently. He was looking into the death of Hazel’s parents.”
This piece of information, which is something we already guessed, is random at a time like this.
But when she looks up at me, her eyes full of caution, maybe not so random. She knows. Or she thinks she knows it was us who got rid of Hazel’s parents.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Noah says, his voice tight with tension.
