Page 176 of Rose
Savior exhaled, dragging a hand down his beard. He hated this feeling—helpless, useless. The woman he loved more than anything was fighting something silent, something she wasn’t letting him touch. Last night, she’d shaken in his arms until she cried herself to sleep. Every time he’d asked, she shut down.
He’d held her through nightmares before. He’d seen her at her lowest. But this was different. This felt like losing her all over again. The smile he’d fought to put back on her face was gone, replaced by that same guarded, wounded look she’d worn the first night he met her outside the barbershop.
It scared him more than he wanted to admit.
Sarai must have seen it too—the anger, the worry, the weight of not knowing, because she lowered her voice. “Let’s talk in my office.”
She glanced over at Chris. “Baby, can you bring his order to my office when it’s ready?”
Chris nodded, and Sarai motioned for Savior to follow her, the heaviness of what she might have to say hanging between them.
Savior followed Sarai into her office, glancing down at his phone on the way. Still nothing from Ahzii. Not a call. Not a text. His jaw locked so hard it ached.
Sarai shut the door behind them, leaning back against her desk, eyes locked on him. “Savior, what is going on?”
He stayed by the wall, arms crossed like he was holding himself together. “Man, Gold… I don’t know. Since last night, she hasn’t said a word. She’s been crying nonstop, shaking. It’s like she saw a ghost, and it scared the hell out of her.”
Sarai’s brows drew in. “Has she said anything to anyone? Because the way she froze up on stage and bolted—she had to see something that rattled her.”
Savior’s fists curled until his knuckles ached. “She ain’t said shit. And what the fuck could she have seen that would make her act like that?”
Sarai dropped her gaze for a moment, thinking hard, but nothing came.
A notification dinged. Savior’s head snapped to his phone. His pulse jumped—until he saw the name. Not her.
Sin:Got info on Jane Doe. Meet at the warehouse.
Sav:On the way.
Savior closed the message, a small weight lifting from his chest. Ahzii might have been dodging him, but at least Sin came through on business. It wasn’t enough to quiet the worry gnawing at him, but it gave him something to focus on until she decided to give him answers.“Everything straight?” Sarai asked just as Chris walked in with his food.
Savior pushed off the wall, forcing his expression blank. He couldn’t talk about this part with her. She didn’t know about the Lazarus case, and if she did, she’d throw herself into helping. This wasn’t the kind of fight she could walk away from. One woman he loved was already slipping through his fingers. He wasn’t about to risk losing his sister too.
“I need to head out. Ahzii’s at her mother’s house, and I know her ass hasn’t eaten all day,” Savior said, trying to mask the heaviness sitting in his chest.
He left Gold, slid into his car, and fired up the engine. His phone dinged, and for the first time all day, hope kicked in hard enough to make his pulse race.
Allure:Hey baby. I’m staying the night with my mother tonight. I promise I’m going to explain everything when I get home. I just need more space, so please don’t come see me. I love you.
The words hit him like a knife twisting slow. She was keeping him out. Avoiding him. Asking for space when he was the one person who’d burn the world down to keep her safe.
Why?
He didn’t think, he just hit call, needing to hear her voice, to know for damn sure she was okay. It rang, and rang… and went dead.
His jaw flexed, his knuckles turned white, and the anger hit him before the hurt could swallow him whole. He punched the steering wheel, hard. Once. Twice. Again. The leather groaned under the force, but it didn’t release the pressure building in his chest.
He wanted to go to her. Kick in the door if he had to. But pushing too hard now could break whatever fragile thread was holding her together, and he refused to be the reason she unraveled.
So he forced himself to turn the wheel and head for the warehouse instead, even though every part of him screamed to find her.
This wasn’t the time to be Khaos. This was the time to be Savior. Her Savior.
Even if it killed him to wait, he’d give her the space she was asking for and pray she’d come back with the truth like she promised. Until then, the ache in his chest wasn’t going anywhere. Neither was the worry.
???
Ahzii stepped into the beach house, its grand size and secluded location making it feel like its own world. The air was rich with the sound of waves crashing against the shore, the occasional cry of seabirds breaking the heavy quiet. William had told her to meet him here.
