Page 7 of Rose
Ahzii scrambled to throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, her hands trembling as she dressed.
“Stay right here,” William ordered, voice firm, pulling on his sweats.
She looked at him like he’d lost his damn mind.
“Boy, you crazy as hell if you think I’m letting you go out there alone,” she shot back, her fear battling her stubbornness.
But William wasn’t playing.
“Beautiful, you carrying my daughter. If something happens to y’all, I swear to God—” his voice cracked, just a little, but he pushed through it—“I’ll kill whoever’s out there. Butyou... you are not leaving this room. Not tonight. This ain’t the time to be stubborn.”
He stepped closer, cupping her face, his thumb brushing away the tears already pooling in her eyes.
“I love you, baby. Stay here.”
He kissed her, soft but desperate, like it might be the last time.
“Please be careful,” she whispered, barely holding it together.
He nodded, jaw tight, and slipped out of the bedroom, leaving the door cracked behind him.
And just like that, the quiet came back, but it wasn’t comforting.
It was terrifying.
Ahzii sat on the bed, rocking back and forth, trying to breathe through the fear strangling her. Her fingers trembled as she ended the call with the cops, barely able to form the words—home invasion, send help fast.She fired off frantic texts to Kyre and A’Mazi, her only lifelines.
Knowing them, they'd beat the cops here. God, she hoped so.
The house fell silent again. No more glass breaking. No more footsteps. Just the pounding of her heartbeat crashing against her chest like a warning bell.
And then—
Gunfire. One shot. Then another.
“William.”
She didn’t think. Her body moved before her mind could stop it. She flew out the bedroom, down the stairs, heart racing faster than her feet.
The first thing she saw nearly sent her collapsing.
A man, masked, laid sprawled at the foot of the stairs—his skull blown open, blood pooling like a nightmare. She gagged, hand flying to her mouth, fighting back the dinner threatening to rise. But there was no time.
Where was William?
Then she heard it—a voice, low and cold, not his.
She crept around the stairs, her stomach twisting tighter with every step.
And there he was.
William.
On his knees in the middle of the living room. Hands raised. Vulnerable. Helpless.
Another masked man stood over him, gun pointed at his head like it was nothing.
Tears blurred her vision, burning hot against her cheeks. She wanted to scream, wanted to run to him, but she bit down on the panic choking her throat. She couldn’t let the man see her.
