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I stared down at the crumpled body in disbelief, heaving. In shock. A tremor climbed up my spine and then my whole body was shaking. I couldn't step away, only stare down at him, afraid that he would move at any moment.
Afraid to believe that he was actually dead this time.
And then the door sprang open and Antonio stood in the doorway, his gun held outward. He stared at me in surprise as he took in the sight.
The gun swung upwards and towards me. I threw my hands in the air. "No, Antonio, please."
His finger was on the trigger, but...he hesitated.
A shot rang out and I jumped, my shoulders hunching to my ears. I blinked in disbelief as he fell to the floor, blood pouring from a hole in his head, his dead eyes staring at the wall.
Oh my god.
Then, in the silence, Knight appeared. My heart leaped in my throat, pounding, pounding, my eyes filling. Knight! Love swelled through my chest, a tidal wave of warmth washing over me.
He stood over Antonio's body, then swung his gaze towards the room, his own gun following his line of sight. It landed on Manuel's dead form at my feet, settling there for a brief moment, then...up towards me. His eyes lit up, happiness radiating from them. "Tatiana."
"Knight." I was lightheaded, relief pouring over me. Then, my knees grew weak, my whole body shook, and darkness claimed my vision.
I blacked out, unconscious.
TWENTY
I slept for three whole days.
Three days of dreams and nightmares, mixed with all my hopes and fears, where dead men came to life and knights fought for sweet little princesses named Honey.
I'd passed out for only a few seconds and awoken in Knight's arms, shaking.
Honey was still alive but Antonio wasn't.
I couldn't watch as they'd taken care of his body, my feelings about him too mixed and confusing, but I made certain to watch as we cut Manuel's head from his body and buried him in different sections of the desert like he was some kind of vampire.
A wave of satisfaction and relief had welled up within me, a feeling more powerful than I ever could have imagined.
He was dead.
Dead dead.
The heavy burden I had been carrying had finally been lifted, and I felt a lightness that had eluded me for a long time.
After that, I'd barely showered and eaten, trying to come to terms with everything that had happened the past few weeks. It felt like a lifetime ago since Knight had claimed me in front of a crowd of mafia men.
And now, I was in a dark room in some fancy hotel room in Cabo San Lucas, after Knight insisted we leave Vegas for a while. As soon as we'd arrived, an oppressive sense of fatigue had descended upon me, more powerful than anything I had ever experienced before and, once more, I was dead to the world.
Then, sometime in the fuzzy space between dawn and daybreak on the fourth day, I'd awoken to Knight holding me close on the hotel bed. His arm was under my neck, his face buried into the crook of my neck, with his other arm wrapped around my waist.
The shutters were drawn closed, no lights were on.
I'd woken, lost and drowning in a sea of my nightmares, with him comforting me in the stillness.
"Tell me everything," he'd said, once I'd calmed.
"I don't know where to start."
"Start at the beginning."
And so, I began. The whole story came tumbling out as we'd laid in the dark. My words flowing, lost to the memories as I was thrown back in time to the endless days and nights when Manuel had complete control over my body.
