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Amir had arrived.
I jumped up with a yelp, my chair clattering to the ground behind me.
“The fuck, Schiffer?” Amir leaned over him, pressing his reddened face against the table. “You have short-term memory? What did I say?”
“I was checking on her,” Elliott screeched. “Making sure you haven’t hurt her!”
Amir’s head whipped to mine. “You, don’t move.”
I held my hands up, pleading for him to listen. “Amir, he didn’t—”
He snapped his fingers at me. “Need you to be quiet, mama. We’ll talk after I deal with this asshole.”
Helen and Elena surrounded me, both laid hands on my shoulders. Amir grabbed Elliott by the scruff, hauling him from his chair. Elliott barely put up a fight, allowing himself to be shoved several feet away.
Amir jabbed the air. “No more warnings. If I see you near my girl again, I will follow through on all my promises. Reno won’t be happy with your shit, and you don’t even wanna know what happens when he isn’t happy.”
Elliott bowed over and over as he backed toward the door. The dining hall had gone quiet. It felt like a hundred pairs of eyes were on me, though they were most likely looking at Amir and Elliott.
As soon as Elliott was out the door, Amir stalked toward me with his hand out.
“Come on. Time to go.”
Helen was rigid beside me, her arm like an iron band around my shoulder. “She’s not going anywhere with you. I’m not afraid of youoryour woman-beating brother.”
Amir tipped his chin, his eyes only for me. “You gonna correct her, Zadie?”
My chin was trembling. I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I didn’t quite know what to say to any of them. I wanted Amir, but I hated this. I couldn’t lose my friends. I was supposed to have the weekend to prepare. I wasn’t prepared!
“Your deal is null and void,” Elena added. “Now, shoo, weirdo.”
Helen laughed under her breath, and I almost did too, but only because it was absolutely absurd to hear Elena call Amir a weirdo. Like we were kids. Like he wasn’t dangerous. Like he wasn’t the villain who rarely went anywhere unarmed.
Amir shook his hand at me. “Right now, Zadie. Come.”
Helen shoved me behind her, getting in Amir’s face. “Dude, catch a clue. Zadie only agreed to be your little slave because she wanted protection from her stalker. She doesn't like you, she just knows you’re demented enough to kill anyone who would deign to threaten something or someone you own.”
“Helen, no—”
Elena clasped my hand, holding me back. Helen wasn’t listening to me anyway. She had her own reasons to be angry with Amir. Mine were just the tip of the iceberg.
“Whatever you think is going on between the two of you isn’t real. She’s hanging around you for one thing, and one thing only: protection. That was always the point. But she doesn’t need you. She’s got me, Elena, Theo, Lock. We have her back. So you can crawl back into your fucking hole, dude. You’re nothing. A girl like Zadie would never be with trash like you.”
Amir’s eyes were on me the entire time Helen spoke. I shook my head, but I still couldn’t form words. I just couldn’t force them out. Because what she was saying wasn’t entirely untrue, but it also wasn’t true at all.
“Zadie?” Fury filled every cell of Amir’s body and overflowed, rising into the air around him like smoke. Jaw clenched tight, hands fisted, legs spread wide, he looked like he was prepared for battle.
Helen pushed forward. “Did you not hear me? Get over yourself. Zadie does not need you. If she had told us what was going on from the very beginning, she never would have come near you. Get out of here.”
Without another word, Amir spun on his toe and stormed out of the dining hall. I found my voice when he pulled open the door.
I shook Elena’s hand off. “I need to go after him.”
Helen tried to stop me, but I tore my hand away and marched forward, my short legs moving at a panicked clip.
Pushing outside, my heart was lodged in my throat. Amir was across the courtyard, his long legs carrying him faster than I could catch. Sucking in a breath, I yelled for him.
“Amir!”
