10. Kazi

Chapter 10

Kazi

K azi was seething. He had tried to track Yara’s phone earlier, but the signal stopped at the restaurant, until it pinged back to life at this hotel, before disappearing again.

He had been out of his mind with worry the entire night, thinking he had made a mistake in leaving her with Mateo. That something bad had happened.

That her stalker had finally escalated as Kazi knew they would.

He was almost positive Yara knew exactly who it was, so why hadn’t she told him?

His mind was a disarray of chaos as he pushed into the hotel room with the key the front desk had given him. Kazi wasn’t sure what he expected to see, but it wasn’t Mateo carrying a soaked Yara from the bathroom. Glancing around for any reflective items in the room, he found the TV broken on the floor.

“What the fuck?” Kazi hissed out before he could stop himself. He specifically said not to be obvious.

Mateo shrugged a shoulder.

Kazi thought Yara was sleeping, but she reached up a fist to punch Mateo. “Let me down you giant of a man. I hate being this far from the ground. ”

Kazi could tell she drank but decided against mentioning it. “I brought you some clothes from our house.” He wouldn’t mention how he had torn up half their home in anxiety.

Mateo carefully put Yara on her feet before stepping back and folding his arms. Kazi attempted to quell his rising anxiety from being in the same room as the other man. Mateo was a killer, a torturer, a freak .

Except Mateo was staring at Yara like she was the only thing in existence. His eyes tracking her every move.

And she was fucking oblivious.

Kazi returned his attention to the woman, he would worry about that later. “Here you go, Miss Yara, let me help you. I got your favorite clothes.”

Yara’s cerulean eyes brightened at his words. “What would I do without you Kazi?” She took the clothes from him and it took everything in him to not reach out. To not catch her hand and pull her to him. To push his lips against hers, show her how he felt. That he needed her.

Movement in Kazi’s periphery pulled him from his yearning. Yara whipped her dress off, throwing it in Mateo’s direction, before pulling the baggy sweatpants and long sleeve on.

“Yara.” The warning in Mateo’s tone was evident as he dropped her dress to the ground, but Yara ignored it.

Kazi’s anxiety and frustration were causing painful piercing shocks along his skin. He couldn’t reprimand her, she wouldn’t listen.

Why was she trusting Mateo? Undressing in front of him?

Fully clothed, she turned around on wobbly feet. “Well, I guess I might as well stay here for the night. Also, Kazi, can you get me a new phone? I think I left mine at the restaurant.”

A prickle of unease shot down his spine. “Are you sure?” he asked softly, frozen in place as he watched Yara make herself comfortable in the large bed, ignoring the broken TV entirely .

“Yep. You were right. Liam was another asshole.” The words came out blearily as she blinked her eyes slowly for a few moments before they didn’t open again. It wasn’t but a minute later that he could just make out her light snoring.

That was one skill set she excelled in, sleeping whenever or wherever she could. Kazi suspected it was from years of being forced to, years of abuse.

He clenched his fists in anger as he thought about how her trauma affected her. She rarely ate, she was littered with scars, couldn’t stand her own reflection, and it took him years to finally convince her to sleep on a bed with him. Before that, when they first lived together, she would end up in her closet more nights than he cared to admit.

He didn’t realize how badly she was hurting for far too long; he wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Even if she wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, he would get it out of her one way or another.

“What happened to her?” Mateo’s deep voice jumped Kazi out of his trance and he looked back at the man.

“You can leave now, I’ve got her.” Kazi did his best to sound stern, he didn’t like where this was heading. He didn’t like the glint in Mateo’s eyes, the determination in his voice.

Mateo sounded exactly like he did when he found a new project to fixate on. Those projects always ended up worse for wear. Well that wasn’t exactly correct. They always ended up dead or damaged beyond repair. Kazi may not physically be around the family , but that did nothing to abate the rumors of Mateo’s cruelties.

Of his history of torture and murder.

“I don’t think I will. I already let Emilio know that I would be sticking around. You didn’t mention that the stalker was escalating. Someone followed her from the restaurant, to a bar, and then here. And they were good, I couldn’t catch them.” Mateo pushed off the wall walking towards the bed, shedding his shirt as he went.

“What are you doing?”

“Sleeping with her,” Mateo stated as he got into the bed.

“No the fuck you aren’t. Leave her alone.” Kazi was channeling all of his inner rage to challenge this man as he got in on the other side of the bed.

“Shut up you two!” Yara shot up in a half sleep state, scaring the ever-loving shit out of Kazi. He was used to her sleep talking, but he hadn’t been expecting it. “Just both stay here with me,” she grumbled as she fell back onto the bed.

“She’s an interesting woman.” Mateo snuggled against her side, wrapping a beefy arm around her.

“No, she’s not interesting, you’re not intrigued. Next, you’re going to say ‘she’s not like other girls.’ She doesn’t need that. She is Miss Yara, and she deserves better than your hyper-fixation.” Kazi was grasping at straws, but he knew he had fucked up.

“You’re probably right, but it’s too late for that. I have decided this will be my new mission. To keep her safe, to rid her of her stalker.”

Apprehension rose up Kazi’s throat, he swallowed it down as he settled in on the other side of Yara. He didn’t know Mateo that well, but there was one thing he was certain of: Mateo always completed his missions.

Meaning from this moment on, Mateo would be a part of their lives.

Kazi just hoped that there would be enough space for the both of them.