Dalliance - Z.M. (An Exquisites Original Story)

12; Make It Rain

Chapter 12

"There can come fire from the sky to refine the purest of kings."

(Raine's POV)

"What the fuck have you gotten yourself into?"

I'm trying desperately to stay calm, but I'm failing miserably. My hands are shaking, my pulse racing, everything in me telling me to run as fast as I can and never look back. But I can't, because the one thing that can weaken me is leverage, especially that of my family.

"I don't know what to do," I mumble, pacing around the room that Zayn had brought us into.

"Of course you don't!" He shouts, the vein in his neck throbbing. Frustrated and even more fearful than me, he runs a hand through his hair, groaning. "Raine, why did you follow me?"

"You know I'm curious!" I snap, my eyes wide. "If you would've just shot me a text that said 'hey, I'm fine. You can stop worrying!' Then I would've been satisfied. But you had to be so damn mysterious - "

"Don't blame this on me!"

"I'm not!" I shout, my voice rough with anger. "Jesus, Zayn, I'm not blaming you! I know that I was the one who followed you out here and that's my fault."

"Damn straight."

"But now I don't know what to do," I whisper, my adrenaline pumping. "He knows about Kai, about my mother. Zayn, I can't escape this."

He notices the fear in my voice, probably for the first time, and his shoulders fall. Instead of trying to prove his point like he normally does, he just sighs and wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him. Even though my body shudders against his, I don't cry. I know this is something I bought myself into. They say curiosity killed the cat, and now I know why.

"Nobody stays forever," Zayn says in my hair, stroking my back lightly. "Just do what you're told and he should stay away from that."

My hands curl around his sweater, gripping onto the only familiarity I have in this situation. "How can you promise me that?"

He takes a deep breath. "I can't."

Fear, whole and ruthless, overtakes me. A gasp leaves my throat, my eyes prickling, my heart racing. If I've never felt true fear in my life, I'm feeling it right then, in the arms of a dangerous man that lead me to my undoing. My bones ache within me, my eyes fluttering shut. I'm not afraid for my life, I'm afraid for the strings I now have attached to my family. There's only ever been two people in my life that I've cared for, and now that I hold their lives in my hands, I know there is no room for error.

"What if I can't do this?" I ask Zayn, my voice hushed.

"You can," he assures me, kissing the side of my head. He pulls away from me and grips my face in his hands, looking steady in my glistening eyes. "This is a test. Apollo makes us all prove our loyalty to him by making us do his dirty work for him. You have to do this, Raine."

Swallowing hard, I shake my head. "I can't kill someone."

He only looks at me, his eyes sympathetic. It hits me then that he lied to me when he said he's never killed anyone. The way he's looking at me, he's touching me, he's talking to me; it's clear that he's been in my position before. His hands, inked with blood and torture, hold me as if he's never even hurt a fly. Yet I know it. He's lied to me, time and time again, to protect me from what he wants to hide himself.

But now it's too late.

"I have three sisters, a mother, and a father." He says, stroking my cheeks gently. "Their lives are more important to me than someone Apollo has a grudge with."