Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 67 - Arisa

Loyal led me back to where the sedan was parked. I couldn't keep myself from glancing at the front doors of the school, in search of Khaleel. I was worried about that little troublemaker. He was taking too long to bring Carter out. Maybe he was waiting for all the students to leave before forcing his hand against the guy? No. That wasn't his style. I wouldn't put it past him to be giving beating on the rooftop. I thought about texting him, but Loyal didn't seem bothered by it, so I decided to trust his instincts.

"It's my turn to ask you a question," Loyal said, taking a hold of my hand. "Where did you learn to fight so well?"

"My mom forced me to take self-defense classes growing up," I replied.

"That's not very conventional. Can I ask why?"

I laughed nervously, knowing well I wouldn't be able to half-ass my answer or lie. "My mom studied criminal law in school," I said, taking my hand back, and walking ahead. "After graduation, she was fortunate enough to join a well-established firm. Her first day on the job and her team was asked to convict some monster who kidnapped a thirteen-year-old girl and held her hostage in his basement for almost three years. Mom couldn't handle the gory details of the young girl's story. She, uh, had nightmares for days after the case was closed. When she found out she was pregnant with me, she became paranoid about my safety, both of our safety to be honest."

I looked back to find Loyal focusing all his attention on me. His brows were furrowed and his warm bright eyes dimmed in thought. I couldn't really read him in that moment but I suspected he wasn't too pleased to hear my truth. Not a lot of people were. They became apologetic towards mom and me when it was that thirteen-year-old girl who deserved their sympathy. "Mom always tells me," I forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "She may not be able to protect me from the dangers of this world, but she wants to make sure I'm able to survive in it."

"You're lucky," Loyal said, his gaze stuck to the floor. "Your mother cares so much about you. I would be surprised if mine remembered my birthday."

I didn't know how to respond to that.

Thankfully, I didn't have to. Khaleel and Hino exited the school with a hooded student who limped between them from the front doors to the security booth. It had to be Carter. Khaleel and Hino were able to get him past the guard without attracting too much attention to themselves and made their way to the sedans. Loyal rushed to speak with the associate in charge. "I will be attending the interrogation to make sure Carter doesn't lie," he said. "And to ensure you guys don't accidentally kill him."

"That won't be necessary," the shorter man replied. "We haven't been ordered to kill him."

"I insist on being there," Loyal said sternly.

I watched Khaleel push Carter into the taller man's hands before he set his solemn expression on me. I felt a cold shiver ricochet down my spine. I hated when he looked at me like that; like he drowned out the sound of his emotions to abandon his humanity. I could tell by the cuts on his wrists that he had in fact thrown punches at Carter on the rooftop. It shouldn't have made me feel bad for the jerk who got me kidnapped but it did.

Khaleel moved in my direction and spooked me. I wanted to dodge him. I wanted to run and hide behind Loyal to make sure that he couldn't get to me, but it was all futile. Khaleel's presence was too strong and too dominant to break away from. I felt his touch on my hand and fear consumed me all over again. My body moved to his wishes. I hated myself for being so timid around the delinquent, and for letting him pull me around like a rag-doll.

"I'll take her home today," Khaleel announced.

Kumar's associates were too busy escorting Carter into the vehicle to notice the tension shift in the air. Loyal stared at us, unbothered by the implication as his gaze fell on my unavailable hand.

"Hino," Khaleel said. "Go home and get some rest. Don't overwork your arm."

"I can take Arisa home if you want to go with Loyal," Hino offered.

My eyes lit up with hope.

"No thanks," Khaleel said eradicating it. "Her mom is expecting me to follow through."

Anger consumed me. "Since when?" I glared at him. "I don't need you to take me anywhere."

"No," Loyal spoke up. "If he promised to bring you home then he should."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You're serious?" I asked.

"Dead serious," Loyal said, before getting into the sedan. Kumar's associates followed suit. I watched the car lights flash on with the engine before it slowly curved around the parking lot and out into the street.

I shook my head in disbelief, almost forgetting that the delinquent was tightly gripping my hand. How could Loyal leave me in his hands? So what if Khaleel was his friend? Loyal said he knew how the delinquent felt about me. Wasn't he worried about something happening between us? Was it confidence or faith? I glance up at that terrifying expression and tried not to be scared of it.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, trying to get out of his grip. He wouldn't let me.