Eleven

Andrey.

“You deserve what she did to you because you’re a weak ass.”

The words slice through me like a knife, but I keep a stoic expression. My attention is solely on the beaten and battered man before me, his body covered in sweat and blood, gasping for air. The sight of a grown man reduced to this state fills me with a perverse satisfaction.

I deliver a powerful blow, my fist connecting with his jaw, causing him to groan in pain. He's resilient, which is precisely why he's one of the best at what he does. But he crossed a line, a line that I cannot tolerate.

“You’re fucking wasting your time, man,” Jayden spoke again when I didn’t answer his pathetic insult. Amid the insults hurled at me by Jayden, I continue my assault, unflinching, focused on my task. His job was simple: protect Hazel. But he failed. Two nights ago, she walked home alone and was mugged by some men. She's physically okay, but I can't forgive myself for allowing her to experience such fear when I was still alive. S