After acknowledging that he was free from the police, Shadow Cat slowly moved the knife further from the girl's neck, but before he finished moving his hand away from her, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "you run, you die."
Marie nodded, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She was not sure what was stopping her from running. She was almost 99 percent certain that she would die either way. Why was life so cruel to her? And why the hell did her feet not move?
Shadow Cat could not take it anymore. He remembered her sweet voice, and he just had to look at her face. He needed to know who the girl behind the magnificent voice was. He was almost sure it was her, but she was too smart to be out in the dark and on this part of town. Right?
Shadow winced in pain as he placed his knife back into his pocket and gently placed his hands on the young girl's waist, slowly turning her around to face him.
Marie gulped. Her body trembled in fear as his hands held on to her hips and began to turn her. Marie was sure this was it. She did not doubt that she would be dead in a matter of seconds.
Shadow Cat bit his lip as his eyes began to take in the facial structure. Even with only looking at part of her face, he could tell the girl was astounding. Part of him wished it was her. The one girl he would do anything for, but at the same time, would that be the best right now? He was in his criminal form. Surely she would hate him forever.
Marie shut her eyes tightly as she came to a 180-degree turn. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to see the face of her killer the second he decided to slash her throat. At the exact moment, Shadow cat took in her face and gulped. It was her! He recognized the girl that stood in front of him as the secret love of his life. Marie!
Flashback
"Father, must I attend school?" The young man asked, hoping he didn't have to.
"Yes, son. We know that you are extremely skilled, but it also takes smarts to run a business." The man replied, trying to convince his son.
"I understand, father."
'First day going to school. I'm not sure why I can't be homeschooled instead. Father tells me to behave like a normal kid, so we don't gain unnecessary attention, but it's too much for me. But I will try, he has been the only one there for me and has trained me all my life, and I can't let him down. The boy was lost in thought when he bumped into someone.' "Ouch," a girl cried.
"Oh, I am so sorry, miss."
"It's ok, no harm done," the girl replied.
'Wow, she is so beautiful, maybe school won't be so bad after all. Dear God, if I could have anything in this world, it would most definitely be her,' the boy thought. 'But father would never allow it. As he always says in our line of work, love is not an option. Love is a weakness. But I think I'm in love.' His thoughts were interrupted by her soft and sweet voice.
"I got to go. Take care, new boy."
"Bye"
End of flashback
Shadow could not believe it. Once again, he had bumped into the astonishingly beautiful girl he had tried so hard to stay away from. His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp painful sting from his side. He turned to look at his side. That is when he noticed his shirt was not only damped with water but also blood. Marie gasped as he realized what Shadow had been looking at.
Marie felt her stomach turn. It was not because of the sight of blood that she was sure of, but her stomach felt weak. She struggled to figure out if it was due to the fear or the worry that the criminal standing before her could die at any moment.
Shadow lifted his shirt and winced as the pain got worse. Every move made, made the pain grow, weakening him. Shadow grunted as he noticed that he had gotten shot, and the bullet remained inside. When had this happened? He was sure the cops missed every single shot.
He then turned to look at Marie and saw the face of horror she held. He then lowered his shirt, covering his wound, and finally spoke, pretending to be unbothered. The last thing he wanted was to look weak in front of the girl he loved. "Let's move," he said. His voice was husky no one would ever know that he was only a teen.
At his words, a frightened Marie dared to speak. "But you said y-you said you w-would let me g-go. P-please, let me go," she begged. Marie hoped he would allow her to escape, but deep inside, she knew he would most likely kill her before the night was over. Never before has a person came face to face with Shadow Cat and lived to tell the story, but she knew she had to try.
Shadow felt conflicted. He always ended the life of anyone in his path. "No witnesses, no problems" was his gang's motto, but something about this girl had him completely disoriented. He couldn't do it not to her. He wanted to let her go. He wanted to make sure she was safe and protected, but Shadow knew if he did, he would most likely never see her again. After a traumatic event like this, Marie would probably flee the country, and that is something he couldn't accept. He had made a decision.
"I said no such thing, now move!" He barked back. "Please ..." "Shut up! I said move!" He yelled. Shadow Cat did not know what he was doing, but there was one thing he was sure of, Marie would not leave his house. Not now, not ever.