Page 70 of No Second Chances

“I hate you.” Kennedy swings the baseball bat again, hitting Royal in the gut. “And I’m the one who won, Royal.”

He is on the ground, curled in on himself with blood leaking from a wound on his forehead and vomit on the ground next to him. Clearly, she’s already gotten the upper hand, but we can’t take our eyes off him.

“Drop the bat,” Dom orders.

Kennedy, with wild eyes, looks up mid swing with the bat and freezes. She eyes him and the bat, and then me and Remy, before looking back down at Royal. Her red hair is drenched and hanging down around her shoulders, and the black shirt she put on that morning is soaking wet. Even her leggings are plastered to her body.

I don’t need to hear what happened from her; it is clear. Royal tried to drown her. The same way he’d tortured her before. The way he’d killed Mallory. When she shifts, taking everything in, I see the dark bruises already forming on her throat and chest.

“Hey, Kennedy.” I try to get her attention. “You doing okay?”

“No.” She hits him with the bat and raises it up again. “I’m not okay, but I’m doing better now.” She sniffs. “You can go.” Then she kicks him as hard as she can in the junk, and he wheezes, still not moving.

But she does drop the bat like Dom ordered.

“A baseball bat?” Remy holsters his gun and moves forward into the room, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “Really?”

Kennedy points to the machete on the ground next to the bed. “I was going to use the machete like the hallucination of Cassie told me to, but then I didn’t want to go to prison. And she said to chop off his head, but I wasn’t sure if she meant his actual head or his dick. And if I go to prison, I can’t see the boys or Nox. So I grabbed the bat instead.” She starts crying hysterically. “He wanted to kill me. It’s self-defense. You’re not going to arrest me, are you?” Her eyes are locked on the handcuffs in her brother’s hands.

“No, smart-ass.” He shakes his head and crouches down. “They’re for him. Notice the other two haven’t fucking moved? He’s under arrest.”

Once Remy has Royal secured, I put my gun away and vault across the room to Kennedy, pulling her into my arms.

“We’ve got an ambulance on the way,” I tell her. “Let’s go.”

“He’s the one who needs a paramedic,” she snaps. “And what did you three think? That you’d just bust in and rescue me? I didn’t need a fucking hero. I saved myself.”

When I finally get her to look at me, I smile. “Yeah, that’s true. But you can’t blame me, can you? I didn’t want to lose you.”

“I didn’t come for you,” Remy bites out waspishly. “I was trying to save this piece of shit before you cut him up with a machete. How do you always have one?” He rolls Royal over and forces him up, laughing when he sees that Kennedy has really beat his ass. “Do you know how much paperwork there would have been if you’d killed him?”

“I want to press charges,” Royal wheezes. “She broke in and attempted to kill me when I wouldn’t take her back.”

“Nice try,” Dom shoots back at him. “We’re responding to reports that you carried an unconscious redhead into the house. Not only that, but there’s a warrant for your arrest for attempted murder.” He turns to Kennedy. “Do you think you can keep your mouth shut for a minute so I can get this out? If you interrupt me, I’ll have to start again.”

When she nods, Dom turns back to Royal. “I’ve got my body cam on for your safety and mine. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?”

Royal doesn’t answer.

I can’t wait to see him spend the rest of his life in prison.

When Kennedy pulls away from me, I almost stop her, but I don’t. She is safe, and there is nothing I need to protect her from. She steps up to Royal, without a hint of fear in her eyes.

“I win.”

31

KENNEDY

I hold Cassie Lane Townsend in my arms and marvel at the beauty that is my niece. She has her mother’s eyes, but even at two days old, she has the hint of dark intensity that Remy had from the day he was born.

“You did good, big brother.”

He stands over us, watching his daughter like a hawk, with a ridiculous smile on his face.

“I know,” he preens. “She’s really something, isn’t she?”

“Her mother would like to hold her now,” Parker announces to the room as a whole. “She’s hungry, my boobs hurt, and if she’ll just eat one more time and keep it down, the nurses told me that we can go home. Finally. It’s been forever.”

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