Page 100 of A Very Daddy Christmas

He hesitates.

Outside, a loud thud reverberates, followed by a harsh grunt.

POP!

I duck and fall to my knees as the door bursts wide open, wood splinters flying everywhere.

Denaro’s gun didn’t go off. He whirls around as three armed men clad in black storm the room. Red and blue lights flash outside. The commotion is sudden and completely unexpected. My brain fails to register everything at once.

I hold my breath.

“What the hell—” Denaro manages before getting tackled and slammed into the ground.

His gun slides across the floor.

White light floods the room as more uniformed officers come through, flashlights and guns pointing everywhere. I don’t move other than trembling and whimpering. My mind shuts down altogether.

The man straddling Denaro looks at me. I instantly recognize those piercing blue eyes.

“Don’t fucking move,” he tells Denaro, a black mask covering most of his face and muffling his voice. “You’re under arrest, you piece of shit.”

Outside, I see one of Denaro’s men on the porch in a puddle of blood, not moving. I’m chilled to the bone, connecting the sight with the loud popping sound that preceded the raid.

“Hands behind your head!” one of the sheriff’s deputies barks at the other goon, now on his knees and visibly annoyed by his predicament.

The sound of cuffs getting slapped around his wrists is eerily satisfying to my ears. Finally, I’m able to breathe again, slowly letting the air out and inhaling a fresh lungful as two of the first three men who entered the room cautiously approach me.

“Cora, are you okay?” one of them asks.

A familiar voice.

Bluish-green eyes.

Broad shoulders.

“Oh, my God,” I gasp and burst into tears as they help me get up and wrap their strong, muscular arms around me. “Oh, thank God, you found me.”

I shudder in their embrace as they huddle closer, hiding me from the world and the evil that almost swallowed me whole.

Sebastian takes his gloves off and cups my face, planting a soft, sweet kiss on my lips. “You’re going to be okay,” he whispers.

“We got you, baby,” Waylan says in my ear so no one else can hear him.

Riggs is still very much on top of Denaro, triumphant in his posture while he waits for Sheriff Foreman to come in and put the cuffs on him.

“How is it that none of you, including me, thought to ask for a pair of cuffs when I deputized you?” Foreman grumbles as he steps in, leaving the outside mayhem behind for his deputies to handle.

There’s an avalanche of voices overlapping one another. Deputies, the ME, the angry and agitated motel manager. None of it matters though. I’m safe.

“We were kind of in a rush, but this piece of shit is all yours,” Riggs says as he gets off Denaro’s back.

Foreman takes over and officially arrests him, reading him his Miranda rights while Riggs joins our trembling little group hug. All I can do is smile, cry, and forget my words as I let my men hold me, as I find comfort and safety in their arms.

“Cora,” Riggs says, eyeing me intently. “It’s over.”

“He was… he was going to kill me,” I manage.

“We figured he’d become aggravated once St. James and Hamilton were out of his reach,” Sebastian says. “It’s done now. For real, this time. They’re going to prison. All of them.”

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