Page 18 of Daddy's Naughty List

“Ow! Damn you!” Noah slapped at her hands, then yanked her hair in a desperate attempt to get her off him.

Dimly, she heard people shouting, and she screamed when someone lifted her into the air and trapped her flailing arms.

“Let me go!” She kicked wildly and heard someone grunt. “I’m going to?—”

“Shh,” Walt crooned in her ear. “I’ve got you, babygirl. It’s okay. Relax and take a deep breath with me.”

Her heart rate slowed as she obeyed, and Walt hugged her tighter before setting her on her feet. The last of her anger faded as she continued to breathe with him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, Sir. I—” She cut herself off and her mouth firmed into a thin line as Kate and another guard stood over Noah with their pistols trained on his face. “I’m not going to say I’m sorry because I would do it again.”

Walt sighed and chuckled softly. “You were very brave, but?—”

“You stupid bitch!” Noah shouted as blood dripped from his nose. “I have rights, and you can’t?—”

“I have a nine pointed at your forehead, dumbass,” Kate replied evenly as sirens sounded in the distance. “You have the right to give me a reason to use it. In fact, I wish you would.”

“Let’s go,” Walt wrapped his arm around Susan’s waist and tried to urge her toward the building.

“Not yet, Sir. I need to say something first.” Planting her feet, Susan smiled.

Whatever Noah saw in her face made him go silent.

“Amelia might have been too afraid to press charges against you when you hit her and your children, but I’m not. You also attempted to abduct a child in front of dozens of witnesses, so I’m going to make sure you go to prison for a very long time.”

“Yass, queen,” Kate murmured. Her smile widened as the police hauled Noah to his feet and arrested him. “You really do need to learn to throw a punch though. You’re lucky you didn’t break your hand.”

“Oh, I—” Susan picked up the elf hat she’d lost in the struggle and winced at her throbbing fingers. They were beginning to swell, and her knuckles were scraped raw. “I guess I am lucky.”

“Unfortunately, you can’t press charges, Ms. Metz,” an officer she remembered from the original trials said. “Kate said you hit him first.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I did.” She lifted her chin and tried to look brave, but her knees trembled. “Am I in trouble?”

“No.” The officer’s face softened, and she squeezed Susan’s shoulder. “After you give us a statement, you’ll be free to go.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

When she finished giving the officers her statement, Walt escorted her inside. He wasn’t smiling like he usually did. Instead, his lips were a thin line, and he didn’t say a word until they reached the restroom.

Gulp.

Holding the door for her, he said, “You can change first. When we’re done, we need to have a little talk.”

Chapter Seven

Walt

Unable to decide if he wanted to spank Susan for putting herself in danger, or praise her for being so brave, Walt kept his thoughts to himself while she untied the rope holding the pillow to his stomach.

Hell, maybe he’d do both. He could praise her now and hold off on the spanking until he had his emotions in order.

He should have been careful about what he wished for. Although he’d wanted to see her stand up for herself, he wasn’t sure pummeling someone into a bloody pulp was the way to go about it. Then again, he couldn’t exactly blame her when he’d wanted to do the same thing. Judging by the state of the asshole’s face, she had a lot of pent-up rage to get out of her system.

“Thanks,” he finally said. “I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, Sir.” She looked down and chewed on her lower lip as her swollen fingers tightened on the pillow. “I’ll be waiting.”

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