Page 26 of Between Dusk and Dawn

In.

Out.

His hand snaked around my back, stopping me from backing farther away. I just needed the damn trophy. One more big step would allow me to grab it and slam it across his head.

His cock was now throbbing outside of his pants. "It’s too late," he chanted over and over again.

I would not become the girl who was stuck in her room while her dad sprayed gasoline all over. I would not be the girl who was a coward in the face of danger.

"Okay, you’re right. I do want this." I gripped his cock.

Please forgive me, God or whoever was up there, for what I was about to do.

"Yeah. That’s right." He held me there.

He leaned into my touch, which is exactly what I was hoping for when my brain came up with this—dare I say it?—genius plan.

"Okay, baby," I said in the sultriest voice possible. The absoluteickthat the word "baby" gave me was tremendous, but it seemed to work in this situation. He groaned as my hands caressed him. All I had to do was pump once before he threw his head back in bliss.

I was winning.

I yanked on his cock, grasping it as tightly as I could, and ripped it forward.

"Holy fucking shit," he cried out, and fell toward me, giving me the leverage I needed to reach the trophy.

With one hand still twisting his cock, I reached around with my other hand to snag the trophy. As he registered what was happening, I slammed it across his face.

Bones cracked, but I didn’t give a fuck. He screamed, his hands bracing his face.

I turned toward the door and prayed to whatever God was up there that it was open. I only had seconds before he would come after me.

I grasped onto the knob, inhaling one deep breath before I turned it, and it clicked open.

Thank the heavens above.Holy shit.

"It’s not too late now." I cackled, slamming the door, then took a quick look around to get my bearings. One truthful thing Hugo said was that this door was closer to my apartment and off the main road. I only needed to cross the small parking lot in front of me and take the side road back to the guest house.

I breathed in a sigh of relief, knowing I was closer to home, but didn’t let my guard down. In the dimly lit parking lot, I picked up the pace, then whipped my head around when I heard more screaming from inside the bar.

He was bellowing from inside the bar, so I ran in the opposite direction. I was exhausted. Today had to have topped one of the worst days, between Peter and Hugo. A change was needed. I wanted my persona back. I needed to stop living this life that led to doors of bad decisions. Clutching my purse, I was about to take off when I ran straight into a thick wall of muscle.

"Holy—" The brown eyes I’d missed the last three years were staring down at me. His gaze bore into mine, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

It wasn’t until his familiar hand touched my cheek to wipe away a rogue tear that I realized I was crying.

"Hello, Muse."

Chapter Nine

Earlier That Day

"We are looking at trading a few arms with the Marchetti men in San Diego. Julian Marchetti set us up with a meeting a month from today," my father said, crossing his arms over his body.

"I’ll be there," I responded with a curt nod, looking over at the other two men present in his office. Carlo, my father’s right-hand man, was standing behind my father’s desk, resting with his back against the window.

The office was decorated in ornate red and gold décor, likely by Carlo’s wife, who often came over to my dad's, claiming he needed a feminine touch around there. With my grandfather’s passing a year ago, my dad took over as capo to the Solis Family Dynasty, and I was now his second-in-command. I’d worked my way up here, knowing damn well I wanted, no, needed to be the capo of this family soon.

"All good, then, we’ll have to reconvene in a week to see any developments with the feds’ investigation of the laundromat we just purchased off Winchester." Romeo was our third-in-charge. He was good with the books and often oversaw the legit businesses we held. He was in his thirties and had been working for the family for some time. I think we were distant cousins, but honestly, who knew.

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