Page 37 of Fool Me Once

Danny surprised her as hebanded an arm around her waist and pulled her back. He did so with enough forcethat she fell into one of his father’s ceramic ornaments. It smashed as it hitthe floor, and she fell next to it.

She was able to miss beingcut by it, but Danny wasn’t done. Before she could get away, he grabbed heraround the waist and hauled her across the room. This time, she fell onto acoffee table made of glass. She wasn’t quite so lucky in not getting cut.

“So, you think I was justgoing to let you get away with it,” Danny said.

Pain erupted up her arm,where some of the glass had embedded.

He kicked her in the back,and she cried out. Tears filled her eyes, and as he went to bring his foot backdown on her back, she moved out of the way.

There was pain from thecuts, but she needed to get away. Right now, Danny had the element of surprise,and it was pissing her off. She tried not to make a sound.

Getting to her feet, shefaced him. “Get away with what?” she asked.

“Do you think all of thisis going to be yours?” He gestured around him.

“What the fuck does thateven mean?” He made no sense to her.

“You come into my dad’sworld, shaking your ass, kicking me out of my own home, and you think I wasgoing to let that happen?” Danny asked. “You’re not taking any of this fromme.”

She laughed. “You think Iwant this? You think I’m the one taking it away from you? Look in the mirror,you piece of shit. You’re a fucking rapist. You’re the one that lost this, notme. I didn’t lose anything. You lost it all by being an asshole.”

There was no way she wasgoing to allow him to blame her for all his fuckups. This was all on him.

She held the piece ofglass in her hand, and even though the edges cut into her palm, she glared athim. Danny was going to kill her. She knew that.

He wanted her dead, andnow she was going to have to do something she never had before—fight to thedeath. She wondered what Cain would think. Would he hate her? Danny was hisson.

And then Danny attacked,rushing at her. She slammed her fist, but he surprised her by capturing it, andthen he flipped her over, pinning her to the floor. He’d grabbed the piece ofglass from her hands, and now it was poised against her neck.

“There’s no one to stopme,” Danny said. “Don’t worry, Daddy Dearest is going to thank me one day. Hewas never going to pick a cunt over me. He will never pick you over me. You’renothing but a piece of ass to him, and now it’s time for you to say goodbye.”

Leah didn’t know what toexpect, but seeing Cain suddenly there, grabbing Danny, she froze in place.

What if Danny was right?What if he did pick his son over her? They were fleeting thoughts, because shewatched as Cain took the blade of glass and thrust it into Danny’s neck.

“I will never choose youover her. Never.”

Cain left the piece ofglass in Danny’s neck, and then let him go. Time seemed to stand still, butthen the life ebbed out of Danny’s eyes, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Cain held out his hand,and she got to her feet and rushed into his arms.

“He was going to kill me,”she said.

“I’ve got you. I would neverallow that to happen.”

His arms felt so good ashe stroked her back.

Leah pulled away from him.“How did you know?” she asked.

“I got the alert while Iwas with Frank. Danny had knocked the guards out and took off. I knew he wascoming here. I got here as soon as I could.”

“I know. Thank you,” shesaid, and then she cupped his face and was about to kiss him, only Cain pulledback.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I will never choose anyoneover you, Leah. I didn’t expect it, but you mean the world to me. I want tospend the rest of my life with you. I love you.”

The tears that had startedas panic had turned into relief.

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