Page 82 of Dagger

I glanced down to see the wound looking better now all the blood had been wiped away. I twisted my hip to test the pain, but it didn’t seem too bad.

“Be careful you don’t hurt yourself,” Sophie told me, taking Freya’s place to stick the bandage on me carefully.

“It burns a little, but it’s okay. I’m good.” I stood to pull my bloodied jeans back up. “Thanks.”

“You must have a high pain threshold,” Freya said, slightly in awe.

Images flicked through my mind of the beatings I’d put up with over the years. In the early days, Robert took his fists to me weekly. Later, the abuse lessened, but it never stopped entirely. Freya was right. I did have a high pain threshold, but the reason behind it wasn’t a good one.

A loud bang came from the door, and the locks clicked loudly as they disengaged.

Reno and the prospect, Billy, appeared at the door.

“Coast is clear,” Reno informed us. “We’ve got Tex ready in the med room for ya.”

“Anybody else hurt?” Sophie asked.

“Scratches and cuts, mostly from the broken glass, but nothin’ life-threatenin’. There are four dead bodies outside, but they’re not ours.”

“Jesus,” Cara breathed.

“Cops are on their way, but so’s Colt. He’ll smooth things over. We’ve got proof we were attacked on the cameras, so the sheriff can’t take any of us in, seein’ as we can prove it was self-defense.”

“I need to come up,” Kennedy stated. “I can deal with the sheriff.”

“Prez suggested the same thing,” Reno replied.

“What was the explosion?” Adele demanded.

Reno grinned. “Breaker. He blew up one of their trucks. One of the dead men out there is courtesy of him.”

Kady’s eyes widened, and she grabbed hold of her mom’s hand.

“Oh my Gods,” Sunny whispered.

A squeak came from Layla’s throat.

Immediately, Kennedy crouched down and took her daughter’s hands in hers. “You know anything Daddy does is to protect us, right?”

Kady nodded.

“Remember the men who took you?”

Kady nodded again.

“You remember how Daddy protected you then?”

Another nod.

“The ones outside are the bad men’s friends,” Kennedy murmured, her voice full of emotion. “Daddy will do everything to protect me, you, and Kai. Everything he does is for us. Do you understand?”

Kady stared at her mom for a few seconds, then a small smile crossed her lips.

“That’s my girl.” Kennedy beamed, before turning to Sunny. “Are you okay? Do you understand what’s going on?”

Sunshine popped a hip and jammed a hand to it. “Yeah, those mens are big meanies and Uncle Kit’s gonna kicks their asses. Hopes he gets ‘em in the nuts like Granddaddy John says.”

“Sunny!” Layla snapped.

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