Page 21 of Gangster Daddy's Girl

“Guess I was surrounded by friends after all, huh?” I say.

Rico tries to speak, but the bullet tore through his throat, so all that comes out is a harsh, gasping sound.

“Like I said, you fucked up,” I say.

Marco turns to me. “Get Tabitha out of here. I’ll have this all cleaned up.”

“Appreciate you,” I say. “And thanks for having my back.”

“Always, boss.”

With one last withering look at Rico, I smirk then turn and walk around the car to where Tabitha is. She’s still on her knees, her face pale, sobbing wildly. Dawson’s body is nearby, his eyes wide open and staring into the next world, a thick, viscous crimson pool spreading from the large, ragged exit wound in the back of his head.

Reaching down, I pull Tabitha to her feet, quickly cut the plastic cuffs from her wrist, and pull the gag down. She throws herselfinto me, encircling my waist with her arms and holding me tight. I stroke her hair and gently kiss the top of her head. After a long moment, she turns her head up and holds my gaze, a look of disbelief on her face.

“You came for me,” she says, her voice trembling. “You came for me.”

Cupping her chin, I look deeply into her sparkling green eyes. “I will always come for you, Tabitha. Always.”

Slipping my arms around her shoulders, I turn her away from the carnage and walk her back to the Escalade. I put her in the passenger seat, buckle her seat belt, and close the door. Marco gives me a nod as I slip behind the wheel, start the car, and drive away. As I pull out of the parking lot and point the car for home, I hear the muffled sound of one final shot rings out.

Rico is done. But more importantly, Tabitha is safe.

16

TABITHA

“I’m sorry you had to see any of that,” he says. “I’m sorry you got dragged into my world.”

I take a sip of the scotch he’d given me to soothe my nerves. Even though I’m safe, my hand still trembles, and my heart still races. Despite the fear still coursing through me, I can’t help but feel the overwhelming wave of gratitude wash over me as well.

“I didn’t think you would actually come. They could have killed you,” I say.

“You were only in that position because of me. I would have let them kill me if it meant getting you away safely,” he replies softly.

Sitting with an open first-aid kit in his lap, Tyson takes my hand gently in his and uses an alcohol pad to wipe down the abrasions the plastic cuffs left around my wrist. I wince at the sharp sting, making him cringe.

“Sorry,” he says.

I suck it up and let him finish his work on my wrists, watching as he wraps a thin layer of gauze around the scrapes. The abrasions aren’t too bad, and he’s probably overdoing it, but it seems important to him, so I’m not going to complain. It’s kind of nice having somebody make a fuss over me. It stings like hell, making me hiss, but I manage to keep from flinching. His touch is gentle and tender—far more so than I would have ever expected from a man his size.

Once he’s finished, he sets his kit aside and takes my hands in his. He holds my gaze, his face twisted with something like grief, his eyes brimming with concern.

“I’m really sorry, Tabitha. I never meant?—”

I put my finger to his lips. “This isn’t your fault.”

“This is my fault. You never would have been in this position if not for me.”

I laugh softly. “Maybe not. But you saved me. You threw yourself in front of a train for me.”

“Those guys were hardly a train. A golf cart, maybe. Definitely not a train.”

I laugh softly. “Fine. A golf cart. But they could have killed you.”

He shrugs. “Those two were clowns. They didn’t plan ahead. I knew they wouldn’t. Those guys never thought more than one step ahead. They believed in living in the moment, Rico liked to say,” he says. “I did plan ahead, and that’s how we got the drop on them.”

Frankly, I’m surprised I can sit here and have a calm discussion about it all right now. I just saw a man get his damn head blown off. By all rights, I should be running for the hills and tryingto put as much distance between me and Tyson as I could. But something in me has shifted. Something’s changed. I still don’t approve of what he does, but something he said when we first got together continues to ring in my mind. He said he’s more than what he does. I know that to be true. He’s proven that to me a thousand times over.

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