Page 129 of The Assignment: Room 3

“Didn’t you fuck with me enough? I’ve moved on. I never wanted anything from you. All I want is to raise my daughter.”

“You mean ‘our’ daughter…” My blood fucking boils.

“Let her go. Don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything you want.”

“You think I wantyou? You’re a washed-up junkie whore. No one wants you. Not even that rich boyfriend of yours. You don’t really believe he’snotgoing to get bored of you. I’m sure he gets plenty of pussy aside from yours.”

“Then what the fuck do you want, Michael?”

“I want to kill you. And then I’m going to sell our daughter to a dumb fuck who can’t get his wife pregnant. They want a kid, and they’re willing to pay me two million dollars for her. It’s a win-win.”

Our daughter?Celest told me Gracie’s biological father was dead. If I’d known, I would’ve been proactive in securing their safety in so many other ways. I was chasing a ghost the whole time, thinking that the potential threat was aimed at me. I’ve been looking in the wrong direction this whole time.

I did everything I could to keep them safe, and then one lapse in judgment from an employee has landed us here.

I don’t know who this man is or if his threat is empty. I have to assume he plans to follow through, and I will do whatever is necessary to get my family back.Family.I’ve waited so long to find someone to love and be loved by. I can’t lose that now.

I won’t.

As I round the corner into the living room, my heart lurches into my throat.

“Flex!” Celest’s left eye is swollen shut, and her lips are dripping blood. She’s got angry-looking marks on her arms and bruises already beginning to show.

“It’s okay, pet. It is going to be okay.”

Michael has her in a headlock, and the moment he clocks my gun, he presses his own to Celest’s temple.

“Whoa. Put the gun down, and we can talk about this.”

He tightens his grip around Celest’s neck, and I can see she’sstruggling to breathe. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? This is none of your goddamn business. I came here forher.” He licks the tears off her face, and I see bloody-fucking-murderous rage.

“I’m going to tell you this once, and I’m going to be pretty fucking clear about it.She’s mine.So, if you don’t put the gun down, I’m going to do whatever is necessary to ensure her safety and our daughter’s.”

All I’ve wanted for months is to tell Celest I’m so in love with her I want to make her mine in every way possible. I want to marry her. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to propose and tell her I desperately want to be Gracie’s daddy. The reasons I’ve been bullshitting myself with now seem like the dumbest excuses in the world.

“You can play daddy all you want, but I’m the one who fathered that little bastard.”

Celest lets out a strangled cry, and I see the moment she resigns herself to not getting out of here alive.

“Your DNA contribution is duly noted,” I growl through gritted teeth.

“Oh.” He laughs. “You actually think this whore is worth dying for.” He lets out a maniacal cackle. “Her cunt has seen more traffic than Times Square.”

“Shut your fucking mouth.” I take a step forward, but he presses the barrel of the gun further into Celest’s temple.

“Come one step closer, and you can watch me blow her brains out before I grab the sprog and take her home with me. I have some rich motherfuckers ready to pay top dollar for the girl.”

Celest cries out. “Get Gracie out of here, Flex. I’m a lost cause. Please, get Gracie to safety.”

“Fuck me, you’re even more pathetic than when you were my little crack whore. Did you tell him about all the times you wrapped your lips around my cock while some other guy fucked your cunt? That you let guy after guy after guy fuck you until you were so full of cum it was coming out of that overused pussy of yours. Not the picture of motherhood she’s painting herself to be now.”

“I swear to God, if you hurt her, there won’t be anywhere on the planet you can hide from me. I don’t care about Celest’s past. I’m her future, and that doesn’t include you.”

“I’m her future,” he parrots back at me. “Has she even told you her real name?”

“I don’t care what she calls herself. I love her, so get your motherfucking hands off her before I murder you where you stand.” I don’t meet her gaze, unwilling to take my eyes off the gun trained at her head.

“I’m so sorry, Flex. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I was too afraid.”

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