Page 84 of Raging Inferno

She leaned back to peer in his face. “No. I was scared at first, but then I thought, WWPD.”

“What does that mean?”

“What Would Presley Do?”

Dom choked on a laugh and hugged her again. Presley was an excellent role model. He was glad Gia had gotten to know her, even for a short amount of time. It would crush them both when she left, but they had each other.

Before it got too late, he called Elaine to let her know Gia was okay. Without getting into too much detail, he told her they would be by soon to pick up Major and Gia’s things.

As it did constantly, his gaze moved toward Presley. She was talking with the authorities and looked to be in total control, which was a complete turn-on. He’d seen her being sweet and accommodating with his daughter. He’d witnessed her all vulnerable and needy with him. Each facet of her personality only amplified his feelings.

Oh, who was he kidding? He loved everything about her.

She glanced over and smiled at him, and despite what had happened earlier, he was happy.

A thought struck and dread gripped him.

“Daddy?”

“Oh, sorry, baby.”

He didn’t realize he’d been squeezing Gia, so he loosened his grip. It hit him now that the suspect was dead, Presley would be going home.

#

The day’s events pressed down hard on Presley, and she was beyond exhausted. Gia had to be as well. She hated that the young girl had been traumatized because of her. Presley still hadn’t recovered from seeing a gun pointed at that sweet head. Didn’t know if she ever would. Nightmare city.

Presley should’ve anticipated Eddie snatching Gia, but she honestly hadn’t seen it coming. He must have researched Dominic when he realized Presley was with him. Kidnapping herhad been the quickest way to draw Presley out into the open, but it must have been a guess on his part. How had he known Presley had become attached to her?

Gia was now with her dad. As much as Presley wanted to hug her, she knew Dominic wasn’t about to let her go anytime soon. She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to see Presley again. Because of her, his daughter had been in mortal danger. Eddie hadn’t been wielding a toy gun. It had been the real deal with genuine bullets.

Sirens wailed as the ambulance pulled away with Reggie inside. Presley needed to apologize for being so rude to him when he wouldn’t definitively say the crimes were related. She prayed he’d make it. The injury looked bad.

Authorities in white coveralls wheeled Eddie Smith out in a body bag. Presley didn’t care what he’d said about all the deaths being her fault. You didn’t wake up one day and become a serial killer unless there was something seriously wrong with you. His father was a potential rapist, so she wasn’t surprised Eddie had damaged genes.

There would be hours of interviews at the police station, and having been on the other side before, she wasn’t looking forward to the grind. The interviewers would try to trip her up to determine exactly what had happened. She’d have to relive Gwen’s death and Ed Smith Senior’s attack over and over. Dread pooled in her stomach. Gia would also be grilled, and Kayne, too, since he’d pulled the trigger and killed Eddie. The sooner they got it over with, the better. Then they could go home and sleep for the next two days straight.

Three hours later, Presley was ready to crash. She still hadn’t had the chance to talk to Gia. They’d been separated to give their statements. She exited the interrogation room to see several people gathered around Kayne. They were laughing and joking,treating him like the hero he was. He’d taken out a cop shooter. He saw her, said something to everyone, and came over to her.

“Ready to leave?”

“Hours ago.” She glanced around. “Where are Dominic and Gia?”

“They went back to the safe house. Gia wanted to spend the night there.”

“How did she seem?”

“Resilient. She’s lucky she has her dad.”

Yes, she most definitely was.

#

Dominic sat beside his daughter, listening to her repeat her ordeal to the detectives, marveling at how strong she was being. Eddie Smith had shown up at her school. She knew not to go anywhere with strangers, but he’d flashed her his badge and told her that Dominic and Presley had been in an accident. He promised to take her to them. That’s how he’d grabbed her.

The detectives interviewing Gia didn’t keep her long since she’d already been traumatized. He was immensely grateful for that. It helped that Dom knew both of them. They were gentle and understanding with her.

Once Gia was released to leave, Dom stopped by the Chang’s house to pick up Major and Gia’s things. Elaine felt awful that Gia had been taken. He explained what had happened and that there was no way she could’ve stopped it.

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