Page 56 of Maddox

Blakeny started dragging me to the trunk despite my struggles, his attention fixed entirely on me. "I'm going to break you all over again," he promised, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And this time, I'll make sure there's nothing left of mybadLittle girl when I'm done."

I felt a chill run through me at his words, but I forced myself to maintain eye contact. "I’m not your girl,” I screamed. “And I’llnever be yours. I’m a princess and my Daddy is Maddox Rourke and I’ve belonged to him since the day we met."

He raised his hand, but I didn’t flinch. It was only when I saw the red light appear on his forehead and Blakeny jerked then flew back away from me that I realized we weren’t alone.

Then familiar arms had me, crushing me to his chest, and I knew. I just knew. I turned and inhaled Maddox, cried, sobbed. But they weren’t tears of despair, they were tears of joy.

MADDOX

I couldn't breathe properly until Clare was in my arms, her body trembling against mine as I held her tightly. The moment Gideon had told me she'd been taken, everything else had ceased to matter. We'd flown directly back, calling in every resource we had in case he had her on a plane before we could get to her.

"I've got you, princess," I murmured into her hair, my heart still pounding with adrenaline. "You're safe now."

Behind us, Dion was checking both bodies, and I kept Clare’s head to my chest so she didn’t see. Walker stood guard, his rifle still at the ready as he scanned our surroundings. “We need to get out of here,” he said.

"Let me look at you," I said gently, pulling back just enough to examine Clare's face. A dark bruise was forming on her cheek, and there was dried blood at the corner of her mouth. Rage surged through me, but I tamped it down, focusing on what mattered—she was alive, she was here.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked, my hands moving carefully over her arms, checking for injuries.

She shook her head, tears still streaming down her face. "No. I knew you'd come for me, Daddy. I knew it."

I pressed my forehead to hers, overwhelmed with relief. "Always, princess. I will always come for you.”

Gideon approached, his expression grim. "We need to move. Highway patrol will be here soon."

I nodded, gathering Clare closer. "What about them?" I gestured to the bodies.

"There’s nothing to link them to Clare,” Gideon replied quietly. "As for Blakeny, let’s leave him for the cops." He glanced at the still form on the ground.

"Is he...?" Clare whispered.

"He won't hurt anyone ever again," I assured her, guiding her toward our vehicle parked in the tree line. I didn't want her to dwell on Blakeny's fate.

As we walked, Clare leaned heavily against me. "Rice," she said suddenly. "It was Rice all along. Blakeny was just his...his puppet."

I exchanged a look with Gideon. "We know, princess. And we'll get him too. But right now, we need to get you somewhere safe."

Once in the SUV, I wrapped a blanket around Clare's shoulders and held her close as Dion drove us away from the scene. She curled against me, her fingers gripping my shirt as if afraid I might disappear.

"Liam?" she asked quietly.

“He’s going to be fine. He was damned lucky and he’s just come out of surgery. We’ll take care of him.”

“But what about the cops?”

"Eric got a chopper to Liam and moved the car," I explained gently. "All you need to worry about is getting better."

“I know you rescued me,” Clare said slowly, “but I thought you owned night clubs.”

I smiled for what felt like the first time tonight. “That’s our day job.”

Clare nodded against my chest, seeming to accept this. I continued holding her close as we drove, my mind racing with everything that had happened. We'd rescued the women fromthe auction site, and now we had Clare back. But Rice was still out there, and as long as he remained free, Clare would never be truly safe.

“How did you find me?”

I grinned. Should I tell her a certain little teddy she wore around her neck had a tracking device installed? “Because you belong to me, princess, and I would never lose anything so precious.” She snuggled in deeper, happy with my answer. I might tell her someday.

"Where are we going?" she asked softly after we'd been driving for about twenty minutes.

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