Page 66 of Daddy's Oath
“No!” Lana cried.
Images of her time with Iris flashed through her mind. It had been amazing to finally have a Little friend. At least no one could take that experience away from her, even if it was brief.
And Daddy.
That was the best experience of her entire life! She might die, she told herself, but the love she had for Ace would live on as long as he did.
There was some consolation in that. Though the terror she felt as she saw the man pull out a large handgun stole any small amount of peace she’d felt in that moment.
The guy straightened his arm as he aimed the gun down. A cruel smile turning his lips upward told Lana he actually enjoyed this.
Sicko.
Pinching her eyes closed, she braced herself, wondering if she’d hear the gunshot before she died.
Or maybe it was so fast it all happened at once.
But what she heard wasn’t a boom. It was that rhythmic thumping again.
Another chopper. The same one perhaps?
Could it be…
“Daddy!” she yelled with a smile.
“What the—” the man wondered aloud, his confusion clear.
She opened her eyes, looked up, and saw her captor’s face turn stark white as a helicopter touched down in the clearing. The rotors spun and a furious wind rushed around them, nearly blowing everyone over.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” the driver of the SUV yelled.
He was out of the vehicle, too, and scrambling to reach a gun that was clipped to his side as Ace and Jack ditched the chopper and charged forward. But before the thug could get the gun out, Ace stopped running toward them, leveled a shotgun, and pulled the trigger.
Lana expected to see blood and gore, but instead something just socked the man hard in the stomach. He doubled over in pain as if the wind had been knocked from him.
Jack was there, and he had one of those long guns, too.
He shot the man who’d been in the passenger seat, to the same results.
Ace ran to Lana’s side, glaring at her captor with a wild inferno blazing in his eyes. “You hurt my babygirl?”
“I’m sorry!” the man cried, dropping his gun and throwing up his hands in surrender. “I’m so sorry!”
The apology didn’t matter. Ace dropped his gun, too, but went to work with his fists.
By the time he was done, the guy was crumpled on the ground, curled up and crying, praying the beating was over.
“Oh, honey, Daddy’s never going to let you go. Ever!” Ace promised as he scooped Lana into his arms.
Despite the harrowing events, Lana felt completely at peace now.
“Oh, Daddy,” she cried. “I love you!”
She giggled as he twirled her around.
Somehow, in the blink of an eye, everything was okay now.
Chapter Thirty-Five
