Page 4 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

“Dani?” I asked breathlessly.

She continued coughing up lungfuls of water as her hands reached out for me.

“Dani! Holy shit!”

Taking her hands within mine, I moved her onto her side and pressed my forehead into the crook of her neck. I rubbed her stomach, breathing in deeply the smell of her awakening body. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I cried. That my eyes welled with tears of happiness and dripped silently against her skin. It seemed like an eternity. Like forever had passed before I heard the sound of her voice again.

“Max?” she rasped.

I nuzzled against her. “I’m here. I’m right here. It’s okay. You’re okay. Holy fuck, you’re alive.”

She coughed. “Your--dad--”

I smoothed her hair away. “I know. I know he was behind this. I know--”

“No. Look.”

I watched her trembling finger point at the pool. And when I looked over at the red water, I saw his body slowly sinking beneath the surface. I blinked a few times, watching him go under. Watching as the water accepted its second supposed victim of the night.

“Rupert?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

“Stay with Dani.”

“Max, no,” she whispered.

I looked down at her. “I can’t just leave his body like that. I can’t.”

I stood up and dove back into the pool. I pierced through the thick blood and kicked my legs toward my father, watching small cascades of red swirl and intertwine beneath the surface. Like a delicate ballet of good and evil as I swam closer to his lifeless body.

My father was the biggest piece of shit to ever walk this planet, but no one deserved to be found in a literal pool of their own blood.

Gotcha.

I wrapped my arms around his body and kicked back up to the surface. Time moved in a haze as I pulled him out of the water and settled him onto the concrete. I stood over his body, clenching my fists as I gazed down into the lifeless face of the man that had made my life a living nightmare.

Rupert’s voice pierced the dead of night.

“Max! Move your ass!”

The sound of sirens caught my ear and I turned on my heel. I dipped down, scooping Dani into my arms as she continued to cough up the last little bit of water. She was wheezing. Her hands clung to me, even though her grip was weak. And as I cradled her against my naked torso, I saw Rupert scooping up my clothes.

“I’ve got my truck. It’s in front. We need to get in it and get out of here.”

I nodded. “Lead the way, Rupert.”

The three of us raced across the grounds as sirens screamed closer. I felt Dani curling deeper into me. My legs bellowed out the need for rest as my knees began buckling. I paused, leaning against the brick side of the house and took one last look at my father’s body beside the red pool.

Is he dead?

“Come on!”

Rupert’s broken voice pierced through my thoughts and I pushed off the house, piling us into the backseat of his truck as he started backing down the driveway. The sirens grew closer and I heard tires squealing in the distance. I cradled Dani between my legs as Rupert took off, leaving the hellscape of my father’s mansion behind. Dani started whimpering. My beautiful, sweet, innocent Bambi whimpered and shuddered in my grasp. I wrapped her up tightly in my arms and pressed my lips to her ear.

“You’re okay. You're safe. I’ve got you, and we’re headed out of here. Okay?”

And when I felt her nod, I could have broken down in tears all over again.

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