Page 87 of Corrupted Heir (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 1)

I closed the door, tugged on the doorknob to make sure it was locked, and shoved the key in my pocket. The sound of gunfire and battle cries filled my ears.

They were close. They’d already breached the property’s edge. I clenched my fists, thinking of all the different ways I was going to make the Novas pay for this.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Fallon

It was happening. This was it. It was all over, and we were all going to die.

Shut up, Fallon. Stop being so dramatic.

Dominic had locked the door behind him to keep me safe, and I frantically looked around the room for a place to hide.

My heart beat so hard in my chest, I swear I could feel it pounding against my ribs. It felt like it was going to explode.

Another shot cracked through the air, just below the bedroom window. It was loud, and it nearly made me jump out of my own skin.

My eyes darted frantically around, though I had no idea for what I was searching. I spied my cellphone sitting on my dressing table next to my purse, and suddenly, my father’s image appeared in my mind.

More shots rang out, so loud I covered my ears to try to escape the sound. I dropped to my knees beside the dressing table, my back against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest as I dialed his number.

I hated that I couldn’t do anything to help. I hated feeling so scared—it made me feel weak. And I felt like that little girl again—helpless, afraid, vulnerable.

I remembered the day my mother died.. The quiet click of the trigger. The roaring bang that followed. My mother’s scream. I could still see her face. I still remembered exactly what her eyes had looked like the moment life had left them.

The phone rang, but no one picked up. It rang again. And again.Please, Daddy,I silently begged. And then I heard his voice.

“Hello?” he said over voices and classic rock playing in the background.

“Daddy?” I whimpered. The last time I called him that, I’d been a child. But right now, I needed him. I needed my daddy.

“Baby girl? What’s going on?” Dad said. He stopped breathing. He was suddenly the attentive father he’d been before my mother died.

“Do you have some time to talk? I need… I need you,” I said. Once I finished speaking, the music and chatter became quieter. He must have been making his way out of the bar.

“I always have time for you. Well, almost always,” Dad chuckled.

A stream of automatic shots fired out, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

“What’s that sound?” he asked.

Yes,my mind cried, but I swallowed it back.

“Just some fireworks, Daddy.” I don’t know what came over me. He was a cop, for Christ’s sake.

“That didn’t sound like fireworks, Fallon. What’s going on? It’s the Novas, isn’t it?”

“No, I…” I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. “Do you remember when we went to Central Park? I was young. I don’t think you knew what to do with me after Mom died. So, you took me on walks. And this one day, we stumbled on a really quiet part of the park, surrounded by trees. There was a small lake. Do you remember?”

The back of my throat ached as tears stung my eyes.

“I do. There was an entire army of ducks hiding from the people that flooded the park,” Dad said. His voice cracked. “They all crammed together in this twenty-foot space. And you were obsessed. We spent hours there. We had to fetch a few bags of frozen peas because you wanted to feed each and every one of them before we left. I actually remember that I missed work that day because of you. I didn’t have the heart to put a stop to your fun.”

“I love that,” I told him. “I think of it every time some weirdo brings in their pet duck.”

“People have pet ducks?”

“Oh, yeah.” I chuckled and wiped a tear off of my cheek.

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