Page 118 of The Daredevil

Dominic strode in, and all the attention went to him. “The truck is here. Take the women out. I’ll deal with him.”

The guard took Brittany and Fiona first. They kicked and screamed. “Leave us alone, asshole!”

“I have a daughter. Please don’t hurt me,” Brittany begged, sounding more like an adult. “Lily needs me. Please stop. You’re hurting me!”

The guard appeared irritated by her cry. This fluctuation in personality showed how unstable she was.

Dominic slapped her. “Shut up! Where are your fucking meds? You’re irritating the fuck out of me!”

Anger spiked in me. The jerk was inciting her, knowing she was unwell.

“You only got the balls to hit women?” I said.

He stalked over and gripped my shoulders, yanking me to my feet. He dragged me to the door after I kicked him in the shin. I wasn’t going to be someone’s sex slave. I’d rather die. My teeth sank into the hand on my shoulder.

He shoved me away, glanced at the red marks, then charged at me. Viktor used his body and slammed into Dominic, pushing him against a wooden table.

The sounds of a helicopter startled me. When the police sirens roared close, hope sparked in me.

Ignoring everyone, Dominic spoke into his phone,“What the fuck is going on?”

A loud explosion erupted outside and shook the entire warehouse.

The door flew open, and Royce charged in, shot the guard in the chest and blasted Dominic in his legs. He dropped, screaming in agony.

Royce grabbed a pair of shears on a shelf, rushed over, clipped my zip ties, and stared at Viktor for a moment before releasing Fiona and Brittany.

The unfriendly look he tossed at Viktor had me saying, “He saved me, Royce.” I grabbed the shears from his hand and released Viktor.

“Let’s get out of here. The front is burning.” Royce gestured to Fiona and Brittany, who exited first.

“You fucker!” Dominic screamed and lifted his gun at Royce.

My heart raced as I rushed to push Royce out of the way, but Viktor got to him first. Viktor took the bullet aimed at Royce and collapsed to the ground. Blood poured from the back of his shoulder.

Royce cursed and fired three bullets into Dominic’s chest, ending his life.

CHAPTERSIXTY-FIVE

ROYCE

The doctor examinedMichelle and cleared her to go home. She hesitated and wanted to stop by to check on Viktor, but he was still in surgery. I had someone looking after him who would give me updates. That was the nice thing to do for someone who took a bullet for me. It didn’t matter if that person was my father.

I’d need to face that issue soon, but I wasn’t in the proper headspace to deal with that mess right now.

Entering Michelle’s apartment, I said, “We need to talk.”

“Let me shower off the filth first.” Fatigue weighed on her face.

“Take your time.”

If it had been a different day, I would ask tojoin her, but I knew she needed the time alone to refresh her mind and settle her heart.

Jett would recover soon. If he were interested, I’d hire him to be full-time security for a new building I’d purchased. I made sure his hospital bills were sent to me.

With a moment to breathe, I leaned back on the couch and glanced at the ten voicemails from my aunt, probably wanting to know when I’d visit Viktor. I needed time, dammit.

People couldn’t expect me to just wipe away all those years he hadn’t been present. Where was my father when I needed him to teach me how to ride a bike? Where was my father when I needed help with a science project or someone to cheer me on at my game?

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