Page 26 of Deviant Reign (Knight's Ridge Empire 6)

The sound of gunfire fills my ears as doors slam and engines start in the distance.

“Motherfucker,” someone grunts deeper in the building.

“Where is she?” Dawson’s cold and terrifying voice reverberates from my right, and when I get to the doorway, I find him with a Wolf pinned against the wall, his arm pulled back at an angle which can only mean he’s dislocated the fucker’s shoulder.

Good. It’s the least he deserves if he’s got Emmie captive here somewhere.

“I said, where the fuck is she?” He booms when he doesn’t get the response he was looking for.

The pussy screams like a girl when D pulls his arm farther back.

He must give Dawson the answer he wants because two seconds later, D drives his fist into the cunt’s kidney and lets him drop to the floor like a sack of shit.

Stepping over the fuck as he groans and writhes on the floor, I take off after D.

More gunshots sound out, but I don’t pay any attention to the fallout of what’s happening around me. My focus is solely on one person. And I don’t relax until Dawson darts to the left into a room and announces, “Emmie.”

My feet move faster, racing in behind him.

I come to a grinding halt as I watch her jump into his arms. “You came,” she cries.

“Of course we did, kiddo. Did you think we’d be anywhere else?”

She clings to him like he’s her lifeline.

It hurts, really fucking hurts, as she tucks her face into his neck and allows him to hold her up.

“Take me home. Please,” she begs, not pulling away even an inch.

She’s not even noticed I’m standing here.

There’s a part of me who wants to just walk up to her and announce my presence, allow her to acknowledge that I’ve been a part of this too. But there’s also another part who just wants to back away and let her be with her dad. Let him be the person she needs right now.

And in the end, that’s exactly what I do.

* * *

“Come on, let’s head out,” I say the second I find Alex and Seb standing at the front door.

They both immediately look over my shoulder as if Emmie is going to race after me.

“Where’s Emmie? Is she okay?” Seb asks in a rush. I’m not surprised; the two of them have become closer since they discovered their connection.

“She’s fine. D’s got her. Come on, let’s get out of their way.”

“But—”

“Stella’s going to be losing her shit. Call her and tell her everything is fine,” I demand, taking off toward the main house where we left Alex’s car.

She wanted to come with us, no surprise there, but the second Calli learned that something was up, she was blowing up Stella’s phone, so she reluctantly agreed to go and keep her company while we dealt with everything. I can imagine her pacing back and forth as she waits for news.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay, make sure she gets home okay?” Alex asks, rushing to catch up with me.

“She’s where she needs to be. Come on.” I continue walking, and I’m about to turn a corner when I make the fucking mistake of looking back.

She’s standing there with her dad’s arm wrapped around her shoulder, her hands stuffed into the pocket of the hoodie she’s wearing.

Her tired eyes find mine and I gasp at the pain within them.