Page 144 of The Moments You Were Mine

I had to get him closer again. I had to antagonize him enough to swipe at me once more. I was good at antagonizing people. It was a Fallon specialty.

“You should have taken your freedom and run,” I said.

He twisted around, glaring at me in the weird half-shadows the lantern cast and looking very much like the devil he was.

“Not until I take a pound of flesh for every year I rotted away in that cell. Not before I take a life for every year Theresa’s been gone. Then I’ll hand you over to Ace, let him take his piece of you too. You’ll be begging for death by the time we’re both through with you.”

I fought the immediate, visceral fear that tried to choke me at his words. Instead, I raised a brow and said, “Revenge has made you stupid.”

This time, when he hit me, I reached out and swiped the key from his sweatshirt, tucking it into my palm.

He grabbed my chin, scowling down at me. “Defiant little shit. Maybe I’ll enjoy breaking you before I hand you over to Ace. Maybe I’ll call your daddy and make him listen while I take you. Maybe hearing you scream will make him show up faster.”

“He’s in Australia, fuckhead. It’s not like he’s in Vegas. He can’t bend time to get here.”

Dad would if he could. Hadn’t we joked about him being a superhero and turning back time?

This time, when he hit me, it was a punch to the stomach, and the pain that soared through me was followed by a brand-new fear I wasn’t quick enough to hide. My baby. The little human Parker had already claimed as his.

Ike laughed. “There’s the fear.” He yanked my hair and pulled my face close to his. “Now shut the fuck up before I do cut that pretty little pinky off.”

He dropped me and stepped back.

“How do you think you’ll get out of here without being caught?” I demanded.

“I’m not as stupid as you think, bitch. I’m not telling you my escape plan. But I will take every ounce of revenge I can before I disappear. I already killed that bastard who shot my sister. He was easy pickings tucked away in jail. After I’ve had my fun with you and give you to Ace to gut, I’ll finish Daddy off. Then, I’ll take out that slutty trophy wife of his, followed by your siblings and your mother. The only thing left of the Marquess, Harrington, and Hurly families will be an ugly memory. Maybe, just for some added fun, I’ll take out your boyfriend and his little kid too.”

While he’d run on, he’d missed what I’d noticed. He’d missed the masculine, earthy scent of hope that had wafted to me in the dark.

I raised my chin, looked him in the eye, and said, “Husband.”

“What?”

“He’s my husband. And you forgot one important thing about him.”

“Yeah?” he asked scornfully. “Like what?”

“Like I’m a fucking Navy SEAL trained to hunt and kill.” Parker rose from the shadows behind him.

Before Ike could even lift his gun, Parker had slammed it out of his hands. Ike recovered quickly, kicking out at him. Parker grabbed his foot, twisted and tossed Ike to the ground. Ike snarled, pulling the second gun from his back. I screamed Parker’s name, but Parker was already aiming his own weapon. Two shots rang out, echoing across the stone walls. Ike’s body jerked. Blood bloomed on his chest and forehead.

Relief flooded my veins as Parker sprinted across the cave and slid to his knees in front of me.

The damn tears I’d been holding back threatened again.

God. Was it really over? Just like that?

All I knew was Parker was safe. Theo and my family were safe.

But what about my baby? Please, let the baby be okay.

A click from the dark behind us drew my gaze over Parker’s shoulder just as a female voice full of as much hate and anger as Ike’s said, “Freeze, asshole.”

Parker’s eyes locked on mine.

“Celia. You don’t want to do this,” I said.

Parker started to move, and she fired the weapon. I felt it in the air as it blew past me and landed with a crack in the rock to the right of me.