Page 33 of The Stolen Dagger

CHAPTER THIRTY

KATHERINE

“ I ’m only giving you one more chance to do the smart thing,” Roman growled, the anger unmistakable not only in his voice, but in the way his aged, clean-cut face morphed into one of unrestrained rage. “Let go of my daughter and hand over the dagger!”

As I struggled against Adrian, my wrath only rose.

I could feel the droplet of blood that dripped down my chest from where Adrian had pressed the dagger into my throat.

Every second I was at his mercy, my fear faded and was steadily replaced with anger.

Anger at Adrian for everything he’d done to me and the people I loved.

Anger at my father for his abandonment and connection with the dagger.

Anger at myself for getting caught up in this situation.

And now, my life was in the hands of my crazy ex who was having a standoff with my estranged father .

But I was sick of letting the men in my life make the decisions for me. Only I could get myself out of this mess, or at the very least, out of Adrian’s hands.

Because Adrian would sooner kill me than admit any kind of defeat, and like the arrogant snake he was, he wouldn’t make the first move.

So, I did.

Before I could overthink it, I skated over Adrian’s hand that held the dagger pointed to my throat, encircled the base of his thumb, and twisted, yanking the appendage away from me.

A sickening pop sounded, and Adrian let out a pain-filled scream. I thrust the point of my elbow back into his stomach. When he bent over, it gave me just enough room to turn in his hold and throw the heel of my palm up at his nose.

He dropped the dagger and instantly raised his hand to his injured appendage. A sense of triumph washed through me at the sight of him injured and bloody.

“ Bitch ,” Adrian spat and swung at me. I stumbled backward to avoid his open hand but wasn’t fast enough. His palm connected with my cheek again, and I fell to the ground from the force.

When I landed on my hands and knees, my sore shoulder gave out and an agonizing pain tore through me as the joint popped out of place for the second time in a week.

I cried out, cradling my shoulder, and rolled onto my back as my shoulder shifted back into place. I gasped, trying to breathe through the pain, but it was difficult with the stinging on my cheek, too.

“Katherine!” Drew yelled as he ran to me, but Hunter stepped between us.

“I’ve been waiting for this, pig.” Hunter closed the distance between them and swung his heavy fist into Drew’s jaw .

While Hunter was bigger, Drew was quicker. He dodged each of Hunter’s fists, placing strategic hits to Hunter’s ribs and sides as they fought.

Suddenly, four quick gunshots rang out. I ducked. The distinct sound of two bodies thudded to the ground behind me as the chaos ensued.

The two men who stood by Adrian’s SUV were now face down in the dirt.

They were dead.

“No shooting!” my father yelled. “Not with my daughter so close.”

Adrian still groaned and clutched his nose as Hunter fought Drew. That only left the last of Adrian’s men: the biggest one, Nick.

“I don’t need guns,” Nick said. “I’ll still kill you with my bare hands.”

Nick stepped forward. He was easily over six feet. His muscles had muscles. And when he made a move of cocking his arms out, he could have been a professional boxer.

Where was Mack when you needed him?

Instead, it was my father who had removed his suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and met Nick halfway.

The brute swung his fist first, but I wasn’t able to see what happened next because someone palmed the back of my head and closed their fist around my hair.

I cried at the sharp pain in my scalp as someone pulled me to my feet. The pain in my shoulder pulsated.

“You ungrateful little bitch!” Adrian bellowed in my face. “This is all your fault!” His hand moved from my hair to encircle my throat. “After everything I did for you, this is how you repay me?”

“Did for me?” I rasped, trying to suck in more air. He loosened his hold just enough for me to speak. “You did nothing but condemn me. You killed that man for your own selfish reasons. You stole that dagger because you wanted more power. You brought this upon yourself.”

Adrian spat out the blood that had leaked from his nose. “I provided for you. I cared for you, and what did you do? You ran from me. You betrayed me. And now you’re going to pay for it.”

There was no use trying to reason with him. He was angry, unstable, and so obsessed with power that he couldn’t think clearly.

I shuffled back from him when my foot connected with something on the ground. Quickly, and as subtly as I could while Adrian described my “punishment,” I glanced down.

In the light of the full moon, something glinted on the ground.

The dagger. It was half-buried in loose dirt, but the blade shined only about a foot away. Within arm’s reach.

If I could just …

“Are you listening to me, Em?” Adrian asked, bringing my attention back to him with a firm grip back around my throat. “I’m going to make you wish you never ran from me.”

My voice strained from his constriction. “I—I’d like to see you try.”

Rage flared in his eyes, and just when he released his fingers to get a better grip, I jabbed my elbow in the crook of his arm and then dropped all my weight to the ground. I reached for the dagger. My fingers just barely grazed the hilt when Adrian lifted his knee into my face.

A new wave of pain throbbed along my cheekbone. I fell backward, landing in the dirt at his feet. I could already feel my face swelling from his abuse.

Before I could get up, Adrian landed on top of me. He straddled my waist, and his knees locked my arms at my sides, sending a fresh wave of agony through me and effectively trapping me beneath him. I struggled to get free, but it was no use.

“That was a cute move.” Adrian chuckled. “Did the cop teach you that?” He fisted the hair at the top of my head, pulled up, and then slammed my head into the dirt.

“You know,” Adrian said, but I could barely hear him over the ringing in my ears, “you’re different. Stronger. You have more fire in you than ever before. I like it.”

Angry tears filled my vision as I blinked away the black spots. I bucked my hips against him and tried to release his hold on me, but it didn’t work. His grip only tightened.

“Too bad I have no use for this version of you.” His fingers raked down my cheek affectionately. “I was looking forward to seeing my frail little Emilia. I would have given that girl another chance.”

Adrian was right. I wasn’t the same person. I was stronger because of what happened, and I wouldn’t go down like this.

Black spots danced on the edge of my vision. In my struggle to get free, I flexed my arms, extending my fingers, when I brushed metal.

The dagger.

Frantically, I encircled the dagger’s handle and raised the weapon as high as his hold allowed, angling it toward his leg. With as much strength as I could muster, I shoved the dagger into the meaty flesh of his thigh.

“Ah!” Adrian screamed out. His hands released my throat.

Immediately, I let go of the dagger and gasped in as much air as I could. My throat burned with each inhale, but I could breathe again. That was something.

“You stabbed me!” Adrian yelled. He leaned to his left to get a better look at the dagger protruding from his thigh. With half of his weight off me, I didn’t hesitate to roll out and away from him.

Footsteps approached us then .

“Katherine!” Drew knelt beside me. “Are you okay?” His lip was split, and it looked like his left eye was already swelling, but he was here. He was okay.

I nodded and tried to speak, but my throat strained, and I coughed.

“It’s okay, darlin’.” Drew placed one hand underneath the area between the nape of my neck and shoulder as he helped me sit up. “Don’t talk. You’ll only make it worse.”

“You motherfucking …” Adrian spat a few feet away from where he sat in the dirt, clutching his leg. “You fucking stabbed me!”

“You’re lucky that’s all she did,” Drew spat back at him, softly rubbing his hand along my back.

“P—Pearl?” I asked in a raspy whisper that had me coughing again.

Drew glanced over his shoulder and turned enough to let me see around him. “She’s okay. Worried about you, but she’s okay. She’s with Mack now.”

I spotted her standing across the way with Mack beside one of the SUVs. He held a rag or something up to her head where Hunter had hit her. When she saw me looking, she gave me a small smile that I returned with one of my own.

She was okay. She’s okay. A weight lifted from my chest.

My father approached with his men as they surrounded Adrian, who didn’t have anywhere to go with the dagger protruding from his thigh.

Roman ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, trying to tame the disheveled strands, and crossed his arms over his large chest. There was a slash of dried blood on his split lip, but other than that, he looked unharmed.

“You did good, Katherine,” my father said, nodding at the dagger in Adrian’s leg. “We’ll take it from here.”

“Are you sure?” Drew asked because I couldn’t. “What’re you going to do with him? ”

Roman nodded again to one of his men who grabbed the dagger and yanked it from Adrian’s leg. He screamed and covered the open wound with both hands as it gushed with blood.

“He’ll be made an example of,” Roman grumbled, “but that’s nothing you’ll have to worry about.” He glanced down at me, his dark eyes filled with concern. “He’ll never bother you again.”

My shoulder sagged at his words, and I took in a shaky breath.

I didn’t want to know what my father meant by that. Even though there was a part of me that knew Adrian wouldn’t survive it.

That should have made me feel guilty, but all I felt was relief. I was relieved to know that I wouldn’t constantly have to look over my shoulder for fear that Adrian might be there. That he would no longer be the dark shadow that followed me.

“Go with Mack,” my father said. His voice had softened as he looked at me. “He’ll take you back to the house. I’ll meet you there after I take care of him.”

Drew helped me stand, but I paused and looked back at my father, catching a glimpse of the man he used to be.

Behind the anger and hardness of his features, he was still my dad. He was still the man I’d looked up to as a little girl. The man I’d gone to for guidance and comfort.

He had made mistakes, big mistakes, but nothing that couldn’t eventually be forgiven.

And I wanted to forgive him. I just needed time.

I tipped my head down in a nod and let Drew help me walk back to where Mack and Pearl stood by one of the SUVs. Before I could reach them, Pearl closed the distance between us and pulled me into her arms .

Solace filled me, and I melted into her embrace. She was finally safe.

“You did so good, honey,” she said. “Now it’s time to move on.”

I nodded, tears filling my eyes at her words. It was time to move on, and I was more than ready.

Pearl slipped her arm in mine as we got inside the back of the SUV. Mack got into the driver’s seat, and Drew in the passenger.

Silence settled around us. I exhaled a breath that made my throat burn and relaxed against the cushioned seat.

The comforting rumble of the car’s engine started up, and as Mack drove us back to Roman’s house, I didn’t dare look back.

Not even when I thought I heard the muffled sound of a gunshot in the distance.