Page 58 of Uprising

And then I’m dragged off, hauled up by my arms, and I swing a punch delivering a perfect fucking uppercut to Darius’s jaw.

He jolts. His face registering the pain.

And then my stomach twists.

I freeze, panting, as it feels like an entire bucket of ice cold water is dropped on me.

Darius narrows his eyes, rubbing where it’s already bruising. He looks down at the man still sprawled on the floor.

He’s not making any sounds now. He’s not even whimpering anymore.

One of the guards nudges him with his boot. He doesn’t move. He’s just lying there, like a useless piece of shit with his face so marred it’s hard to believe he even had one.

“He’s dead.” Someone else says.

A smile creeps across my lips at those words. Dead huh? That’s a shame. A real fucking shame.

Darius grabs me, hauling me by my throat till my feet barely touch the ground.

“Why the fuck did you do that for?” He growls.

“He hurt my daughter.” I say back though my voice is constricted from the angle he’s got me at.

He drops his hold, studying me, like he doesn’t know how to react to that.

Maybe I am crazy now. Maybe he has broken me but not in the way he intended. “I will kill anyone that lays a finger on her.”

He tilts his head like he’s realising what he’s creating. Like it’s dawning on him that I’m not a broken little creature huddled in the corner now. That I’m twisting, turning into something dark too.

I step back away from all of them and pull Lara into my arms.

And then I face off against him once more. “If any of your men, any one of you dare even look at her with contempt, I will rip out your eyeballs and gut you.”

“You won’t do shit.” Darius snarls.

“You want to push me on that?” I say. “You really want to see how far a mother will go to protect her child?”

He lifts his chin, no doubt feeling that punch I delivered and he walks out shouting for someone to clean up the damned mess.

“Mummy.” Lara whispers as soon as he’s gone.

I squat back down, check her face. My hands hurt now, they’re absolutely throbbing but I don’t care, Lara is my first concern. She always will be.

Her nose has stopped bleeding but her face is still smeared with dried blood.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” I say leading her away from all the arseholes still around us.

* * *

We’re in a bathroom.I locked the door despite the fact I’m not allowed to.

I put her up on the marble counter and fill the sink with warm water.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask gently. I know it’s not the first time he’s done it. All my instincts tell me that.

She sniffles. “I’m sorry mummy.”

“Don’t apologise baby.” I say cupping her cheek. “You have nothing to apologise for.”