Daddy’s Law by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 37

Ava

“Pregnant?” Michael echoed. This new bit of information made him pause.

But only for a moment.

He struck me across the side of my head with an open hand, the force so great that it actually sent me crashing to the floor, chair and all. I landed with a hard thud, my head bouncing off the hard concrete.

Sound warped.

My vision blurred.

I was so dizzy I thought I’d be sick.

I came to slowly, blinking away the blackness. My neck was cramped and the pounding in my head was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Hopelessness clawed at my throat. Nobody was coming for us. This man was going to kill my father. He was going to kill me. He was going to kill my child.

Theo.

Through my terror, all I could think about was him. The safety of his arms. The gentleness of his eyes. That infuriatingly handsome smile.

I drifted in and out of a dream. I could see us in his kitchen. Cory was playing with his new baby brother. Theo was flipping pancakes over the stove. I was seated at the table, sipping at a cup of tea. The morning light was warm and peaceful. No trace of pain, no hint of fear. Nothing but love and happiness and family.

Was this heaven?

Was I dying?

“Psst.”

I tried to open my eyes. I wasn’t dead. Not yet, anyways.

I was only vaguely aware of Michael shouting. I was tempted to close my eyes again. Drifting off was much more preferable than being conscious and aware of all the terrible things he planned to do to us.

“Psst.”

I groaned, forcing myself to stay awake. And it was a good thing I did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the large figure of a man crouched behind one of the many shipping containers that surrounded us. Even though he was in shadows, I’d recognize him anywhere.

Theo!

Excitement shot through me, followed by an immediate drop of dread. What was he doing here? How did he find us? Did he plan on doing something stupid like take on Michael and his group all by himself?

Theo brought his index finger to his lips, signaling for me to stay quiet.

Yeah, he’s definitely planning something stupid.

Regardless, I nodded. What we needed was more time. I had to figure out how to distract Michael so Theo could figure things out on his end.

The trick was understanding what a man like Michael was. He was a leader. At least, that’s what he saw himself as. A revolutionary. There was a certain level of validation required in those roles, maybe a level of denial, too, considering he was the de facto leader of a small-time eco-activist-turned-terrorist group.

A man like Michael wanted to be powerful. This was his way of throwing a tantrum, albeit in the extreme. A little, insignificant man like him could only ever feel powerful, never actually wield it. The fastest way to cut him down was to go after his ego.

“You punch like a girl,” I croaked, mustering all the remaining energy I had.

Michael froze, exuding pure hate. “The fuck did you say to me?”

“I said—” I coughed, spitting out a bit of blood from my cracked lip. “You punch like a fucking girl. It’s going to take a lot more than that to scare me.”

He stomped over and grabbed me by the jacket lapels, yanking me and the chair back up into an upright position. “You think you’re better than me?”

“Unhand her this instant!” my father screamed. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

“I know I’m better than you,” I replied, seething. “You’re nothing. If this is the level you have to stoop to, you’ll always be nothing.”

Past Michael’s shoulder, I could see Theo creeping up to one of the goons occupying the space with alarming speed and precision. Like lighting, powerful and jaw-dropping. With one swift moment, he incapacitated the man. With another blink of the eye, he was gone again.

My distraction was working.

“You’re a self-righteous prick,” I continued, making sure Michael’s attention was on me. “How do you think people will feel when they learn you’re not just a murderer, but you’re a baby killer, too?”

He visibly cringed. I would, too; the words were so harsh that I wanted to recoil from just saying them.

“I…” Michael hesitated.

“You can’t kill a pregnant woman,” I continued, keeping my desperation shoved down deep. “You do that and the whole world will know just how depraved you are. Whatever your goals are, they’ll forever be overshadowed by the fact that you’d harm an innocent. Is that what you want? Do you really want our blood on your hands?”

I was rambling at this point, but it was working. Theo took on a second and then third man, all with awe-inspiring strength. My heart leaped each time I saw him pop in and out of my line of sight, handling the threat with ease. He was totally focused. Seemed totally unfazed despite the danger all around us.

Thatwas power.

“You need to let us go,” I said firmly. “Let us go and we’ll just walk away. We’ll forget about this like nothing ever happened. It’s not too late, Michael.”

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he buying in to anything I was saying, or was that just wishful thinking?

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” I whispered. “This isn’t what you want. This isn’t the way to get your message across.”

“Shut up,” he hissed, snapping to. “I’ve had enough lip out of you. You’d better say your prayers.”

I’d lost him. It didn’t matter, though.

“You’d better say yours,” I retorted.

Theo swooped in from behind, tackling Michael to the ground. I yelped, startled when I was suddenly dropped, chair legs clanging hard beneath me. I pulled against my restraints as they fought one another, punching and kicking and snarling like wild animals.

I was terrified. Not because I was scared for my life, but because I was scared for Theo. He’d managed to take everyone out okay, but Michael was able to put up more of a fight. Theo took a couple of heavy hits, and I could tell he was starting to get tired. When Michael managed to put enough distance between them, he pulled his gun and pointed it at Theo. Theo, too, drew his weapon.

It was a standoff.

Theo was panting, the exertion of the fight drawing sweat from his brow. “Let them go,” he commanded.

“Ah, the bodyguard,” Michael said. “I’ve had my eyes on you for a while now. I suppose credit where credit is due. You made it real fucking hard to get to her. Didn’t know that live-in security services were even a thing?”

Dad frowned. “What?”

“Bet you enjoyed that, huh? Getting to shack up with your charge.”

“Shut up,” Theo snapped. “Drop the gun, put your hands on your head, and get on your knees.”

“Knocked her up too, eh? Bet she tipped you real nice for your work, huh?”

“I said put the gun down!” Theo ordered. “You’re done. I’ve taken out all your guys. Drop it now.”

“Or fucking what?”

“I’ll shoot you.”

“Do you think you can do it before I shoot her?”

Michael turned the gun and pointed it at me. Time slowed to standstill. My heart railed in my chest. I couldn’t move, every muscle locked.

A shot rang out.