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“I blocked my face in those.” I knew I had.Could one of the reporters have gotten a picture I was unaware of?
“It was the daisy tattoo on your wrist. You showed it while trying to hide your face from the camera. When I saw that, I knew it had to be you. Your mom’s name, Gia, was done in script in one of the petals. Imagine my surprise when I learned that’s the name you were using.”
How had I not noticed that when I saw a picture of myself online?The answer was simple. I’d been complacent. Stupid. And look where that had gotten all of us.
I finished tying Evalyn up and turned so I stood in front of her. Then I heard the keypad beeping.Oh, God.
Dayton’s arm extended, the gun pointing at the spot where Kylian had to be standing.
“Duck!” I screamed, hoping he got out of the way.
The door swung open. Dayton fired a shot through it then grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him. Time stood still as we waited. Evalyn whimpered behind me.
I couldn’t look away from the stairs. When Kylian didn’t walk down, I assumed the worst—he’d been shot. My entire body shook. I wanted to scream and cry, beat against Dayton until he was a bloody pulp. I did none of that. I had to think about Evalyn too. If I couldn’t save her son, I had to at least try to help her.
Before I could wrestle myself free, Dayton dragged me up the stairs and to the door, where Kylian stood off to the side.
“Don’t try to be a hero.” He shoved the door wide and pushed me to the side so his gun led the way. As I stumbled onto the deck, Kylian yanked Dayton away.
Our eyes met before Kylian wrestled Dayton for the gun. I knew what I had to do and raced back down the stairs as another shot rang out.Please, don’t let him get hurt.Dayton, I didn’t care about. I hoped Kylian had the gun and had shot him, but I was terrified it was the other way around.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I dropped to my knees and helped Evalyn get free. “Call 911.”
She leaped up, pulled open a drawer on the other side of the small fridge, and handed me a wrench with shaky hands before taking her phone from her purse. A steady stream of tears ran down her face.
“Be safe.” I didn’t wait for her to call the cops. I raced back to the deck with the makeshift weapon she’d given me. I stumbled up the stairs, my free hand slapping against the deck as I pushed off it and stood, wrench at the ready. My eyes swept the area then widened when I spotted Dayton sprawled at Kylian’s feet, unconscious. Blood trickled from a cut on his lip, and redness along his jaw appeared to be a bruise forming.
The wrench slipped from my grasp and clattered to the deck. Then I was face-to-face with Kylian, cataloging him for injury. A sob of relief breached my lips despite how hard I tried to keep it in. The sight of him made my knees weak. As they buckled, he grabbed me. Steel banded around my waist, holding me against his solid strength.
Rage lit a fire in his eyes as he gently touched my cheek. It didn’t hurt too badly. “I want to end him for what he did to you,” he said.
I shook my head, my grip tightening on his shirt. “I’m fine. Promise.”
“You’re not fine.”
“I never meant for him to hurt you or your mom. I was leaving.” I needed him to know I’d never meant for that to happen. It was my fault he and his mom had been in danger.
Evalyn appeared, and Kylian’s eyes flared with fresh fury until she told him she was okay. Then I felt the full force of his focus, and nothing else mattered.
He touched his forehead to mine and took several deep breaths. When he got control, the fury was banked in his gaze, and a slow, wicked grin curved his kissable lips. “You can’t go. You’re still under contract.”
My brows furrowed. “I don’t understand.” And I didn’t.After everything—Dayton, his injury, and even his dad’s manipulation… how could he want me anywhere near him?“I only complicate things.” That was putting it mildly.
“I’ve kept my end of the deal”—he spoke as if I hadn’t brought up a valid point—“but I would like to propose an addendum. We date for real this time.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
KYLIAN
Iwanted to inflict as much damage as I could on Dayton all over again from what he’d done to Aurora. Her lip was swollen and cut. Bruises marred her graceful, slender neck. That wasn’t all. One eye was almost swollen shut, and a bruise on her cheek mottled her beautiful skin. I wanted to kill him for how he’d hurt her.
Mom assured me he’d never touched her. To be sure, I scanned her for marks as she leaned against the mast. I didn’t find any, but he’d scared her, and that was enough for me to want to commit manslaughter—to avenge Mom and Aurora.
By some miracle, I maintained control and focused on what was important—making sure Aurora was okay and keeping her by my side.
“You really want to date me after all this?” Her hand swept in the general direction of Dayton’s unconscious body.
Sirens wailed in the background, getting closer by the second. I didn’t have much time to convince her before we would have to give our statements to the police. “I do. You know how I feel about you.”
