Page 43 of Winter Break

“Daddy…” I whine. I hate this idea. What if Vincent hurts him? What if he shoots him or he’s already started a fire before Daddy arrives?

Daddy hugs me tight and kisses the top of my head. “I need you to be strong and brave for me while I’m gone. Can you do that?”

“I don’t want you to go,” I grumble as I twist in his lap to grab the front of his shirt.

“I know, Little doll, but it’s necessary. I’ll be fine. Trust me. I’m bigger and stronger and smarter. Plus, I’ll have my brothers with me.”

I lean my cheek against his chest. I hate this. I don’t want him to go, but I’m not going to change his mind, plus I realize as long as Vincent is unhinged and out for vengeance, my existence is endangering everyone in the lion pride.

Daddy gives me another squeeze and stands, depositing me on my feet on the floor. He tips my chin back. “Be good.”

It’s a silly thing to say. I’m a grown woman. I don’t need him to tell me to behave like I’m a toddler, but it’s his way of exercising his dominance over me. He’s reminding me that I’m his to protect and his to discipline. Unspoken is the thought that if I’m not angelic during his absence, I will end up over his knees with a red bottom.

But it turns out, I like having a red bottom, so I’m not sure I can actually be good. Especially if I’m stressed and need something to do to keep my mind off whatever Daddy is planning.

“I don’t see how you’re going to reason with him,” I grumble.

Daddy sits back down and cups my face, holding my gaze level with his. “I’m not going there to reason with the man, Cora.”

I swallow.

“The man stole your property from you. He stole four years of your life. He’s been abusing you, keeping you as a slave, and lying to you for years. I can’t and won’t risk him ever getting near you again.”

“But… What if you get in trouble?”

“I won’t, Little doll. I promise.” He smiles. “Did Brea tell you how she came to live with our pride?”

I shake my head.

“She was sold to a man in town for drug money. He was a middleman who intended to traffic her, but she bravely stood up to him, and for her trouble, he took her out in the woods, sliced her leg open, and left her for dead.”

I gasp and glance at Brea.

She’s leaning into her Daddy, but she nods.

Orion continues, “The bastard went out for a hike one evening and fell off a cliff. Idiot.”

My eyes widen at his sarcastic tone. “He fell?”

“Yep.”

I search Daddy’s face. That’s all I’m going to get out of him, but it’s enough. The bad man who’d trafficked Brea may have fallen off a cliff, but I’m certain he had help getting there, and something similar will happen to Vincent.

I should feel remorse, but all I feel is premature relief. It hadn’t occurred to me that there might be a way to eliminate that asshole from this Earth without anyone getting caught doing it. That would be tidy.

Throwing my arms around Daddy one more time, I whisper, “I love you. Be careful.”

“I love you, too, Cora. And I’ll return without a scratch. Promise.”

Chapter Sixteen

Orion

Leaving my Little girl with Navin and Brea is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not because I don’t trust Navin to take care of Cora, nor am I concerned about my own safety. It’s because we’ve only been mated for slightly more than a day. I don’t want to be apart from her.

What I also want is to put an end to Vincent Jones so that I can rest easier. Tonight when I climb into bed with my girl, there will no longer be a threat looming over us.

Pryce, Quinn, and Ronan are with me. Quinn is driving the extended cab truck. I’m in the passenger seat. It’s late afternoon. The sun is going down. I have the surveillance cameras Sylas put up on Cora’s property pulled up on my laptop, and I’m looking at split screens, keeping an eye on the fucker as he moves around the homestead.