Page 53 of Ruthless Deliverance

“Son of a bitch.” He lets out a few muffled curses, surging for me as I lift my legs higher when he charges. His momentum collides with my foot crashing against his face. Thankfully, he falls to his knees, his face in his hands as he lets out a few pained sounds.

I twist around, shifting so my legs are bent behind me, my hands behind my back able to reach the binding on my ankles as I franticly pull at what feels like a knot. I need something to cut it. I need to get myself free before Felix gets up or Beau gets back. Glancing around, I spot a metal desk about two feet away, the sharp edge on the leg catches my eyes. Rolling towards the desk, I bring my hands to the metal, rubbing franticly until the rope finally gives. I maneuver my feet around and am finally able to get the ropes off. Felix is bent over, his face in his hands as he groans. Mine were fake. His aren’t.

Hurrying past him, I head in the opposite direction than Beau had gone. I don’t know exactly where I’m at, much less which way to go, but going away from him is the right decision. Keeping to the dark shadows, my hands brush the rough steel walls as I inch down what appears to be an endless corridor. No exits. No windows.

Shuffling behind me sends a bolt of fear zipping through me as I surge forward. A shadowed figure lunges for me and a hand firmly covers my mouth. I freeze as I’m met with Creed’s wild eyes. They’re looking over me as he lets out a quiet shhh and slowly removes his hand from my mouth before quickly pulling me against him. One hand grips my hair, the other wraps around my lower back, holding me so close to his body I can hardly breathe. And I’m okay with that. Because I know I’m safe. I know I can trust him. My gut says so.

As quietly as possible, I whisper, “Beau.” And make a gun gesture with my hand.

He just nods, grasping my hand tightly in his as he shifts in front of me. We slowly move through the corridor. As we reach what appears to be the end, Creed steps around a corner then tugs on my hand, guiding me to follow. We’re near the door, but it’s not until we push through it that I finally feel like we have some hope of getting out of here. I can see lights off in the distance beyond a field, but nothing else.

As we reach the front of the building, Beau steps out from around the corner. Creed and I halt in place, but he’s in front of me, a protective arm thrown out to his side to keep me behind him. I grip his forearm so he knows I’m staying put.

Beau wouldn’t hurt Creed. Would he? Yes. He would. That crazy bastard has no remorse.

“You know. I was looking forward to sampling that pussy to find out what was so fantastic about it that would make you turn your back on me.”

Creed’s muscles tense beneath my hand as he goes to move forward, but I hold him in place. Charging at the psycho holding the gun is not a good move.

Creed remains in place as he says, “If you touch her, I will kill you.”

“So, what you’re saying is I need to kill you before I fuck her.” Beau lets out a chortle, waving the gun around. “Nah. You watching will be more enjoyable for everyone involved.”

“You’re not gonna touch her.” Philip’s voice is strained as he holds a pistol pointed at Beau. He’s got my dad in front of him, almost as if using him as a shield. But there’s blood all over him.

I’m seeing it, but I can’t believe it. The breathy words escaping my mouth, “You’ve been shot.”

“Yeah,” Dad grumbles, wobbling to balance on one leg. “Ask your fuckin’ boyfriend who shot me.”

Surprisingly, Creed confirms. “I did. And I’ll do it again if I have to.”

Okay. I take in a deep breath, trying to process what’s happening, what’s happened. But can’t. Maybe whatever drugs Beau stuck me with is making me hallucinate. But I know that’s not the reality of it.

Philip shouts to Beau. “Put the fuckin’ gun down. Now. Or I will drop you.”

“Don’t,” Dad instructs Beau. Really? My mind might still have a slight haze but it’s becoming clearer and clearer who I can trust. And my dad isn’t one of them.

“Why are you doing this?”

“He did all of this,” Philip shouts. “Tell her what you were planning. What you asked me to do.” Dad remains tight-lipped, so Philip answers his own question. “He was using us both, Dani. He had me convinced it was you—the dirty cop stealing from the department, pedaling drugs to minors, stealing narcotics from evidence—when really it was him. He cleaned up accident reports to hide his involvement, but it wasn’t enough to walk away, he wanted you to take the fall so he could continue his dirty business dealings with kids. Kids that ended up in an early grave. All for money.” Philip looks to me. “I swear I didn’t know. He told the lies so easily. And I believed him. Why would he frame his own daughter? It was Gus who found out what your father had planned, but it was too late. He was gonna take me down right along with you. That’s why I needed you to help find the evidence to convict him. I couldn’t trust anyone else. And it truly was our asses on the line.”

Looking to Dad, I wait for him to deny or explain or something, anything. But he doesn’t. He remains silent. The same smug expression on his face that I’ve seen a million times as a child. “It’s true. Isn’t it?”

“It was business.”

“No, it was cowardly.” Philip presses the gun to my dad’s temple as my breath hitches. I can’t truly fathom why my own father would do this to me, but I don’t want to watch my dad die. Even though I can’t even be certain he wasn’t planning the same for me. “JR found out that the cop he hired for private security was supplying drugs through his son, so he came to me because he knew I couldn’t be bought. And he knew you were a piece of shit, offering up your own daughter to take the fall.”

Dad doesn’t say anything, not even a denial. He’d set me up to take the fall for his dirty work. And here I was thinking I was on this case to help him.

Philip moves the gun from Dad’s temple and points it at Beau. “Last warning, kid. Put the gun down.”

Beau stands motionless for a minute before slowly lowering his arm and tossing the gun to the ground a few feet away. Within a second, Creed is out of my hold and on Beau, his fist striking his former friend one solid time in the jaw. Creed’s other hand grips Beau’s neck as I step behind him.

“He’s not worth it.”

“What he was planning—” Creed’s voice breaks off.

“He never would’ve managed to get that far. Because once he was within arm’s reach, his gun would’ve been shoved down his throat, and we all know he isn’t shit without it.”