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“You did so great, Princess. You’re so smart.” I kissed her cheeks, forehead, and nose, then pressed her against me again. “Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"What the hell happened up there?"
Mia and I were climbing to the slaughterhouse again, Matias already nowhere to be found.
“A clusterfuck.” She winced. “Sorry.Fluff. Aclusterfluff.” We rounded the building, which was surrounded by law enforcement. “SomeAlacránscame to Matias’s rescue. They opened fire against us, we fought back, then more of Aaron’s agents arrived and helped us put an end to it. Some of the men were even arrested. I was about to run inside to help you with Matias when I saw Sofia take off from the back, so I went after her.” She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry he escaped again.”
I stopped and pulled her into my arms, crushing both girls together. “We’ll have another chance to get him. I had only one to get my baby.” I kissed the top of their heads, and we resumed our walking. “What about...her?”
“Arrested.” Mia pointed ahead. “She’s in one of those cars. Any parting words for Cruella?”
I found the woman who made my life a living hell and almost cost me my daughter. I looked down at Sofia, her pretty face resting against my shoulder. I didn’t want to be away from her, but I also couldn’t live with myself without saying a few words.
Mia took Fee from my arms. “I’ll take her to the car, and we’ll wait for you. Go expunge.”
I trudged to the police car she was in, trying to control my breathing not to explode on her. If I were to be prosecuted for murder, it should be for Matias.
Her always-poised hair was a mess, her makeup had run down and dried on her face, and she had a black eye. If it made me a bad person to be happy to see her so disheveled, so be it.
She noticed my approach and started crying again. “Oh, Danny. Thank God. I was so scared.”
“Shut up,” I hissed. “You can’t call yourself scared when you willingly open your legs for a cartel.”
“I didn’t know. Now I’m being arrested. You need to help me.”
“Didn’t know, my ass. You were fully aware of who he was. Your visitation was cut because of him, Iwarnedyou about it, and you assured me you weren’t together anymore, and that your so-called fiancé was a past lover.”
She wailed, her mascara running down again. “I didn’t want this to happen. He said he wanted us to be a family, he was adamant I spent more time with Sofia. I was already sad to see you with that...thatgirl. I saw you kissing her around town, you were never like that with me. I needed to feel wanted again.”
“So, you almost got my babykilledbecause you were fuckingjealous?” How did I waste so many years of my life with that piece of work? She opened her mouth to talk again, and I snapped, “You better watch your next words before I lose the last thread of patience I’m hanging on to, patience you don’t deserve.”
I took in a deep breath, and my rising hatred was replaced by deep loathing. “You’re selfish and destructive. You’re like an evil wizard who ruins everything you touch. The only reason you weren’t able to spoil my baby was that you were too self-centered to pay her any attention. And I thank God for that. Because your mere presence is enough to wreak havoc. You’re toxic, like a capricious girl jumping on rocks not to get your shoes dirty by the mud, with no care about whom you’ll drown on your way. And I blame myself for taking so long to realize that.”
“No, please, Danny. Let me make it up to you.”
“I don’t see how that’ll be possible. Because you’re not a part of my life anymore. And you’re most certainly not a part of Sofia’s either.”
“It’s because ofher, isn’t it?” she sneered through her snot.
“The fact that you ask that question after everything you did is proof enough of how despicable you are.”
“You know that won’t last, right? She’s just starting to live her life. Do you really think she’ll be happy living with a man who is never home and already comes with a kid? A little brat who doesn’t belong to her?”
I wanted to be able to say her words didn’t affect me. The truth was that she’d just voiced some of my hidden feelings. In a rational capacity, I knew what we had was special, but suffocating my insecurities sometimes took me longer than expected.
Despite that, I knew what I felt, and I trusted Lisa with my and Sofia’s hearts. So, I spoke my truth. “What Lisa and I feel for each other, I never felt for you. She’s way more Sofia’s mother than you’ve ever been. She’s the kind of woman you could never dream of becoming.” Craving to be with my baby and woman again, I said my last words to my past. “Maybe I should say I hope you become a better person and learn from your mistakes. But the truth is that I don’t care what happens to you after this. As long as I don’t hear from you anymore.”
With that, I turned on my heels and marched to where my baby was. I picked her up from Mia’s lap and got into the back seat of her car. I’d thank Ben and Aaron later. It was time to go home with my baby. So, we could both hug my woman again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I wanted to hide under a rock and cry until I was dehydrated. It’d been hours since the abduction, and our odds didn’t seem good. My insides recoiled every time I thought about that man and Andrea taking Sofia away, her little face full of fear, counting on me to save her as I failed my little girl.
Danny and the others had been gone for what felt like forever, and we still didn’t have any news. I was worried about him and his friends, I was terrified for Fee. I felt the need to throw up, but I hadn’t eaten in hours, so all I could do was retch.
I refused to leave Danny’s house. I’d go away once I knew they were both safe. God, please, let them be safe.
