“I don’t need guns,” Nick said. “I’ll still kill you with my bare hands.”
Nick stepped forward. He was easily over six feet. His muscles had muscles. And when he made a move of cocking his arms out, he could have been a professional boxer.
Where was Mack when you needed him?
Instead, it was my father who had removed his suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and met Nick halfway.
The brute swung his fist first, but I wasn’t able to see what happened next because someone palmed the back of my head and closed their fist around my hair.
I cried at the sharp pain in my scalp as someone pulled me to my feet. The pain in my shoulder pulsated.
“You ungrateful little bitch!” Adrian bellowed in my face. “This is all your fault!” His hand moved from my hair to encircle my throat. “After everything I did for you, this is how you repay me?”
“Did for me?” I rasped, trying to suck in more air. He loosened his hold just enough for me to speak. “You did nothing but condemn me. You killed that man for your ownselfish reasons. You stole that dagger because you wanted more power. You brought this upon yourself.”
Adrian spat out the blood that had leaked from his nose. “I provided for you. I cared for you, and what did you do? You ran from me. You betrayed me. And now you’re going to pay for it.”
There was no use trying to reason with him. He was angry, unstable, and so obsessed with power that he couldn’t think clearly.
I shuffled back from him when my foot connected with something on the ground. Quickly, and as subtly as I could while Adrian described my “punishment,” I glanced down.
In the light of the full moon, something glinted on the ground.
The dagger. It was half-buried in loose dirt, but the blade shined only about a foot away. Within arm’s reach.
If I could just …
“Are you listening to me, Em?” Adrian asked, bringing my attention back to him with a firm grip back around my throat. “I’m going to make you wish you never ran from me.”
My voice strained from his constriction. “I—I’d like to see you try.”
Rage flared in his eyes, and just when he released his fingers to get a better grip, I jabbed my elbow in the crook of his arm and then dropped all my weight to the ground. I reached for the dagger. My fingers just barely grazed the hilt when Adrian lifted his knee into my face.
A new wave of pain throbbed along my cheekbone. I fell backward, landing in the dirt at his feet. I could already feel my face swelling from his abuse.
Before I could get up, Adrian landed on top of me. He straddled my waist, and his knees locked my arms at my sides, sending a fresh wave of agony through me andeffectively trapping me beneath him. I struggled to get free, but it was no use.
“That was a cute move.” Adrian chuckled. “Did the cop teach you that?” He fisted the hair at the top of my head, pulled up, and then slammed my head into the dirt.
“You know,” Adrian said, but I could barely hear him over the ringing in my ears, “you’re different. Stronger. You have more fire in you than ever before. I like it.”
Angry tears filled my vision as I blinked away the black spots. I bucked my hips against him and tried to release his hold on me, but it didn’t work. His grip only tightened.
“Too bad I have no use for this version of you.” His fingers raked down my cheek affectionately. “I was looking forward to seeing my frail little Emilia. I would have given that girl another chance.”
Adrian was right. I wasn’t the same person. I was stronger because of what happened, and I wouldn’t go down like this.
Black spots danced on the edge of my vision. In my struggle to get free, I flexed my arms, extending my fingers, when I brushed metal.
The dagger.
Frantically, I encircled the dagger’s handle and raised the weapon as high as his hold allowed, angling it toward his leg. With as much strength as I could muster, I shoved the dagger into the meaty flesh of his thigh.
“Ah!” Adrian screamed out. His hands released my throat.
Immediately, I let go of the dagger and gasped in as much air as I could. My throat burned with each inhale, but I could breathe again. That was something.
“You stabbed me!” Adrian yelled. He leaned to his left to get a better look at the dagger protruding from his thigh. With half of his weight off me, I didn’t hesitate to roll out and away from him.
