“Stop moving before I put another bullet in you,” Dawson bitout.
“You won’t risk hitting her,” King retorted, testing Dawson’s loyalty to hissister.
There was a pause. King took another step to the right. He needed to move over another ten feet to get clear. That would also put them even closer to the doorway leading down the hall to thekitchen.
Dawson called out, “Where’sFaith?”
Before Laura could answer, King answered in a soft tone, “She’s in the kitchen, down here, you fucker. And I swear to God if you hurt her in this attack, I’ll put a bullet between youreyes.”
No matter what promise he’d made to Laura about trying to make the best of it and not kill her brother, if Dawson hurt one hair on Faith’s head, he would destroy him. He’d have to deal with the consequences later. He’d been given these precious gifts in his life twice, and if he couldn’t protect them again, he didn’t deservethem.
Laura sobbed quietly behind him. He could feel her wet tears soaking the skin on his back. The heart-wrenching sound ripped him in two, and the rage built until his hands were shaking. Dawson had taken his vision, and now he was trying to take everything he loved. King felt the ice rushing through his veins, and he let it take over. His fury morphed from white hot to cold, hard and methodical. As far as he was concerned at this point, John Dawson had already taken Faith from him. “Step out from behind thedoor.”
He hated that Laura had to see what was coming next, but the bastard was going to die by King’shand.
Instead of ducking down, Dawson eased around the door, leaving himself open and vulnerable. King took in the flushed, pale skin and wide eyes in an instant, and then focused his weapon on the bastard’shead.
“Where is she?” Dawsonroared.
“Somewhere over there,” King tilted his head to the right, where half of the wall was laying in rubble on thefloor.
“Laura?” Dawson criedout.
He felt Laura’s body shudder against him, she sobbed openly. Fuck, his words had to be destroying her as much as they were destroyinghim.
“You’re lying.” Dawson kept his gun raised and focused on King, even as sweat broke out on his forehead. “What did you do with mydaughter?”
Laura’s breath hitched. King froze. “Yourdaughter?”
“Stop playing games, you bastard!” Dawson screamed, stalking toward him. “I swear if you so much as harmed a hair on herhead—”
“Daddy!” Like a flash, Faith darted across the room, running not for King, but forDawson.
“Faith?” Dawson shifted his weapon to his right hand, and caught Faith with his left, holding her securely against hischest.
King’s entire worldshifted.
Dawson was herfather?
After everything, Laura had lied tohim?
As if she could read his mind, she grabbed onto him and held tight. “King, I tried to tellyou.”
He rocked back on his heels inshock.
Dawson fixed a deadly stare on King, ready to take out the man he thought threatened his daughter.Just like I would.King slowly lowered his weapon to his side and stood tall, ready to take the bullet he knew was coming forhim.
“Drop the gun! You’re surrounded!” Reaper called out from somewhere in the yard behindDawson.
And then Diggs called out from what remained of the balcony above. “I’ve got my sights trained on you. It’s over, Dawson. Let the girlgo.”
Hicks materialized out of the smoke to the left, Juarez right beside him. In a second King had his gun up again, trained onDawson.
He’d put a bullet right between his eyes if he so much as shifted in the direction of harmingFaith.
“It’s over, put herdown.”
Dawson looked at no one but him. King tensed, ready to squeeze the trigger. And then Dawson tilted back his right hand and let his Glock drop to the ground. He eased Faith to the floor and said, “Go to Aunt Laura, okay,princess?”
