“Okay,Daddy.”
Laura stepped from behind King and he let her, half numb with shock and burning up with rage at the same time. Faith leapt into Laura’s arms and she quickly backed away from the area. “King,please.”
John Dawson lifted both hands in the air, and the edge of blind fury slipped into resignation. “Take me. I don’t care what you do to me, but let them go. They have nothing to do withthis.”
King firmed up his arms, barely restraining himself from giving that final squeeze of thetrigger.
“Daddy?” Faith calledout.
Dawson’s gaze skirted over to his daughter and he smiled. “It’s okay, princess. I promise.” And then he turned his attention back to King, his smile fading. “Just wait till they leave. I don’t want her to see this. She doesn’t need thatmemory.”
King’s blood ran hot, then cold, and then hot. Memories of his past crashed into the present. Hope. Watching her die. Laura. His promise to save her brother if he could. Dawson. Pleading for his daughter’slife.
Just like him. Just like King. Only this time there wasn’t a psychotic terrorist bent on revenge threatening her, it was him. King was honestly considering murdering Dawson right in front of Faith and Lauraboth.
He was becoming themonster.
The realization sucked the very air from his lungs and King dropped his pistol to his side. He couldn’t do it. Hecouldn’t.
His team rushed Dawson, Reaper reaching him first. He ripped Dawson’s hands down behind his back and zip-tied them together. “We need totalk.”
“Talk?” Dawson stared at King, directing the question towardhim.
King couldn’t answer. He couldn’t even fucking move his arms. All he could do was stand there and stare helplessly. Reaper clapped him on the shoulder. “Yes, talk.” Reaper shoved Dawson ahead of him and back toward the entrance down into the training facility. They had some secure rooms down there just in case. Reaper shot him a hard stare as he passed. “Yougood?”
King managed anod.
Diggs shot past them, running for the kitchen. “Audra!”
“Diggs!” came her weak reply from down thehall.
“You got this?” Diggsasked.
King grunted out, “Yes.”
Hicks shot off after Diggs. Juarez headed toward the back, “I’ll helpReaper.”
In the next second, King was alone with Laura andFaith.
Laura clutched Faith to her, watching King over her shoulder. Quietly, she inched toward him. “King?”
King still couldn’t manage full sentences. He was trying to wrap his mind around everything that had just occurred. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry,” she said in a breathy tone, “I tried to tell you,but—”
His mouth started moving before his brain started working. “But you were trying to protectFaith.”
Laura nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. “That’s what I was trying to tell you before the explosion. I was too scared before then. I wasn’t sure. Now I know you would never hurt either ofus.”
King drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “Iknow.”
“Please don’t hate me,” Laura saidsoftly.
“Hate you? For trying to protect Faith? I could never hate you, Laura. I love you.” And he did. He loved every single thing abouther.
Laura’s voice pitched to a sob. “You do? Even afterthat?”
He went to her, put his arms around them both, and rested his forehead against Laura’s. “You were protecting your family. I could never be mad at you for that. I loveyou.”
