The man goes deathly white at the name. He should. Someone like Lucifer holding your life in the balance tends to make people listen up.
But then he has to go and say, “You can’t take her. I refuse to allow—”
Fuck the ‘no face’ rule. I backhand him so hard his head slams into the carpeted floor. Standing up from the bed, I pull him by his hair and he screeches.
“Stand up like a man, pussy,” I growl.
When I have him finally standing up like a man, I say, “That’s your only warning. You will never get a second warning from my boss. Do you understand? What we say goes from now on. We will ruin you professionally, then in the dead of night, sometime in the future, I’ll take your life.”
Tears spill down his cheeks as he begins to whimper like some little bitch. “Okay… Okay… Please don’t…”
“We’ll be in touch with you real soon, Senator Norton,” I say and let go of him. “And for fuck’s sake, stand up like a man.”
Straightening up slowly, he tries to look like a man, but in his eyes I see the little coward bitch he really is. Fucker hit his daughter like a scumsucking pile of shit.
Turning my back to him, I start to walk away.
Wait I forgot.
Turning around to him, I say, “One more thing.”
“What is it?” he asks with a sigh.
Grabbing him by the shoulders, I slam my knee into his balls.
Air rushes out of his lungs as I say, “Tell your fucking guards on the ground to go home for the night. Do it in the next five minutes or I’ll come back and remind you how much I hate you.”
Walking out of the room, I grab Beth by the hand. “Let’s get going, baby. I’ve got a surprise for you once we get out of here.”
21
Beth
I’m free. Truly free. I almost can’t believe it. The day started out like a nightmare and now everything feels like a dream.
Johnathan came for me. He fucking rescued me and put my father in his place. Thanks to him, I won’t have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, on the run, or trapped in my father’s prison.
“Are you cold, baby?” Johnathan asks me as he, James, and I step out of the car.
I shiver as the cold night breeze hits me and smile at him. “Just a little.”
He shrugs out of his leather jacket and drapes it over my shoulders. His warmth envelopes me and I swallow back a contented moan. Fuck, this man…. This man has done nothing but take care of me and protect me.
I owe so much to him… and I all have to give in repayment is me.
“Johnathan…” I say and reach out to touch his arm as he and James start to walk across the gravel parking lot.
We haven’t had a moment alone, and I still need to apologize and thank him for everything.
“Yeah?” Johnathan stops and arches a bushy brow at me.
“Can we talk for a second?” I ask.
I don’t know where we are or why we’re here. All I know is that Johnathan has some kind of surprise for me. A surprise that lies in what looks like a dark, abandoned warehouse…
James glances back at us but Johnathan waves him on. James smirks knowingly and nods his head before walking up to the concrete building that lies at the end of the parking lot.
Johnathan turns to me and I step up to him. I don’t know how to say this. How do I properly thank him for what he just did? How do I properly thank him for changing my life?
I tip my head back, peering up at his face. In the moonlight he looks so dark and foreboding, but I’m no longer afraid of him.
For whatever reason, this hard, powerful man has a soft spot for me.
“I’m sorry I broke my promise to you,” I start and Johnathan scowls. “I fucked up, and I know I shouldn’t have—”
He grabs me by the hips and pulls me close, causing my words to cut off with an unladylike grunt.
Even when he’s being gentle, landing against his chest feels like landing against a wall of bricks.
“Don’t worry about it,” he growls.
“But—“
He cuts me off by growling again. “Shit’s in the past.”
When I open my mouth to argue, he shakes his head. “It’s dead and buried, Beth. Leave it.”
I want to argue with him. Just letting it go feels too easy. I feel like I should grovel and plead for his forgiveness.
He stares down at my face and he must be able to read my mind or something. “If it will make you feel better, I can always spank you later for it.”
I blink up at him, unable to tell if he’s being serious or not…