Sophie!
The guy swings at me again, but this time, I see his fist coming. I duck to the side, twist and jab him in the gut. He bends over and I take this opportunity to follow up with a right hook. He goes from bending over to bending backwards in half a second. His whole body contorts in pain before he crumbles to the floor like the sack of shit he is.
I want to kick the shit out of him next, but my focus turns to Sophie first. The other guy is attempting to pull her toward the door, and there is no way in hell I’m letting him get away with her. A low whimper meets my ears and I lose it. My limbs move with inhuman speed. He only takes a single step in the time it takes me to cross the entire room.
Fire pumps in my veins and all I can think about is saving Sophie, protecting her no matter what.
A feral growl slips past my gritted teeth and the intruder lets go of her. She sags to the floor, and I grab her arms and pull her behind me while my other hand is already on the piece of shit’s throat. I squeeze hard, my hands shaking when I realize who is standing a few inches before me.
Andi? What the hell?
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell directly into his face, uncontrolled anger coursing through my veins.
“They offered me a hundred grand. A hundred fucking grand! I couldn’t pass up the offer. I wasn’t going to hurt her, not really. I swear.”
Money? He did this for money? It takes me a moment to piece the puzzle together. I’ve known him since we were teenagers, we’ve been friends for years, and this asshole fucked me over for money?
My hand tightens around his throat as I slam him against the wall, watching as his head bounces off it. “How many are in the house?”
Anger, it’s all I feel. Anger for trusting this fucker—for inviting him into my home—only for him to touch what isn’t his.
“Just me and him,” he wheezes, looking at the guy on the floor. I loosen my grip a little, just enough so he can talk. “I thought we could take you if you were drunk.”
“Take me to do what?” I snarl.
“We were just going to knock you out and take her. That’s what they wanted. They just wanted the girl back. I wasn’t going to hurt her. You believe me, don’t you?”
My anger reaches a new high as I listen to his words. I want to throttle him, snap his neck, spill his blood all over the fucking floor. Stupid. I’m so fucking stupid.
Sophie starts to sob behind me, and I grit my teeth harder, knowing she needs me right now and I won’t be able to do all those fucking things to him. I’ll have to interrogate him later, and that’s when I’ll get my payback, my revenge.
With one hand still on his throat, I hold him in place while pounding my fist into his face. My fist connects with his nose, and blood sprays from the wound. I hit him again, and again stoking the fire deep in my veins. I watch his eyes roll back into his head and feel his body go limp.
Releasing him with a push, he falls backward and hits the floor with a loud thump. I feel murderous rage, but I force it down, swallow down deep. I can’t act out in violence right now, no matter how badly I want too.
I twist around and Sophie falls into my arms immediately, burying her face into my chest while wrapping her thin arms around my middle. I hold her as tight as I can without squishing her. Kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back, I try to calm her down, but she still cries and sobs uncontrollably.
“It’s going to be okay. No one is going to hurt you, you hear me. I won’t let anyone get to you. I’ll kill anyone who tries to touch you.”
Mine. All mine. The words appear in my mind and I let them stick.
The guy that punched me stirs on the floor and I know I need to call Ivan before I lose my fucking mind. Exhaling I pick Sophie up and carry her to the bed so I can grab my phone. Without letting go of her, I dial my brother’s number. He answers on the second ring
“Roman?” His voice is sleepy, but I can still hear the concerned tone in his voice. He knows I wouldn’t call him in the middle of the night unless something was seriously wrong.
“Ivan, I need you to come to my place. Someone just broke in trying to take Sophie…”
“I’m on my way,” he cuts me off, hanging up the phone before I can respond. Before I put the phone away, I call Devin and Mac, asking them to come over as well. I need help deal with these fuckers, but I won’t leave Violet and Sophie unprotected either.