Daddy's Adorable Assassin (Daddy's Little Deviants)

Shit. The fucker hit me.

I put another bullet through the man on the floor, ending him. I picked up his gun, ran to the door, and carefully pushed open the door. A bullet whizzed by. Fuck. The shooter had taken up refuge behind my SUV. Several bullets hit the door and then nothing.

Was he reloading his gun?

I crouched low and took off toward my SUV at breakneck speed, dropping to my stomach when more gunshots erupted. I zeroed in on the shooter’s legs on the other side of the car, inching around.

Bingo.

Two bullets each in his legs had him screeching as he tumbled to the ground. “Fuck! Fuckfuckfuck!”

I rounded the car. “Drop the gun, or I’ll fucking kill you on the spot.”

He aimed the gun at his head and fired.

“Shit.”

I was breathing hard, my heart pounding. I grabbed the bottom half of the ski mask and pulled it up. Yup, even with the hole in his head, he was one of those fuckers from the diner.

A gunshot rang out, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I sucked in a deep breath, bracing myself for the impact of a bullet, but nothing. Instead, a loud thud. I swung around with my gun raised. A third man lay a few feet away from me, facedown. Blood oozed out the back of his head. A clean, accurate shot.

I stared at Cosmo, who stood on the porch, with my gun in his hand. The determined look on his face, the quiet resignation showed nothing of the shock and freaking out I would have expected after he’d killed someone.

“All the victims died from a single bullet wound to the head just like this.” Knight’s words ran through my mind, and my mouth went dry.

“He was going to shoot you,” he said softly. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

I shook my head, wanting to ask him a dozen questions all at once. “Go back inside,” I said hoarsely. “I need to make sure there are no more of them.”

“Let me come with you.” He hurried down the steps and came to a halt a couple of feet away. “If more are coming, I can help you. I never miss.”

I swallowed hard, my knees weak. “Fine, but stay behind me.”

You know the truth, and you still protect him.Why?

“You’re bleeding.” He touched my arm, but I stumbled back. He withdrew his hand, his eyes full of hurt. “Daddy—”

“It’s just a graze. Later we can talk. If we make it through the night.”

“Okay.”

“First, I’ll check the car. Do you have your phone on you?”

He handed me his phone, and I was careful not to let our fingers brush. If I touched him, I would lose all reasoning, and I needed my wits about me.

Cosmo had lied to me. He’d deceived all of us.

“Just don’t shoot anymore in the head,” I croaked out, hating myself.

“It’s the only way I know how to shoot. That’s what Virgil taught me.”

“The chest is a bigger area. Aim for that. Unless you want to go back to prison.”

One man shot in the head could be explained. Multiple of them and not even I could cover for him.

Not that I would.

There was no way in hell I would cover for him this time.