Chapter 24
Kiera
Memories from ten years ago swirled in my mind as I stared at him. The stench of stale whiskey and cigarettes on his breath. His touch against my bare skin, leaving a path of fire behind.
The pain.
I wanted to run as far away as possible from him, hide somewhere he’d never be able to find me. But I couldn’t. Not if I wanted to get my daughter back.
I hadn’t seen his face for ten years; I refused to look for traces of Billie in him, and while he now had visible age lines and his light brown hair was streaked with grey, he hadn’t changed a bit.
Tremors slivered down my spine from the way his lecherous eyes roamed up and down my body. I let my mind wander to the gun tucked in the back of my jeans, hidden under my jumper, grateful that I had the foresight to grab Jackson’s gun after taking the call from Alec.
“I’ve never asked you for a single thing before,” I said, summoning up courage from deep within. “But I’m asking you now. Please help me get my daughter back.”
His nose wrinkled in disgust. “You think I give a shit about your daughter, Kiera?”
“She’s your daughter too,” I snapped, anger rolling through me. Even when he learned I was pregnant, he denied the baby was his.
“So you say.”
Hot, frustrated tears wanted to fall, but inhaling deeply, I kept them in. “Billie is your daughter,” I hissed, pointing at him. “You know damn well I was a virgin when you raped me.”
A dark chuckle escaped his cruel mouth as his eyes narrowed on me. “Raped you? I don’t recall you telling me to stop.”
“Because I was terrified out of my mind.” My voice cracked as the first tear fell, sliding down my bruised cheek. “I was fifteen years old and you. Raped. Me.”
My breath hitched as he prowled toward me with an evil glint in his eyes. My brain screamed at me to grab the gun, but just like what happened ten years ago, my body froze, paralyzed by fear.
“You know, I remember that night quite vividly,” he said, amusement lacing his tone like the sick fuck he was.
“I’ve often fantasized about it. How you lay there while I ripped into your tight cunt, and how you bled all over my cock.
But you want to know what really pushed me to the point of coming inside of you?
” My heart thudded painfully hard as he grew closer, and still, I was frozen in place.
“It was those soft little cries. Hearing you cry, Kiera. Fuck, I think I’d like to hear those cries again. ”
He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Seeing his hand come toward me, my body finally got on the same page as my brain, and I went to reach for the gun. But he pounced, grabbing my arms and throwing me down on the nearby couch before straddling me.
The gun dug into my spine, reminding me of my missed opportunity as I scrambled underneath him, trying to stop him from pinning my hands down.
Like last time.
Billie’s face flashed in my mind. My daughter was growing up in a world where certain men believed they could take what they wanted without permission, consequences be damned. I didn’t want that for her; I wanted her to live in a world where no meant no, and women weren’t afraid to fight back.
A wave of determination crested through me, giving me a second bout of strength to continue fighting him. When he shifted in a bid to gain more control over my flailing limbs, I acted on instinct.
Twisting my body, I brought my knee up between us, and with as much force as I could muster, I slammed it into his cock. He released a deafening growl, his hands releasing me to cup his balls, and giving me an opportunity to get out from underneath him.
I rolled off the couch and jumped up, grabbing the gun from my waistband and aiming it at him with shaky hands. His features turned from pained to shocked in a heartbeat, and he slowly stood, holding his hands up in surrender.
“You gonna shoot me, Kiera?” I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to stop it from trembling. His head tilted to one side. “What about Billie? Do you think you could live with yourself knowing you killed her daddy?”
“She’ll understand,” I hissed, shifting to the other foot and adjusting my aim.
It’d been a long time since I had shooting lessons, but they were still in there, tucked away in my brain. Aim. Breathe. Pull the trigger.
I repeated the instruction, waiting for him to make a move, but not knowing if I could actually shoot him.
He was right about Billie; I never wanted her to find out who her father was and how she came to be, but if she ever learned the truth, how could I tell her that I had been the one to end his life?
He lowered his hands, coming to the same conclusion, smugness washing over his features. “Well. I think that answers my question. I think I’ll be going now, but you’d be wise to never contact me again, Kiera. Next time I won’t walk away so easily.”
I swallowed the lump clogging my throat as he walked backward, not daring to turn around. I kept the gun trained on him until he made it to the front door, and reaching behind, he tugged the door open. With a wink, he spun, running out the door like a goddamn coward, and slamming it behind him.
Lowering the gun, my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor. Glancing down, I saw that in the struggle, he’d ripped my top, exposing my bra strap, and the realization of how close I’d come to being raped again crashed into me like a tsunami of devastation.
A waterfall of tears fell as I dropped the gun, it clattering on the wooden floor as I pulled my knees up to my chest, and my entire body shaking. The events of the last few hours flashed through my head like a montage, and numbness swept through me.
I couldn’t do this any longer. Billie had been taken from me, Alec almost killed me, and my heart was shattered beyond repair over the man whom I loved, but would never love me.
Helplessness wiggled its way into every pore. When the front door swung open, banging against the wall, I didn’t have the strength to care if he’d come back to take another piece of me. My world had already come to an end; what did it matter if he took the last slice?
Footsteps stomped across the wooden floor, and my gaze lifted. Through the tears blurring my vision, I made out the figure towering over me. Convinced he had come back, I closed my eyes, waiting for him to touch me, but when a different voice reached my ears, I cracked my eyes open.
“Kiki, what the fuck is going on?” Jackson said, concern mixed with curiosity etched on his face. “And why the hell was my dad here?”
I gaped at him, my brain trying to find a lie to tell him. Overwhelmed by the defeat racing through me, though, words tumbled from my mouth that I promised I would never say. “It’s him. He’s Billie’s father.”