Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
DAKOTA
“You think you can just leave me?” Adam continued ranting as I lay on the floor, trying to pull air back into my lungs. “No one leaves me, you bitch!”
“No!” Cassi continued shouting through her tears. “Stop it! Leave my Kota alone!”
I had to fight. Not only for myself, but for that little girl.
I had to fight for the life I finally had.
I had to fight to keep all the good I’d found recently, all the love that had filled my life with so much happiness.
I wasn’t going to give it up, damn it! I’d deserved this life for so long, and no one was going to take it from me.
Especially not this monster, who had spent so many years beating me down I was almost convinced happiness didn’t exist.
I now knew that it did. Blissful happiness. And I wouldn’t let lesser men take that from me.
I let out a cry when Adam reached down and grabbed my hair, jerking me up. I knew what was coming next. It was Adam’s signature move. He balled his fist and reared back, preparing to punch me in the stomach. I couldn’t let him land that blow.
Before he could swing, I reached back and grabbed the switchblade from my pocket. Pressing the button on the side, the blade popped out, and I didn’t hesitate. I plunged it straight into Adam’s thigh, gritting my teeth and driving it in as deep as I could go before giving it a little twist.
Adam’s screams filled the small room. I wanted to smile, but there wasn’t time.
With my hair out of his grip and him incapacitated, I made a run for Cassi.
My girl had done exactly as I’d hoped and had already managed to get the hand I loosened free.
I rushed to her, digging my nails into the tape and ripping at it, trying to find the end.
“It’s okay,” I panted, the pain in my ribs so bad each breath felt like fire. I knew from experience he’d broken my ribs, but with how hard it was becoming to breathe, I was afraid he might have punctured a lung, which meant I had to work fast to get Cassi out of here.
“It’s okay, baby. I got you. I’m here. I won’t let him hurt you.”
“Kota, watch out!”
Just as I got the last of the tape off, Adam moved, lunging at me from behind and taking me to the ground. I kicked and punched, fighting with every bit of strength I had left, which was quickly starting to fade.
A sharp pain in my side threatened to pull me under, causing stars to dance before my eyes, but I held on, refusing to let unconsciousness take hold as Adam climbed over me and wrapped his hands around my throat.
As I fought and clawed at his face, I vaguely recalled that Cassi’s tears had morphed into sounds of anger.
“Get off my Kota!” I heard as Cassi’s little face came into view. A new fear I’d never experienced took hold when I realized she had thrown herself onto Adam’s back and was holding on to his hair with a death grip.
Her little face was screwed with determination as she yanked and pulled and ripped, causing him to loosen his grip on my throat enough to pull in a much needed breath.
“Cassi, run!” I wheezed as I drove my thumb into one of Adam’s eyes as hard as I could. His weight left me as he screamed, cupping his injured eye as he rolled to his back.
Cassi had moved like a ninja, letting go and jumping out of the way in time to not get squished. Then she balled her fist and threw a punch aimed at his throat, just like she had with that little shithead, Bobby Handell. Unfortunately, she was a little off the mark.
Adam twisted, his sights set on her as he climbed to his feet with a growl.
The fear returned to Cassi’s eyes as she scuttled backward at his pursuit of her. Despite all the pain, despite the sharp stab in my ribs and the throbbing in my side, I shoved myself up. There was no way I was letting that bastard get to her.
“Cassi, move!” I shouted, barely having a chance to let out a sigh of relief that she listened before I shifted. I drew all the anger and rage this man ever made me feel, I pulled up the memory of every punch, every kick, and let it fuel me as I hunched over, keeping Adam in my sight.
On a yell, I charged him, catching a brief glimpse of the shock in his eyes when my shoulder collided with his gut. He let out a satisfying oof when I hit him, but I didn’t give myself time to let up. I kept moving, digging my feet into the ground and driving forward like a goddamn linebacker.
I didn’t stop as we crashed through the door that led to the catwalk around the tower.
I didn’t stop as his hands clawed at my shirt in a desperate attempt to grab hold.
I didn’t stop until his weight suddenly disappeared from my shoulder and his shouts of fear filled the air.
And when I finally, finally , stood up to see what happened, I discovered I’d managed to shove him right through the railing.
The screams ended on a dull thud, and when I looked over the railing, I saw that he’d hit the ground below in such a way that I knew, without a shadow of doubt, he hadn’t survived that fall.
“Kota!” Cassi slammed into me, jostling my ribs and battered body painfully as she latched on, crying and hugging me for all she was worth.
The pain in my side was agonizing, but I didn’t care. I wrapped her in my arms and ushered us back from the ledge and into the safety of the watchtower.
“Shh, shh,” I soothed as she sobbed into my stomach. She was safe, and Adam would never hurt either of us again. That was all that mattered. “It’s okay, baby. It’s over. You’re safe.”
She pulled back, looking up at me through watery eyes. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m okay,” I attempted to reassure her, but it was like she could see right through my lie.
When she unwrapped her arms from around me we both realized she had blood on her hands.
A fresh wave of panic washed over me, making my head swim as I dropped to my knees and began inspecting her for any injuries.
“Where are you hurt, little star?”
“I-it’s n-not mine,” she sniffled.
At those three words, the fog of adrenaline finally wore off, and I was able to feel everything . I reached up and touched my side, pulling my fingers back to find them red with blood.
Shit . That pain in my side wasn’t from my ribs. I’d been stabbed. At some point during our struggle, Adam had managed to pull the knife from his thigh and used it to stab me.
Black spots danced in front of my vision as my knees gave out, sinking to the ground.
“K-Kota?” Cassi cried, the fear in her voice tearing my heart to pieces.
“I’m here,” I promised her through labored breathing. “I’m right here. It’s going to be okay. But what do you say we call for help, yeah?”
She nodded her head frantically as I managed to get the cellphone out of my pocket. I didn’t know how it managed to stay in place through all that, but I’d think more on that some other time. I needed to call for help now, before I lost consciousness.
I had to get us both out of here. That was all that mattered.
I was officially over hospitals. If I never had to step foot in one again, it would be too soon.
“She can’t have coffee, you dummy, she was stabbed two days ago.”
At my sister’s terse voice, I pulled myself back to the present and watched as she and Roe stood toe-to-toe, amid a glare-off.
As soon as Remy found out what had happened, she jumped on the first flight from Oregon. The instant she saw me in the hospital bed, she immediately collapsed into tears and clung to me like I was her lifeline.
I was okay, really. The stab had been mostly superficial. Sure, it hurt like a motherfucker, but it hadn’t hit anything major and had only required minor surgery to repair the wound and fix the lung that had, in fact, deflated.
I was already on the mend, and despite feeling like I’d been run over by a freight train, I was going to be okay.
“It was one stab wound, Rem,” Roe argued back. “He didn’t poke her full of holes. The coffee isn’t going to pour out of her like a strainer, for Christ’s sake. My woman said she needs caffeine, and she’s going to get caffeine.”
Remy reared back, “A strainer ?” She huffed in affront, and I went back to tuning them out as they continued to fight.
My gaze drifted through the room to my dad, who was sitting in a chair in the corner, a pair of reading glasses on his nose as he held a drowsy Cassi on his lap, letting her flip through one of her books with him.
She’d been a trooper through the whole ordeal.
As it turned out, Adam had lied to get a job as a volunteer at the wilderness camp to get close enough to take Cassi when he discovered his threatening photos hadn’t worked.
The fact that he’d been stalking me practically the whole time I’d been back in Ashland was more than a little terrifying.
Fortunately, I didn’t have anything to worry about.
As I’d suspected, he hadn’t survived that fall.
I wasn’t sure what it said about me as a person, but I couldn’t find it in me to be bothered that I’d taken his life.
It was his or Cassi’s, and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect that little girl.
I was set to be released from the hospital tomorrow, and Roe and I both knew that was when the real healing would begin.
Especially for Cassi. She’d been struggling since the incident, nightmares of that day waking her up every night since.
And on top of that, she refused to leave my side unless being physically forced by her father once she could no longer keep her eyes opened.
I was worried sick about her, but Roe assured me that everything would be fine, given time. He was such an amazing father; he’d already been in touch with a child therapist to get his little star the help she needed. Sometimes it hurt, how much I loved the two of them.
Feeling my eyes on him, those familiar sea blues came up to meet mine, and he shot me a wink.
Remy and Roe might have been driving me crazy, but Dad was in heaven, having both his girls in one place.
Well, not counting the hospital room, of course.
I didn’t know what was said between them, but from how they interacted, I could only assume they’d had a talk much like the one I had with Dad weeks ago, because any iciness my sister might have had toward our father when she first got here melted, and yesterday I’d seen her walk right into him for a soothing embrace.
She and Roe might have been fighting like cats and dogs over my welfare, but it wasn’t because they didn’t like each other.
They fought like siblings. Like they used to when Roe and I had first gotten together.
It might have sounded ridiculous, but they fought with love, and I could see the affection Remy had for him swimming in her eyes.
“For the love of God,” I finally spoke up, putting an end to their bickering. “Will someone please just give me the damn cup of coffee already? Before I lose my mind?”
Remy snatched the cup from Roe’s hand like a little brat and rushed over to hand it to me before whipping around to stick her tongue out at him.
Cassi giggled at that, the sound lighting up the entire room. Even Remy wasn’t immune to the perfection that was my girl, and in return, she smiled brightly at the little ball of light our father was holding.
“Aunt Remy, are you gonna be here for my birthday party?” she asked, having adopted Remy as family almost as soon as they met. The first time she heard it, Remy practically melted into a puddle on the floor.
“Are you kidding, string bean? I wouldn’t miss it for all the world.”
I felt the side of my hospital bed sink and turned to look at Roe as Cassi, Dad, and Remy fell into conversation.
“You doin’ okay, Honeybee?” he whispered into my ear, his lips fluttering against the lobe before he pressed a kiss to my temple.
“I’m good, baby,” I assured him. “And as soon as I get out of here tomorrow, I’ll be perfect.”
He gave me that smile that never failed to make me weak in the knees. “I can’t wait to get you home.”
Home being the house he shared with Cassi. After everything went down, Roe had been beside himself. It had taken twenty minutes and the promise that I would move in with them for good to calm him down, but I couldn’t find it in me to regret that decision. In fact, I was excited.
Sure, I loved the time I spent with my father, but we each needed our own space. And it helped matters tremendously that, as soon as Roe insisted I move in with him and Cass, my father had asked Bea to move in with him.
I was over the freaking moon about that relationship. And so was Remy. For the first time in memory, our father was blissfully happy.
“Have I told you how much I love you?” Roe asked me, making me swoon for the millionth time.
“You have. And I love you back just as much.”
“It’s you.”
“It’s me,” I added with a smile.
“It’s us,” he finished.
No, that wasn’t true. Nothing was finished. This was just the beginning.