Page 133 of Between Regrets and Promises

Liam smirks. “We’ll let you handle her since you’re good at it.”

“Shut the hell up,” Hunter snaps.

“Alright, so you two go in first, and I’ll focus on getting Sophie,” I confirm. We cross the yard toward the garage and keep to the side of the house. I can hear Sophie’s cries from inside, and I’m tempted to say fuck it all and rush in there by myself, but I know how life-threatening this whole plan is. One wrong move could mean it ends badly for us.

Liam slips inside the garage, and Hunter and I follow him. He grabs the doorknob and looks at me.

“You love her.”

There’s not a doubtful bone in my body when I answer. “Yeah, I do.”

He grins. “Then all you need to worry about is getting her out of here. Let Hunter and me handle him. Got it?”

I swallow and nod. Liam holds his gun out in front of him after giving his backup one to Hunter, then they both enter. My adrenaline spikes as realization hits—this is about to end, and I’ll get my sweet Sophie back.

Once inside the entry, I can hear Dalton’s laughter as he threatens to kill her and then kill me. No fucking way in hell is that happening.

Liam quietly walks down the hall that leads to the kitchen and living room with Hunter behind him. I trust them both with my life, but right now, I’m anxious as fuck that something is going to go horribly wrong.

As we walk farther into the house, I make sure to stay behind them, and the discussion in the kitchen becomes louder.

“I’ll do anything you want if you leave everyone alone,” Sophie pleads, which means he took the gag out of her mouth. Thank God. Though it was probably because he gets off on hearing her beg.

He releases a rumbling laugh. “You’ll do anything I want anyway.”

I clench my jaw and try to calm the rage that soars through me. My heart pounds hard in my chest as I prepare for the most important mission of my life. I suck in deep breaths, trying to remain calm and assess the situation as Liam and Hunter cut through the dining room. Standing in the hallway, I keep my back against the wall and peek around the corner into the kitchen and see the police scanner on the counter as he points a knife directly in her face.

“Your pleas are boring me,” Dalton tells her, unamused, dropping the knife and picking up a gun. “About as much as your boyfriend does.”

“Shut up,” she spits back but winces as if speaking hurts.

He points it at Sophie, giving her an eerie grin. “Just once click. That’s all it would take to end you right now. Isn’t this fun?”

He twirls it around his finger before placing it against Sophie’s head. My body stiffens, and I nearly lose my strength as I wait for Hunter to make a fucking move. Seeing a gun pointed at her makes me want to wrap my hands around Dalton’s throat until he takes his last fucking breath. I almost can’t take it anymore, and my hands ball into fists, trying to keep from making any noise.

“Please,” she whispers, defeated. “Please, Dalton.”

Before he can respond, the dildo sculpture crashes to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Dalton turns on his heels and points the gun toward the dining room. He shouts, demanding to know who’s there.

Seconds later, a round exits the silencer, then blood splatters on Sophie’s face and body. She wails as she struggles against the chair. Liam shot Dalton in the shoulder, purposely not killing him. He stumbles back, drops the gun, and the metal crashes against the tile floor.

I don’t wait another second to be wasted before I rush into the kitchen and slam my body into Dalton. We both fall to the ground, and I kick the gun out of his reach. Liam comes and stands over Dalton, keeping the weapon pointed at his head, but the sick fuck isn’t scared or threatened. In fact, he must have a fucking death wish. Dalton struggles against me, and when I push myself off him, Liam shoots again, putting a bullet in his thigh as Hunter struggles to hold him down.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you. I’m gonna fucking kill you all,” Dalton warns, wailing from the pain.

“Shut the fuck up,” Liam spits, kneeling and leaning closer to him. “I should put a bullet between your eyes right now.” He taps the barrel of his pistol to his forehead. “But I like seeing you suffer the way you made her. So I might not call an ambulance for a while…let you bleed out a little…just for fun,” he mocks the way he taunted Sophie.

Seeing that Liam and Hunter have it under control, I run over to Sophie and cup her beaten and swollen face in my hands. “I’ve got you, baby. It’s gonna be okay,” I tell her, trying to soothe both of us. She’s crying hysterically, pulling against the duct tape that asshole wrapped around her wrists and ankles.

“I’m so fucking sorry.” It kills me to see her like this. My Sophie looks so damn broken. “I’m getting you out, baby,” I say, grabbing a knife from the counter and cutting her free from the chair. I do an assessment and see the dried blood on her arm from the earlier cut. That asshole’s blood spewed on her face and hair, making both of us wince. I wrap one arm around her back and one under her legs, lifting her out of the chair.

“Get her out of here,” Liam shouts when Dalton tries to pull himself up. He’s clearly not going down without a fight. Fucking moron.

“Hunter, do me a favor and deck him in the face for me before you call 911,” I say, walking with Sophie in my arms when he pulls out his cell. I’d do it myself but getting her out of here is more important.

“Not a fucking problem.” He grins, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

Then I hug Sophie to my chest and walk us the fuck out of there.

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