Page 32 of Dagger's Property
“Miss Portman, you may proceed,” the judge states, turning his attention back to the front of the room. My girl is still watching her mom, and when I see the tears in her eyes, I want to rush to her and pull her into the safety of my arms. She’s finally seeing the truth. Her mom never stopped loving her.
“Your honor, my father is claiming to be a changed man, and that he’s no longer a danger to me or society, but he recently sent me this letter.” She pulls it out. “And I’d like to read it to you if I may?”
The judge tells her to go ahead, and she begins to read every condemning word, sealing the bastard’s fate with his own threats that he intends to come after my family. When she comes to the end, she turns toward the monster who doesn’t have the right to be called her dad, and then she looks him dead in the eyes.
“You don’t deserve to be set free. You deserve to rot in that cell and live out the rest of your days living in fear, wondering if someone’s going to hurt you in your sleep. And when they do, when they come and pin you down, making you scream in pain, I hope you think of me. I want you to remember exactly why you’re facing that hell. And while you’re spending your days in terror, my mom will be enjoying every minute of her life with my amazing stepdad. And me…” She looks up, her eyes finding mine. “I’m going to be building a life of happiness, and you will never be thought of again.” She pins him with a look then turns back to the judge. “Thank you for your time, your honor.”
My heart stops. Cage has to hold me back from lunging over the benches to get my girl. She has no idea how fucking proud I am of her. She came here today, held her head high, and slayed all her demons. It was fucking incredible. She is fucking incredible. And I am so damn thankful that I get to take her home. She’s right. We’re going to be building one hell of a life together. All of this will be left in the past.
“God, I love you.” I pull her to me as soon as she comes walking back over, hugging her as close as I can get her. “Proud of you, baby.”
“Me too.” She smiles, and it kicks my heart into overdrive. “Now, can we go? I’m hungry.”
I bet she is considering she didn’t eat anything today, but doesn’t she want to find out what they decide? The verdict should be obvious, but you never know.
“Don’t you want to stay to hear what they decide?”
“Nah.” She shakes her head. “If they even try to let him out, I know some people who will take care of him.” She winks, and I bust out laughing. Cage joins in at my side, having heard her little remark. I plant a kiss on her lips, ignoring the judge telling us to take our seats, then I take her hand and lead her out. It’s time to put this shit behind us and move on.
“Wynter!” Her mom’s voice stops us when we step outside. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I left you with him. I’m sorry I didn’t see what was happening. And I’m sorry that I didn’t try harder. I always thought you hated me, and I didn’t know what to do. So, I just left you alone. But that was wrong. You needed me and I failed you. Please. Please forgive me.”
Watching her break down has me choking back my own tears. My girl pulls from my arms and goes to her, wrapping her in a hug.
“You didn’t fail me. You did all that you could. And I didn’t make it easy on you. He told me you didn’t care, that all youcared about was your new life and your new family, and I believed him. But I know now that that was a lie. I’m sorry I didn’t make it easy for you, Mom. You didn’t deserve it.”
The two women hold each other, crying in each other’s arms, and I can already see the healing taking place. It’s going to be okay now. I can feel it.
“Don’t think it’s the right time to discuss what’s going on between the two of you, son, but I’m guessing you had a big part in what just took place in that courtroom. I’ve never seen Wynter look so strong. And this…” He looks toward the two who are still locked in their embrace. “This is what Gladys has always wanted. So, whatever part you had in it, I want to thank you.”
“This was all her dad.” My lips tip up in pride as I look to my girl. “I wanted to kill the bastard, but she insisted on coming down here and confronting him herself. She’s pretty damn amazing.”
“Yes, she is. And it’s good to see that someone has recognized just how special she is. But let me tell you something, son. If you hurt my daughter, I’ll be pulling my shotgun out and hunting you down.”
I grip his shoulder, chuckling. He’s as protective of her as I am. But he’s got nothing to worry about. I’m taking this one down the aisle and making an honest woman out of her.
“She’s in good hands, Pops. You can trust that I’ll give her the life she deserves.”
“You better. And you better give us some grandbabies. Gladys wants lots of grandkids that she can spoil rotten.”
They’ll be getting their wish. As soon as my girl is ready, we’ll be working on expanding our family. But I’m hoping it won’t be too soon. I want to enjoy some time alone with her. Speaking of which, I need to get her back to the clubhouse. There’s a question burning a hole in my pocket and I don’t know how much longer I can wait.
“You’ll be gettin’ grandkids, Pops. But first, we need to get Gladys comfortable with the idea of us being together.”
“Nah. Don’t you worry about that. As long as she has her daughter back, everything else we can work through. And I think she knows that if it weren’t for you, Wynter would be drunk in an alleyway somewhere or even worse.”
I’d rather not think of what would’ve happened had he not called me. Wyn may have been mad about me forcing her to come live with me, but she knows now it was the best decision she’s ever made. She’s happy there. And the guys love having her around. She’s part of the family now.
“Thank you, Vale.” Gladys comes walking over to me with my girl’s hand tucked in hers. “Thanks for always protecting her. You’re a good man, and I’m so grateful she has you.”
Looks like convincing them to come to our wedding is going to be easier than I thought.
“I love her, Gladys. I consider myself to be the lucky one.”
Wyn comes to me and wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m the lucky one.”
“We can argue about who’s luckier later. We should get going, babe. You haven’t eaten anything today.”
“Oh, can we join you?” Gladys asks. “It’s been so long since we’ve all spent time together.”
