I helplessly held the phone as her cries continued. It wasn’t until her voice disappeared that I realized Liv had always been right.
The silence was fucking terrifying.
“Please don’t do this!” I whispered, cradling my dislocated finger against my chest.
Davenport had left it mangled after forcefully ripping my engagement ring off.
“Please, shut the fuck up,” he replied, casually lifting my ring in the air as if he were inspecting the stone.
Tears were streaming from my eyes as I stared at my phone, lying on the floor across the room. The screen was lit with an incoming call, which I knew was Quarry. Davenport had just hung up on him. I was in unbelievable pain, but nothing hurt as much as the agony in his voice as he’d shouted my name just before the call had been ended. It was a sound I could never unhear.
Suddenly, red-and-blue police lights caught my attention as they filled the parking lot. Davenport gripped the back of my neck and hauled me in front of him.
“Looks like your boyfriend brought reinforcements.” He laughed, not a care in the world.
He was seriously insane, and as if I hadn’t already been scared, the sound of his hollow laugh sent me into the petrified territory.
Movement from the floor caught my attention.
Don was starting to come to.
Lifting my hands, I silently signed, Help is here. Don’t move.
His confused eyes shifted from me to Davenport before closing again.
I was forced to the double glass doors, where dozens of police cars had joined our party. Tears of relief flooded my eyes as I saw my dad’s SUV and Quarry’s Porsche parked behind them.
“He took my belt,” Davenport whispered ominously.
“N-not yet. You could still win,” I replied as a cold chill ran down my spine.
“Dumb bitch,” he mumbled.
I saw Quarry’s strong body in the crowd long before Davenport did.
But, judging by the terror on Quarry’s face, he saw Davenport lift the knife long before I did.
We all heard the gun explode before Davenport did.
It was unquestionably the scariest moment of my entire life.
“No!” I roared as a gun fired from out of nowhere just as Davenport lifted a knife to Liv’s throat.
It was a wonder I wasn’t sucking the oxygen out of the state of Indiana for as hard as I had gasped. Blood roared through my veins as my worst nightmare played out in front of me. Dozens of officers were rushing toward the door when another shot was fired, forcing them all to shift to the sides of the building, flanking the door.
“Get down!” an officer at my side ordered, but my legs were already moving—and it wasn’t to hide.
Sprinting down the middle of the sidewalk, I ignored every single officer shouting my name.
Fueled by desperation and adrenaline alone, rational thought left me. I would not fucking fail Liv James—no matter the cost to myself.
Yanking on the glass door, I found it locked. My chest heaved as I prepared to bust it down. But I paused when I saw Liv scrambling away with Davenport hot on her heels. Frantically, I banged on the door, trying to catch his attention, but then everything suddenly got worse.
In that moment, I didn’t even know that was possible.
But it was my life. It could always get worse.
The only person I could ever hate as much as Garrett Davenport suddenly appeared in front of me with his gun held high, aimed directly at my chest.
The moment his blue eyes met mine, his face softened.
Get back, he mouthed.
I couldn’t do anything but blink.
Swinging his gun away, he lifted a single hand and signed, I’ll get her.
I had been wrong.
That was unquestionably the scariest moment of my entire life.
“Dad!” I screamed, pounding my fists on the glass as he disappeared down the hall.
I had been a lot of things in life: thief, con man, gambling addict, drug dealer, bookie, inmate. Most recently, I was the assistant to the director for the American Sign Language program at the local community center.
It was a job I took very seriously.
If you asked my kids, they would probably add a few other names to my laundry list of titles, such as: spineless, slimeball, coward, deadbeat, worthless, loser.
And they’d be right.
Over the years, I had more than earned every single one of those. However, that didn’t change the fact that, over ten years later, the only title I truly wanted was father.
And it was the only one they would never give back to me.