Sweet Possession (Carson-Fox Resorts #2)

Chapter 29

Fox

W hen Cora’s sobs began to die down, I gently pulled her away frommy tear-soaked shirt.

“Baby girl, we’ll talk some more, but right now, I need to get you out ofhere. Nash will take you home while I deal with…things.”

Her eyes were red raw, but filled with exhaustion. I scanned over thedarkening bruise on the side of her face, barely managing to contain how fucking furious I was at Freddy.

“Deal with things? As in my dad?”she said, resignation in her tone.

I frowned.“Cora, he hurt you. And he wanted to sell you again-”

“I know,”she said, stepping back, and dropping her arms from aroundmy waist to wrap around herself.“I know what has to happen, and I…”She paused, closing her eyes as if whatever she was about to say was causing her the greatest pain she’d ever experienced.“When I came to after he knocked me out, and I found out he was trying to sell me a second time, I realized he would never change. He stopped being my dad, and became a stranger whojustwanted to hurt me.”She opened her eyes, this time the pain had been replaced with determination.“I want to see him one last time. I want him to knowthathe can’t hurt me anymore.”

I swallowed, doing my best to reign in my anger at hearingthatFreddy had not only hit her, but had knocked her out.“If that’s what you want, baby girl. But I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

Thatwas non-negotiable. I’d let her say what she needed to say toFreddy so she could get some closure, but no fucking way was I going to let her be alone with him.

She chewed her lip before nodding her agreement.

I took her hand.“Let’s go. The sooner we get this over, thesooner the world will be a better place.”

Cora gripped my hand as if she was afraid I’d disappear as I led herback to the room where Nash and Diaz were in a heated discussion. Nash’s entire body slumped with relief when he saw Cora, only to tense again when he clocked the bruise on her face.

“Where’s Freddy?”I asked before Nash could demandthathe got apound of Freddy’s flesh like I was sure he wanted.

“Carter!”Diaz called. A beat later, one of his men appeared.“Take Mr.Fox to the cell.”

Carter nodded.“This way, Mr. Fox.”

“We won’t be long,”I said, meeting Nash’s furious gaze.“When we’redone, I need you to take Cora home and get a doctor out to check her over.”

“Yeah, course,”Nash said, his features softening as Cora gave him atight smile.

Following Carter through a door and down a flight of stairs, Coratucked herself into my side. When we reached another door, he pulled a set of keys out .

“He’s restrained,”Carter said, unlocking the door.“He won’t causeyou any problems.”

Cora’s heart pounded wildly against my arm where she was clingingon.“You sure you want to do this, baby girl? You don’t have to.”

She swallowed, looking from me to the door. Taking a deep breath,she exhaled before loosening her grip.“Yes, Daddy. I want to do this.”

Thank fuck.

She called me Daddy again.

“I’ll wait out here and take Ms Clarke back to Mr. Carson when you’redone,”Carter said, taking guard outside the room.

I pushed the door open and stepped in first, making sure Freddy wasindeed restrained. A small gasp echoed around the small room when Cora followed me in.

Freddy looked up from where he was chained to a chair in the middleof the room. Dried blood had crusted on the side of his face from a wound on the top of his head. His nose had been broken and was resting at an odd angle, bruises forming under his eyes, and his bottom lip was split.

He looked the same way he did the first time I met the cunt.

“Co…Cora?”Freddy croaked, squinting his eyes to see who’d comein. When he realized it was his daughter, his shoulders slumped. The fool thought she’d come to help him.“Darlin’, I’m so glad you’re here. Help your dad outta here, and we can go home.”

Cora gaped at him, her bottom lip quivering as she began to recoil inon herself, becoming the scared little girl Freddy made her. I tugged her hand, getting her attention.

“You can do this, baby girl,”I said when her haunted eyes met mine.“He doesn’t control you anymore. Your past doesn’t control you. ”

“Cora!”Freddy barked.“Who the fuck is he? Let me out of thesegoddamn chains!”He pulled against his restraints, the metal clanging and snapping Cora out of the daze she’d fallen in.

She dropped my hand, taking a step toward Freddy who stoppedrattling the chains.

“I’m not here to let you out. I’m here to say goodbye,”she said, hervoice soft, yet assertive. Freddy’s brows arched, confusion settling in.“But before I say goodbye, I want you to knowthatthere was a time I loved you, and all I ever wanted was your love in return. But now I know. You’re incapable of love.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, you stupid girl? Of course I loveyou, I’m your dad!”Freddy yelled, spittle flying from his mouth and landing in his shabby beard.

I cracked my knuckles.“That’s strike one, Freddy. Interrupt her or call her stupid again,and I’ll take away your ability to talk.”

His face turned ghostly white, fear filling his eyes as he took in mysize.

Wisely, he chose not to reply.

“Go on, baby girl,”I said, placing a hand gently on Cora’s back,encouraging her to carry on when itseemedlike the words were stuck in her throat.

“Huh,”she laughed, but there was no humor to it.“You know what? Ithought I would have so much to say to you, but honestly? I don’t want to waste my energy. It’s not like you would ever find it in you to apologize for the way you treated me all these years. NotthatI want an apology. I’m going to walk out of this room in a few minutes to carry on with my life, and I’m never going to think about you again. I’ll never refer to you as my dad, orevenspeak your name.”

She paused to look over at me, giving me an affectionate smilebefore turning back to Freddy.“I know what it’s like to be loved now, and I know what it’s like to give my love to someone who deserves it. I know what it feels like to have someone in my corner, encouraging me to be the best person I can be. Someone who doesn’t try to break me like you tried so hard to do, but failed. I feel sorry for you if anything. You’ll never know what it’s like to experience the kind of love I have.”

She sucked in a breath.

This was it.

Her final goodbye.

“I hope when you take your last breath, you think of me, and youregret every single hateful word you ever said to me. I hope every cruel thing you ever did to me haunts you for all of eternity in hell.”

Freddy stared back at his daughter, a cold expression on his face.After everything she’djustsaid, he couldn’t even find it in himself toshow the tiniest hint of remorse. She would have had more of a reaction talking to a brick wall.

“I’m done, Daddy. I want to go home,”Cora said, her tone hard.

“Daddy?” Freddy snorted. “Fucking hell, Cora. You really are messed up.”

I ground my teeth. If I didn’t want to scare the life out of my girl, I’dhave followed up on my threat to make it sothatFreddy couldn’t speak again.

Soon.

With my hand still on her lower back, I guided her out of the cell,pride thundering through methatshe’d held herself together long enough to get everything out. When she got home, I was sure reality would hit, but she’d get through it because I would be there for her.

Every step of the way.

“Go on up to Nash, baby girl,”I said, kissing her on her forehead.“I’llbe home once I’m done. ”

She didn’t move for a few seconds, her eyes darting back to the celldoor, and I briefly wondered if she was going to ask to stay. There was no chance ofthathappening though.

But she didn’t ask. She tore her gaze away from the door, looking tome with relief shining in her eyes.“I love you, Daddy. Thank you for coming back for me.”

My lips pulled up into a smile on one side.“There will never be aday when I don’t come for you, Cora.” I placed a delicate kiss on her perfect mouth, relishing the feel of her lips against mine. “Now go on, get going so I can get this done and come home to you.”

I waited until she’d reached the top of the stairs before I went backinto Freddy, closing the door behind me with a thud.

He watched me warily as I slowly stalked toward him.

“I suppose this is the part where you tell me I’ll never be able to hurther again because I’m about to die, blah, blah, blah,”Freddy said, trying to sound like he wasn’t shitting his pants.

I chuckled. “I didn’t realize you were so keen to die, Freddy. But youare right, you are going to die,justnot yet. Not until you’ve told me everything I want to know about Cora’s mom.”

By the time I washed Freddy’s blood off my knuckles, I wasexhausted. All I wanted to do was go home and check on Cora, but there was one more thing I had to take care of.

Lily.

What a fucking twenty-four hours it’d been. The sun was beginning torise on a new day. The first day of the rest of her life where Cora wouldn’t have to worry about her asshole dad.

Brian had arrived to pick Nash, Savannah, and Cora up so Nashcould leave me his car. Brian hadevenbeen good enough to go via the airport and pick up my case so I had fresh clothes to change into after the ones I was wearing got covered in Freddy’s blood.

Thanking Diaz for making arrangements to deal with Freddy’s body, Ijumped into Nash’s car and floored it to Lily’s apartment.

She was on an early shift, so she’d be leaving for work soon. Butthere was no point in her going anywhere; she no longer had a job at Onyx.

I parked the car at the far end of the parking lot before getting out andwaiting near the entrance to the block.When the door opened and she strolled out without a care in theworld, my blood boiled. She had no fucking clue about the damage she could have caused.

The damage she did cause.

“Lily,”I called, stepping out of the shadows where I’d been lingering.

“Fox,”she said, the color draining from her face as I approached her.“I thought you were in Singapore?”

“My trip got cut short. Cora went missing,”I replied, doing my best tokeep my features neutral whenreally, all I wanted to do was let rip.“You wouldn’t know anything aboutthat, would you?”

Her eyes darted around the parking lot as if she were looking forsomeone to come and help her.“Erm…no. Why would I? ”

I shrugged casually.“Thankfully, I found her before she could leavethe city. She was under the impression you and I had been having an affair.”

Her features hardened.“Well, she’s obviously lying. I don’t knowwhere she would have gotthatidea from.”

My temper snapped.“I’ll tell you where she got it from, Lily. You liedthrough your fucking teeth. You convinced herthatI was fucking you behind her back,”I growled menacingly, closing the gap between us.

Panic filled her eyes as she cowered against the side of her car.“No,that…thatdidn’t happen. She’s a liar, Fox. I knew she was no good for you, she’s trying to manipulate you so you cut me out of your life.”

“Quit the bullshit, Lily. Did you forgetthatI have a camera in mydoorbell?”Her face fell, telling methatshe had forgotten about it. Fucking dumbass.“Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?”

“I did it for you, Daddy!”she shrieked, her voice echoing into themorning air.“Thatgirl is poison, she turned you against me!”

Lily calling me Daddy made bile crawl up my throat.Thatname wasreserved for Cora, and Cora alone.

“Fuck sake, Lily. The only person who turned me against you is you,” I bellowed, unable to restrain my fury any longer.

Tears welled in her eyes. Suddenly, she lurched forward, gripping myshirt.“Why can’t you see what she has done to us? I love you! I’ve always loved you! We’re meant to be together, not you andthatwhore!”she cried, desperation in her tone.

I’d never hit a woman, and I didn’t intend on starting now. But if a guyhadjustcalled Cora a whore, he’d never be able to speak again.

I yanked her hands off my shirt, narrowing my eyes on her.“Get it intothatthick head of yours, Lily. I don’t love you. I never loved you. And I never want to see your face again.”I stepped back, putting distance between us. Her eyes widened as if I hadjustslapped her.“We’re done, Lily. In case you haven’t figured it out, you no longer have a job at Onyx. In fact, by the time I’m done, you’ll never work in Vegas again. Stay in the city or get the fuck out of Nevada, I don’t give a fuck.Juststay away from me, and stay away from Cora.”

Her legs buckled, and she collapsed to the floor, a howl leaving herlike she was a wounded animal. If she hadn’t tried to fuck up the best thingthathad ever happened tome, I’d feel a pang of sympathy for her, but she’d brought this on herself.

“Fox, please!”she yelled through sobs as I walked away.“I can’t livewithout you! I don’t want to live without you!”

Her cries had started to attract an audience. Nosey neighbors lookedout of the windows, passersby stopped to see what was going on.

I didn’t reply to her. There was nothing else to say.

Unlocking the car, I slid into the driver’s seat. Across the parking lot,Lily got to her feet, staring over at me before the rumbles of a truck drew her attention.

Time slowed down over the next few seconds. Lily turned back toface me, mouthing, ‘I love you,’ before kicking her heels off.

Realizing what she was about to do, I leaped out of the car.

But I was too late.

The truck driver slammed on the brakes as Lily bolted into the road.Screams filled the air. Nausea churned in my gut as I closed my eyes, not wanting to witness the moment the truck collided with Lily.

But I couldn’t shut my ears off to the sickening thudthatrang out.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was across the parking lot,reaching the group of people who had gathered around the front of the truck .

“I don’t know what happened. She…she came from nowhere,”thetruck driver said, stepping down from the cab, his body shaking like a leaf.

I towered over a man who was checking the body for a pulse, but itwas as plain as day from the mangled mess in front of himthathe wouldn’t find one.

Lily was dead.