He grunts and throws a punch back at me, unexpectedly.
The unexpected hit lands against my cheekbone, pain flashing bright and instant.
“Daddy!”Mackenzi’s horrified gasp slices through the foyer.
I turn sharply, snapping my head over my shoulder. She stands, frozen, near the entryway to the foyer, her eyes wide with shock. The momentary distraction costs me. Hawk and Jagger grab me, hauling me off the ambassador before I can land another punch.
I fight them out of pure instinct, seeing red so completely I barely register Hawk barking, “Damon! Easy!”
“Get the fuck off me!”
The ambassador slowly pushes himself up from the floor, breathing hard. Blood stains his mouth as he smooths one trembling hand down the front of his ruined suit jacket. “I’m okay, sweetheart,” he says toward Mackenzi.
“She’s not fucking talking to you,” I snarl.
Silence detonates across the foyer, and I watch the realization dawn on him in real time. The ambassador’s eyes shift abruptly toward me, then Mackenzi, before landing back on me again. The gears turn visibly, and I can’t help the smirk that curves across my lips.
His face turns red, his anger suddenly matching mine. He surges forward. “You’re old enough to be her fucking father.”
Jagger catches him, locking an arm across his chest before he can get to me. “Trust me,” Jagger deadpans, holding the ambassador firmly, “that’s not a good idea. First off, he’s a trained killer. Second, he’sreallyfucking pissed you put his girl in danger.”
The ambassador tenses at the wordshis girl.
Gunnar steps between everyone like the exhausted voice of reason. “Everybody, calm the fuck down.”
“I’m fucking calm,” I snarl, shrugging out of Hawk’s hold.
Mackenzi rushes to me before anyone can stop her. The second she is close enough, her arms fly around me. She looks at the bruise already forming on my cheekbone, and concern floods her expression despite everything. She lifts her hand, and her fingers delicately touch my tender cheek. I soften instantly, placing my hand gently over hers. “I’m okay.”
Jagger is still restraining the ambassador, who looks one second away fromtryingto kill me. “I’m going to let you go,” Jagger speaks slowly, annunciating every word like he’s talking to an idiot, “But again,trained killer.”
There’s a war raging behind the ambassador’s eyes. He wants to come at me. I know he does. But he also knows there’s a very real possibility I’ll put him in the fucking ground if he touches me again.
The ambassador straightens, adjusting his tie. “You’re all fucking fired the second I get another team on the ground.”
I laugh, fury crashing over me again before I roar, “We’ve been taking men out of here in fucking body bags. One who was seconds from getting to Mackenzi”—I pull her tighter against my side—“because they camefor her.”
The ambassador wipes a trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Convenient target,” he mutters. “Opportunity?—”
Enraged, I cross the foyer in two strides, fist the front of his expensive shirt, and slam him backward against the wall hard enough to rattle a painting beside his head. “No,” I hiss. “You fucking piece of shit. They came forher. Not you.Her.”
The ambassador’s face hardens beneath my grip. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit.” My hand tightens in his shirt. “You fucking lied to us.Youaren’t the target.Sheis.”
Behind me, Mackenzi’s breathing hitches, and I feel a tinge of guilt that this is how she’s finding out.
“Damon,” Hawk warns, but I ignore him.
“They weren’t after you,” I spit. “They didn’t come for you in your cushy penthouse hotel room. Those men waited until you were gone. Then they went straight upstairs. Straight to her.”
Dad…” Mackenzi whispers, her fingers curling into the back of my shirt, silently asking me to release him. “What did you do?”
Her question lands harder than any punch I threw.
“Kenzi—”
“What did you do?” Her voice cracks as she shouts over him, and the sound tears through me.
