Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(72)

“I c-can’t,” she finally managed to say on a terrified sob.

“Okay, I understand,” he told her. “Let’s go back to the house,” he suggested, and terror-filled shakes racked her body.

“Okay, we’ll just sit right here,” he compromised.

She allowed him to help her to the ground. Her neighbors were all out of their houses, looking to see what all the commotion was about, and someone placed a blanket over her and Lily. Kian sat next to her, his arm around her.

They didn’t speak. They just sat there as he rubbed her shoulder. Soon the ambulance showed up, and she still couldn’t release Lily, not even when she was placed on a stretcher and lifted inside the ambulance. She was still in fight-or-flight mode, and all she knew was that she had to save her niece. She must save her niece—her daughter. Lily was her daughter now. She was hers, and she had to save her.





Chapter Twenty-Seven

There were times in a man’s life when basic instinct was all that kept you alive. There were times when you shut off everything except adrenaline and rage. When Kian had pulled up to Roxie’s house, intent on giving her a piece of his mind for leaving, he’d realized exactly what that meant.

Her curtains were open, and a man was standing in front of her holding a knife. He’d taken about five seconds to call 911, to tell them a murder was about to happen, then he’d left his phone on, dropped on the front seat of his pickup truck, and he’d charged the front door.

In his rage, he’d kicked it in without a moment’s hesitation, and then he’d lunged. He’d had the advantage on the attacker, as he’d come out of nowhere, but the man had been big, and he’d managed to get a couple of swipes of his blade into Kian. But there had been no way Kian was allowing that man to harm his family.

He’d subdued the man, and he’d seriously planned on ending his life so he could never be a threat to anyone again, but the cops showed up damn fast when he didn’t want them to. Before he could strangle the man, he’d been pulled off him. It hadn’t taken the cops, who just so happened to be family friends, to figure out who the attacker was in the situation. As soon as they had the man cuffed and secured in the police car, Kian had found Roxie. She was in shock and holding on to Lily for dear life.

And he loved her. She’d done everything within her power to save their daughter. He had been able to tell what was happening when he’d glanced in that window, and he knew she was trying to keep the man from Lily. Kian couldn’t love her any more than he already did.

She would sacrifice herself for Lily, and that was something a lot of women couldn’t say or wouldn’t do. There were many people out there who would say that they would die for those they loved. But Kian knew they were empty words. Most people had a basic survival instinct, and when it came down to it, they wouldn’t make the ultimate sacrifice.

A shudder passed through his body, and he was terrified to think about what could have happened if he hadn’t come over. He’d taken his time, as if to prove to her he didn’t have to chase her right away. What a foolish man he’d been. His stubborn pride could have cost him the life of the woman he loved, and his precious daughter who’d now been attacked twice before she was even four years old. That was so incredibly sick, it made him want to find the man again and beat him into a bloody pulp.

He’d begged the chief of police for two minutes alone with the attacker, and though his friend had told him he’d love to give Kian that time, he couldn’t do it. Then Kian would become the guilty party, and he wasn’t going to do that to him. For Kian to get his hands around that man’s neck, he’d be willing to pay the price.

As he looked across the room at his beautiful daughter, he realized instantly that wasn’t true. He would die for her, he’d even go to prison for her, but he wouldn’t do something foolish that would prevent him from spending more time with his baby girl.

Roxie hadn’t needed stiches. The cuts were superficial, thankfully, and Lily hadn’t been touched this time. Well, she hadn’t been hurt, he clarified. When Roxie had calmed down enough to tell him what she’d found when she’d opened Lily’s bedroom door, he completely understood her terror and shock. He was so grateful that she’d been able to maintain a cool head. He wasn’t sure he’d have reacted the same way. He was just glad he wasn’t the one to open that door.

“Lily Bear, how are you feeling?” Roxie asked. Her voice was a little hoarse from her screams, but it was now calm. She was almost back to normal.

“Good,” she said as she clung to Roxie’s side. The need to hold his daughter was overwhelming. It was taking all the power he had to stay in the chair. His arm was patched, and he’d been given a drug to calm him, though he hadn’t wanted that. The doc in charge had said it was better than him smashing things up. Maybe his friend was right.

“Can I tell you something special?” Roxie asked Lily.

She looked up at Roxie with her trusting dark eyes and nodded.

“You see Kian over there?” Roxie asked. Kian smiled as Lily looked at him and waved.

“Yeah,” she said. Damn, he loved her so much.

“He’s your daddy, baby girl, and that means he loves you to the moon and back,” Roxie said, choking up on the last words.

Kian’s heart lodged in his throat as she finally told his daughter who he was. He couldn’t imagine the heartbreak he’d feel if she didn’t accept him as such.