Page 26 of Claimed By Daddy
My axe.
I grumbled the whole way home about leaving my axe behind. Would she have gone to get it? Fuck. Do I even need to ask? Of course she would. She toes the line of disobedience whenever she thinks she can get away with it, just to see what I'll do. Just because she wants me to punish her.
I turn and jog down the footpath, dodging roots and pebbles as I race toward the clearing where I felled the tree a few hours ago.
I try like hell not to panic, but it claws at my chest anyway, worst-case scenarios running through my mind in a sick parade.
Is she hurt? Lost? All I can think of is her terrified green eyes searching for me.
No. She's fine. Everything is fine. I'll find her on the path, dragging my axe back, and spank her perfect little ass for scaring me. She'll beg and plead while I fuck her until she promises not to run off again. Everything will be just fine.
I tell myself the same thing over and over…
Until her sharp scream pierces through the silence of the forest, slicing through me like the blade of a knife as it echoes through the trees. The fear in it is unmistakable, sending my heart racing.
I don't think. I just act.
"Lena!" My muscles coil, and I sprint, charging through the underbrush with a roar. I follow the sound of her voice, propelled by a surge of raw fury, desperate to get to her.
I burst out into the small clearing within seconds, only to bellow with rage again when I see her, my axe and her phone on the ground beside her. Some motherfucker has her backed up against a tree, lunging at her, laughing.
She looks so small, so afraid…
"Get the fuck away from her, you motherfucker!" I slam into the man, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Before he can even register what's happening, I'm on top of him, my hands closing around his throat in an iron grip.
"Touch her, and I'll fucking kill you," I growl, my voice a low, lethal promise as I tighten my grip around his throat.
His eyes widen with fear, laughter dying on his lips. He struggles under me, but it's useless. Years of military training have made me stronger, faster. There's no chance he can shake me off.
It takes everything I have not to kill him here and now, but I can't do that. Not with Lena standing here, watching. Not when she needs me.
I drive my fist into his face instead. Bone breaks beneath my hand with a sickening crunch. I hit him a second time, and then a third. His eyes roll back, his body going limp.
I peel myself off him, pausing only long enough to make sure the bastard isn't going to move anytime soon, and then turn to her. She's huddled against the tree, her body shaking as she sobs quietly.
"Are you okay, Lena?" I ask, my voice hoarse with fear.
She nods wordlessly, her bottom lip quivering.
"Did he hurt you, pretty baby?"
She shakes her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Carver," she whimpers, and I fucking break.
"Shh, little angel, I've got you." I pull her into my arms, cradling her up against my chest, my own body shaking. Her hot tears soak into my shirt, each one a testament to how close I almost came to losing everything.
I can't lose her. Christ, I can't.
"I'm s-s-sorry," she whimpers, clutching at me like I'm the only thing keeping her grounded.
"You're safe now. Daddy's here." I choke on emotion I can't keep at bay, not with her in my arms. Not with how close I almost came to losing her.
I thought hell was surviving when most of my men died overseas. I was wrong. Losing her because I wasn't careful enough with her…that's hell, a torture unlike any other. She's my fucking world, and she could have been ripped from it because I wasn't watching closely enough. Because I didn't protect her.
Never again. It'll never happen again.
"Please…don't leave me," she pleads between sobs, each sad word wrapping around my heart and squeezing tight.