ric’s POV:

Meadow had blood running from her nostril and forehead, and even when I nced at her hair, bI /bcould see something dark tinting the already dark length.

The smell of her blood was going to haunt me for a long fucking time.

She was limp in my arms, her cheeks pressed against my chest, her breaths too fucking shallow. I held her like she was made of porcin, because if I didn’t–I’d snap the other way.

And kill someone.

What the hell did they do to my baby girl?

I’d returned from work not too long ago, expecting to see Meadow waiting in the guest suite for my return, but instead, I met an empty home–save for Mel.

She said that she wasn’t able to stop Meadow as she’d just slipped past her, but that she seemed agitated about something.

The moment she said that, I instantly knew that Meadow was here.

West’s eyes widened slightly as he watched me approach the car with my baby girl in my arms, and he pulled open the door to the backseat so I could ce her inside.

She moaned in pain, her brows furrowing even in her fairly unconscious state.

It took every single cell in my body to not get back into that fucking apartment and torture Tyler fucking Cross until he begged for death.

Too soon. It was too soon.

Trip, my bodyguard, had knocked them out cold. But that was barely a cover so they wouldn’t see my face.

It wasn’t enough.

I turned to face Trip who had juste to stand beside me. He kept his eyes on mine, awaiting my orders.

And maybe it wasn’t exactly time to deal with them yet, but that didn’t mean I was going to let them go scot–free.

“Take herbi,/i/bbi” /i/bI said, my voice like gravel.

His eyes narrowed slightly. He knew what I was talking about. “Are you sure, sir?”

I clenched my jaw. “Take her,” I repeated. “Tonight, Quietly. And make sure she doesn’t see anything.”

+15 bBONUS /b

He nodded once. “And the guyb?/bb” /b

I nced at Meadow lying helplessly in the car and my eyes shed. I wanted nothing bmore /bthan bto /brip his hands boff/bb, /bcut off his dick and feed it to him, watching him choke on his own memberb. /b

I saw fucking red.

But I couldn’t touch him. Not yet. Because if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. And that would bruin /b

everything. No leverage. No strategy. No revenge.

bNo /breason for Meadow to stay.

Just blood.

So I swallowed it.

“Rough him up a bit.” The words felt like bile on my tongue. “And leave the rest to me. I deal with my

employees personally.b” /b

Trip nodded just as I got in the backseat of the car, and West didn’t hesitate to start the car and drive us to the hospital.

In the car, bI /bdidn’t let go of Meadow. I was afraid to. Afraid that she’d just slip right out of my fingers

before I even had her.

I didn’t mean dying. Her injuries weren’t as severe as that. I just meant…

“Fuckb,/b” I cursed again, my chest and stomach roiling with an emotion even more dangerous than anger.

Meadow moaned in my arms again, her eyelids fluttering slightly. “Al… ric?b” /b

Something in my chest tightened. “Shhh…I’m here, baby.”

b“/bbOkay/bb./bb” /bShe sounded relieved. Her voice was barely above a whisper. b“/bbI /bjust wanted… I bw/b–wanted to make

bsure /bbit /bbwasn’t /bba /bdream. That you’re real.”

bMy /bthumb grazed her bloody cheek. “I’m so fucking bsorry /bI waste.”

That’s all I could manage. I never should’ve taken my eyes off that camera. Not even for a single second.

If I’d kept watching her instead of letting her sleep, I’d have known when she woke up. Known when she

left the house.

Meadow slipped into unconsciousness again.

When we pulled into the emergency bay, two nurses were already waiting for us, alerted by a call I’d made only minutes earlier. I stepped out of the car with Meadow in my arms, and both women froze when they saw the state she was in.

+15 bBONUS /b

“She fell,” I snapped, before either of them could ask. “Help her.b” /b

b“/bbOf /bcourse, Mr. Ashford.”

They scrambled into action, wheeling over a stretcher that I refused to use. I carried Meadow all the way into the ER, onlyying her down when one of the nurses insisted. And even thenb, /bmy hand stayed on

hers.

Meadow’s touch made me feel theplete opposite of numb. And I liked numb, but being able to touch her… to feel her touch was better than anything else I’d ever felt.

They started cleaning the blood from her face, hooking her up to the monitors.

One of the nurses eyes narrowed in on her left hand. “Are you… Is she your…” She fumbled bfor /bwords.

“Yes,” I answered, clenching my jaw. “She’s my wife.”

She gave me a faint smile just as the other nurse left to go get a doctor. “She’s luckyb,/bbi” /i/bshe murmured.

No. I was the lucky one.

Lucky I got there when I did. Lucky I wasn’t a few secondste, because if Tyler had raped my girl, I had no fucking idea what I would’ve done.

But it wouldn’t have been pretty.

Trip would’ve had to drag me off a corpse.

Speaking of Trip…

bI /bpulled my phone out of my pocket just in time to see a messagee in from him.

One simple word.

‘Contained.b‘ /b

I stared bat /bbit /bfor a long time before pocketing my phone.

By the btime /bJuniper Russell woke up and realized where she was… she’d already be pumped up with enough sedatives to keep her quiet until I said otherwise.

She needed to be taught a lesson on how bto /btreat family.