Tongue's Target (Ruthless Kings MC Las Vegas #10) - K.L. Savage Page 0,1

until he was done.

It felt like forever, hearing the hammer hit the nails and him cursing underneath his breath before he opened the door to allow me to crawl back to bed.

He’s going to get me.

I jump on the bed and lift the torn comforter and throw it over me to hide.

If I can’t see the monsters, they can’t see me.

“I swear I should have fucking left you and your mom before it was too late.” He kicks the door with his boot, and I bury my face in the pillow to muffle my cries.

I wish Mommy were here. She always knows how to stop him.

“Fucking bitch,” he swears, and in one last try, he kicks the door again. This time the wood cracks. I hear pieces of wood fly and hit the blanket covering me. I curl into myself tighter and squeeze my eyes shut. “How many times do I have to tell you,” he says between broken breaths. “Not to lock the door.” His hand wraps around my ankle and yanks me out of bed. “How many fucking times, Daphne?” he screams in my face and his spit hits my face.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I say again, even if I know it doesn’t matter.

He never stops.

“Is this what you want?” he asks, waving the Barbie in my face. “Look at me,” he demands, slapping me across the cheek.

I cry out from the hard slap, which only burns more than usual because of the tears wetting my face. I raise my legs to kick him off, but he straddles my hips to keep me still.

He places the head of the doll between his teeth and rips it from her neck. “No!” I cry, slapping him against the chest. I hate him so much. It was the only doll I had. Mommy got it for me for my birthday last year. I don’t get many gifts. Daddy takes all of her money and spends it on those nasty drinks.

I don’t care that it was a toy. I care about it because it was from Mommy.

He spits the head out and it hits me in the face, tumbling to the floor. Then he throws the plastic body across the room. It hits something breakable, maybe the lamp, because in the next instant, it falls to the floor and shatters.

He flips me over and I try to get away from him again, kicking his stomach with my feet, but he’s too strong. “Fucking sick of you and your momma disobeying all the damn time.” He yanks down my pants and holds my head down into the carpet. I brace myself for what’s to come and shut my eyes, a single tear falling down my cheek.

The belt cracks in the air like lightning and rakes sharply across my skin, like fire burning wood.

I keep my mouth shut, like I always do for the first few strikes. He always likes to hear me scream. He likes to hear that he thinks he is getting through to me, but he isn’t. The only thing it does is make me hate him more.

After five lashes, I can’t keep the pain inside anymore. My screams ring in the room and Daddy laughs when I try to get away from him again.

“You get your hands off my daughter!” Glass breaks behind me and Daddy falls to the side groaning.

I scurry away, my butt burning with every inch I move, and I pull up my pants. Daddy is on his stomach, a hand pressed against the back of his head, and an alcohol bottle is shattered all over the room. At least, it smells like alcohol.

“Come on, Daphne, we are getting out of here,” Mommy says, taking my hand in a tight grip and dragging me out the door.

She still has her work uniform on. It’s checkered blue with a white collar, and her apron is black. A groan comes from behind us and we are nearly to the front door when Daddy stumbles against the wall.

“Listen to me,” Mommy squats to the floor so she’s eye level with me. I’m happy that I look like her. We have the same blue eyes and brown hair. “You are going to take this money—” she digs into her apron and takes out a wad of money “—and you’re going to go to the neighbors and call your Aunt Tina, okay?”

The closest neighbor lives through the woods on the other side. My bottom lip wobbles. I’m trying to stop crying, but