Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

We darted up the staircase, pushed through the doors, all of
us spilling onto the roof, and I looked up, immediately
spotting my father with one of his men heading for the edge
and the fire escape.
They whipped around, the guard reaching for his weapon,
but all of a sudden, something flew past us through the air and
slammed right into his forehead, making his neck snap back,
his knees give out, and his body crumple to the floor of the
roof.
What the hell?
A dagger clanked to the ground next to him, the butt of it
having must’ve knocked him out.
I looked over at Rika. She stood in a lunging position with
her arm outstretched.
Then she stood up, straightening and breathing hard.
Yeah, okay.
My father looked at his man on the ground, inhaling long
and deep as he assessed his current situation.
Then he turned his eyes on me.
“You won’t do what it takes,” he said, the glow of the
town’s lanterns and the trees from the park behind him.
Smoke still painted the air.
I took Winter’s hand off my jacket, touched her face, and
pulled away, approaching him as everyone else stayed back.
“I did once,” I said, thinking of my mother. “Did you
really think she’s just been lying on a beach this entire time?”
He thinned his eyes on me and cocked his head, almost
looking impressed. He must’ve suspected my mother was
dead. She hadn’t surfaced in years.
And he knew that if she didn’t stay away and leave me
alone that I’d make her leave me alone.
“You let it happen,” I bit out, stepping forward again and
then stopping. “You let her do those things to me.”