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“We’ll see if it fits, okay? Just hurry.”
He rushed upstairs to his room, giving me a moment to get my shit together. I just needed the essentials. Everything else could be replaced. I hurried upstairs, grabbing a duffle out of my closet.
“Clothes,” I said to myself. “Essentials.”
The door creaked open and a shadow emerged. I thought it was Jack and started toward him when I realized Jack was bigger than whoever this was. I stopped in my tracks, debating if I should scream for Jack or tell Parker to run. I never got the chance to do either.
The first shot was muffled, like a silencer was used. I felt the pinch of pain, but didn’t really understand what was happening. I looked at my shoulder, confused when I saw the growing patch of red seeping through my shirt. I slowly looked back at the man in my house.
“You shot me.”
He finally stepped into the light, his features bathed in moonlight, reminding me of the night I first saw him in the club. Only he was smoother, less frightening back then. I stumbled back a step, nearly tripping over my own feet.
“What do you want?”
“I want you dead. You ruined my life.”
I shook my head in confusion. “I ruined—” A bubble of laughter burst from my lips. I should be panicking. I should be doing something other than standing here with this man.
“You sided with that traitor. You stole my son from me” he said, taking another step toward me. His gun was still pointed at me, but I was pretty sure he wouldn’t put a bullet in my shoulder the next time.
“Rico, he was never your son.”
“Don’t play innocent with me. I never fell for your act. That whole innocent look on your face, like you didn’t know who I was at the club. It was all a lie!”
He was insane, which I always knew, but now had proof, and I found that very disturbing.
“Rico, I didn’t know who you were then, and if I wanted you, don’t you think I would have tried to get you at some point over the last five years?”
He fired the gun again, making me jump as it missed my head by less than an inch. I felt the air shift as it passed my cheek, lodging in the wall behind me. The confusion faded to absolute fear. He was unhinged, and if I didn’t get him under control, he might really kill me, or worse, get to Parker.
“Look,” I said, my voice coming out shaking and scared. “You can run. I won’t say a thing. I just want to live my life?—”
He charged me, grabbing me by the throat as he slammed me up against the wall. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. For just amoment, all I could think about was the lack of oxygen and how terrified I was that I would never see my son again. His face flashed in my mind, but then I saw Jack’s face and something changed in me. My heart calmed and peace settled over me. I wasn’t a scared woman who didn’t stand up for herself. That had never been who I was.
I stopped struggling and sucked in what little air I could. Then I went on the attack. I slammed my knee up into his balls. He gasped, bending over and wheezing, but it didn’t stop him. He wrapped his arms around my body, slamming back against the wall again. The wind was knocked out of me, leaving me dizzy and reeling. The first hit to the stomach was the most indescribable pain I’d ever felt, but the second had me crumpling to the ground.
“Mama?”
I looked into the hall, seeing my son stand with his bear and tears running down his face. I would not allow him to see me go down. I had to survive for him, no matter the consequences.
“Run!” I shouted, taking Rico’s attention off me just long enough to attack.
I jumped to my feet just as Rico turned his back on me. I leapt on his back, screaming as I slammed my fist into the side of his head. He spun me around several times, then rammed me into the wall again, but I held on.
I could hear Parker screaming in the hall, but couldn’t stop now. If I did, we were both dead. Rico stepped forward, then slammed me into the wall again. If he kept this up, I would be done in no time. I slid my hand over his forehead, then shoved my fingers into his eyeballs. Something disgusting seeped under my nails, making me want to puke. But I kept my fingers lodged in his sockets, digging in as he spun me around, then stumbled into the hallway.
We teetered near the stairs and I knew we were going down. His foot slipped and that was it. We both went tumbling down the stairs, my body hitting each ledge painfully until we hit the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
I shoved to my feet, gasping at the pain in my ribs. I had to draw him away from Parker, and the only way to do that was to movefurther away from the stairs. I stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, but just as I turned, Rico crashed into me, slamming my back into the ledge of the counter. I cried out in pain, feeling like I was paralyzed as my back went numb.
He picked me up, hauling me over his shoulder as he spun me around again. With one last ounce of strength, I slammed the knife into his back. He spasmed, tripping and collapsing onto the coffee table, breaking the glass as we crashed through.
My back landed hard on a sharp piece of glass, slicing deep into my back. I could feel my body going into shock, but I had a little bit of fight left in me. I scrambled for a piece of glass, reaching for anything I could use to stop him. He rolled off me, glaring down at me as he raised his fist and hit me square in the jaw. My head snapped to the side with the first hit, but I didn’t have time to move before his second hit. Blood oozed from my mouth and I felt a tooth knock loose.
I stared up at him, gathering all the strength I had in me, spitting my blood all over his face. His eyes turned darker than I’d ever seen before. I knew the end was coming. I scrambled on the ground for a shard of glass, anything I could use to protect myself.
Rico’s hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing the life out of me. I could feel his rage as he stared into my eyes, watching my life slip away. I heard the faint sound of the door breaking open just as my eyes started to drift shut. Gunshots rang out and the hands around my throat disappeared as Rico fell over, slumping to the ground beside me.
