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“We have to deal with her,” Arthur insisted.
“Arthur, shut up,” Minji ordered, brushing past him.
Ava completely ignored him, following Minji.
“Minji, I’m so sorry about the girls,” Simone said falling into step beside her. “I was going to go look for them as soon as I roused Jesse, but he’s still under.”
“He’s not awake yet?” The sick dread growing in Minji’s gut was now boiling.
Simone shook her head. “No, he’s not. Minji, I don’t think he’s going to wake up this time.”
From within the break room came a steady thumping noise. Crossing the threshold, Minji inhaled sharply. The room was in shambles. The table was shoved to one side and most of the chairs were toppled. The chaos had probably happened when Arthur had lunged for Ava. Jesse was on the far side of the room bouncing off the wall over and over again. From one wrist dangled Ava’s leash.
“I was trying to secure him when you came back,” Simone explained.
Heart sinking, Minji tried not to be selfish and think only of Jake. Without Jesse, she didn’t know how to care for her husband.
“I better stop him,” Simone said before hurrying to Jesse’s side.
The other woman dragged the nurse practitioner away from the wall. His mouth was bruised, but he hadn’t busted his nose though it was swollen and red. Alec skirted around Minji and helped Simone secure Jesse to one of the hooks used by the employees for their coats, purses and umbrellas. Jesse strained at the end of the leash, but it held.
Sinking into a chair, Minji set Bailey on her lap. Movement near the door caught her eye and she pulled Ava close to her, casting a nervous look in Arthur’s direction when he entered the room. The man glared at her while keeping his distance.
“We need to go,” Alec said firmly.
“Not with her.” Arthur thrust a finger in Ava’s direction. “She’s behind this. It’s all her.”
“It’s not Ava,” Minji protested.
“Oh, really?” The sarcasm was thick and Arthur’s distrustful expression was a nasty match.
“We don’t need to talk about this now. We have to go. Arthur, help me with Minji’s husband.” Alec’s voice was pure authority. He hobbled out the door obviously expecting Arthur to follow. Grumbling, Arthur started in the direction of the doorway.
“I’ll take the baby off your hands,” Simone offered.
Minji gratefully held out Bailey to Simone. Though every part of her body was aching, her arms were terribly sore from the day before. Simone’s hands were just closing around Bailey’s waist when Arthur grabbed Ava. Minji thrust Bailey into Simone’s arms and swung about just in time to see Arthur slam Ava into the wall, scrabbling for her throat.
“You’re doing this! You’re killing us! You killed my family!” he howled, his fingers wrapping around the child’s slim neck. “I’m going to stop you!”
Cupping her hands into fists, Minji aimed for Arthur’s jaw and jabbed hard. Shocked by the attack, he staggered to one side, breaking his hold on Ava. Minji immediately swung again, pivoting her upper body as she delivered a powerful cross to the side of his face. Years of kickboxing had created perfect muscle memory and she instantly fell into a fighting stance. It was years of dealing with the occasional jerk while bartending i
n her early twenties that had taught her to fight to win and to win fast. She pummeled Arthur, unrelenting in her assault. Jabbing with her left hand and crossing with her right, she kept the blows flowing, trying to keep Arthur unbalanced from the continual attack. He was bigger, heavier, and male, and she couldn’t let him use that to his advantage. Delivering several side kicks, Minji fought to keep her anger in check.
Simone screamed for Alec.
Arthur surprised her by dodging out of one of her kicks and lunging for her. She managed to get an uppercut to the bottom of his jaw before he could get his hands around her throat. The rage-fueled man grabbed at her arms, but she kept hitting him, keeping her elbows up to protect her face and neck. She was aware of Alec entering the room and shouting, but she didn’t pay him any heed. Hitting a person with the intent to disable was very different from hitting a punching bag or sparring. Ignoring pain and the shocks to her own body, Minji fought Arthur into a corner, ignoring his untrained attacks to her upper body. Finally, she saw her opening and pivoted on one foot, delivering a brutal roundhouse kick to the man’s temple. Arthur hit the wall, slumped, and didn’t move.
Lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet, Minji kept her fists up near her face, waiting.
“You got him down, Minji,” Alec said, edging around her. “Back off.”
“He was trying to kill Ava,” Minji snapped.
Alec cast a questioning look at Simone.
“He grabbed Ava and tried to strangle her,” Simone said.
“She’s the devil,” Arthur spat out, along with blood and a piece of a tooth. “She’s doing this. She’s evil! We have to kill her!”
