* * *
The memory fadesas I watch him get the cuffs and I shake with fear of being tied up again. Of being helpless. The past endears me to Haydes, but he shattered that home-like feeling. I can barely stand to look at him. Those feeling stings, badly.
“No. I don’t…” He lunges for me, and I dodge him. He’s faster than me and he catches up to me as I’m rounding the coffee table. Haydes doesn’t hesitate to push me against the wall. He tries to snatch my arms behind me, but I’m fighting. I’m struggling to get the upper hand, and he can’t keep me pinned down. Not with me moving the way I am. I’m like a slippery fish out of water trying to get back to the cool crisp undercurrent.
“Charlotte, calm the fuck down.” He roars near my ear, and I strike. I throw my entire weight against him and my head butts into his nose. He howls in pain, but my focus is getting away from him. I turn in time to see him stumbling around, holding his nose. He’s dropped the cuffs and I kick them away. The metal against my toes is painful but I don’t take the time to assess.
I don’t say a word. I shove him against his chest, and he grabs on to my right arm. He falls over onto the coffee table with me on top of him. My first thought is, is the baby in danger? The second thought is, I must get out of here. I must get out of here. He’s not holding me to him, so I move. I’m free to get up and I do so quickly.
He’s lying there, a piece of wood sticking out of his arm. I feel sick to my stomach at the sight of the wood sticking up and him bleeding all over the place.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I bolt for the front door. Although I feel betrayed, I don’t want to hurt Haydes. I never want to hurt anyone. My heart is racing, causing my breathing to quicken.
“That’s not going to work, Charlotte.” He huffs and I turn to see him getting up.No.I must get out of here.
I run toward the kitchen. Grabbing a knife, I prepare to defend myself. I don’t want to stab Haydes, but if I have to, I will. He taught me how to wield a knife when I was younger in case any of the foster parents or siblings tried to harm me.
“Stay back Haydes. Please, don’t…”
“Charlotte, this has to stop. I wasn’t going to hurt you.” I hear a thud and I peek over the counter to see him back on the floor.
Yeah right.I roll my eyes and keep the knife out in front of me. I move from the kitchen and stare at him. He’s trying to crawl from the table, and I know this isn’t good. I should feel bad he’s hurt, but I don’t. His betrayal… I can’t even finish my thought.
Stifling a sob, I keep my front facing him as he crawls closer. I make my way to the back of the house. There’s no definite answer as to where another door leading outside might be found. But I must get away from him. As I make my way down a hallway, I try every knob on every door. I see a table, and there’s a phone there. I don’t contemplate whether to pick up the phone. I just do it.
I turn and see the French doors leading to the backyard. “Oh, thank you,” I whisper. I try the door handle and it’s unlocked.Thank God.I run out of the house. I’m hoping he won’t be able to follow me because he’s too weak to try.
Hands trembling, tears running down my face and fear almost crippling me, I let go of the knife to use the phone. The phone has a passcode on it and I don’t know the first thing about breaking into a phone. I sigh and hit an emergency button. I don’t know what it will do but it’s a crap shot that it would do anything.
“You’ve reached Detective Torrez with the Timberland Police Department. If you have an emergency, please hang up and dial 911. If you are calling about a case, please leave a message with your name and number and I’ll get back to you.”
I hang up. The name Torrez comes back into my mind, and I am transported back to when my mother died. I shake my head and throw the phone down. There is no one to call. I should call 911, but I don’t even know where I am. It doesn’t matter. I’ll keep running until I come across someone.
When I saythat I went ballistic after seeing Charlotte pregnant, I mean it. I turned into a wild animal, killing everyone in my path that knew who the fuck Haydes was. All three of us have. Hypnos kills only when necessary. It’s been necessary. Right now, I’m looking at five dead fuckers who refused to give us answers. It’s been that way all damn day.
Hypnos has been scouring the internet and phone lines for a trail that we could use. The slums were a dead end. Our contact in the neighboring city knew where Haydes was a few months ago and we hit the place. We found the cave he had. The pictures of Charlotte in all stages of life were insane. I’ve never felt rage like I’m feeling now.
I can’t get to my Little Rabbit fast enough and if I don’t get to her, I may just die. Yeah, it’s that extreme, and I don’t give a fuck. As I walk from the area we made for torturing people in the woods, my phone rings.
“Talk to me.”
Hypnos speaks too fast for me to understand the first time.
“Say that again, Hypnos.” I could have sworn he said he just got a ping on Haydes’ phone.
“I said that Haydes just used his phone. He called a number for exactly twenty–five seconds. I’ve got the cell tower, and it’s less than a fifteen-minute drive from us. Come on, we got to go.”
I place the phone in my pocket, and I run back to the house. Ayres and Hypnos are already in the SUV. I jump into the passenger seat.
“Floor it, Hypnos.”
“No shit,” he retorts as I fasten my seatbelt.
Ayres taps his baseball bat in his lap. He’s nervous. Hell, so am I. I think about what this could mean. Have we finally found the fuck face?
The ride is tense. Every law Hypnos could break, he broke. Red lights meant nothing. Stop signs were invisible. I think we may have caused a few wrecks along the way. Did I give a shit? Nope, not one fuck is given. Right now, we have to get to Haydes. He will lead us to my little rabbit.
As we round a corner, we come to a gated community. The gate is closed but Hypnos rams right through it. Ayres laughs and I bounce in the seat as we go barreling through. My heart is racing with the idea of finally getting our girl back.
