“Yes, I am. This woman has lied to you. Come to me now, or you’ll force me to punish you. Mommy doesn’t want to do that.”
Pretty sure that’s a lie.
“No!” Finn shouts at her. “You’re not my mom. Farrah’s my mom. She’s the best Mommy I ever had.” He wraps his little arms around my waist in a desperate hug.
Tears burn behind my eyes from his declaration. I didn’t know he thought of me that way. I don’t have time to let those mushy feelings form.
“How dare you! I go to all this trouble to get my family back, only to have a spoiled little brat ruin it! I will not let this stand.”
In the blink of an eye, she’s crossed the room, slashing the knife through the air. I barely manage to jump out of the way in time, yanking Finn along with me. I pry his arms off me and push him to the door. “Go, Finn. Go now and get help.”
The woman’s eyes widen as he turns to run out the door. I use the moment of distraction to tackle her to keep her from going after him. Her head bounces off the wood floor, and the knife clatters out of her hand.
I scramble off her to grab it, but she reacts faster than I expect, yanking my head back by my hair.
“Fuck you, bitch,” she growls, snatching the knife from the floor and swiping it at my face. I duck in time for it to slice my eyebrow. I grit my teeth against the pain, instinct taking over and keeping me from making a sound. It always made the beatings worse when I screamed.
Blood runs down the side of my face, obscuring half of my vision as I roll to the side before she can attempt to stab me again.
“This was supposed to be mine.” Her sneer is vicious. “Ihad that man eating out of the palm of my hand. You know it was my idea to start the rental cabins? That cash cow is all me. It’s grown beyond what I ever thought it could, and I will not have some two-bit whore taking what I am owed. I’ll kill you first. Then I’ll find that snot-nosed little shit and show him the consequences for betraying his own flesh and blood.”
I’m no match against her vendetta, especially with impaired vision. I need another way out of here, but I don’t have time to come up with much of a plan before she’s lunging at me again.
I keep dodging her, knowing that one of her strikes will eventually hit its mark. I can only hope that Finn is far enough away by the time it lands that he’ll be safe.
“Farrah!” Knox’s bellow distracts me just enough for her to move in. She rushes me before I can stop her. I grip her wrist, but I’m not strong enough to stop the momentum as she plunges the knife straight into my side.
I cry out as the searing pain overtakes me. We fly backward, and the last thing I hear is Knox’s anguished cry as the entire world goes dark.
CHAPTER 44
Knox
“No!” My entire world narrows as I watch Leona tackle Farrah to the floor, and then it shatters with the pained sound coming out of the woman I love.
A red haze descends as I rush over, yanking Leona off Farrah and throwing her onto the floor. Without a second thought, I knock Leona out with a punch straight to her temple before I rush to Farrah. A knife is sticking out of her side as she lies there limply. Blood is running in rivulets from a cut to her eyebrow, and I reach out with shaking hands to find a pulse in her neck.
I sag when I feel a strong heartbeat there. I don’t like that she’s been knocked out, but at least I know she’s alive. I gently press my hands around the knife wound in an effort to slow the bleeding down.
Pounding footsteps have me whirling around, ready to fight whoever I need to. When police officers fly into the room, I relax. I called them on the way out to the house because I had the exact same feeling I had the night Finnalmost died. “I need a paramedic. Farrah’s been stabbed, and she’s unconscious.”
Officer Pritchard calls it in through her radio before turning to Leona. “Is this the offender?”
“Yes. Her name is Leona Waters. She’s my ex-wife. I thought she was in jail. I saw her tackle Farrah to the ground when I came into the house. I yanked her off and had to punch her when she fought back.” That’s mostly a lie, but I was not about to hold Leona down and wait for the police to arrive while Farrah bled out right next to me. I had no idea how close behind me they’d be.
Officer Pritchard follows up on her last call out with a request for a second ambulance. When the paramedics rush toward Farrah, I step back and let them do their job.
I’m looking around as it dawns on me that my son isn’t here. “Where’s Finn?” Panic has me rushing throughout the house, calling his name.
“Daddy!” His scream comes from outside, and I sprint out there. He’s standing in the middle of the yard with a police officer, tears streaming down his face. I wrap him in my arms, holding him to my chest. Sobs rack his body as he holds onto me as tight as he can.
My own tears flow with my relief that he’s okay. At least physically, as far as I can tell. “Are you hurt? Did she hurt you?”
Finn shakes his head. “Is Mommy okay?”
I’m momentarily struck dumb as I try to figure out why Finn would ask if Leona was fine.
“Farrah made me run away when the scary lady attacked her. Is she okay?”
