Page 45 of Searching for Love

Lucas pulled into the driveway and parked next to a deep blue sedan. He turned off the truck and frowned.

“What?” she asked, suddenly concerned.

“My mom should be at work.” He glanced at his watch. “She always works Sunday afternoons.” He got out of the truck and she followed him up the sidewalk to the door.

“Mom?” Lucas called out after unlocking the front door. “Sophia?”

A banging sound came from somewhere in the home. Lucas took a step forward and then stilled when his mother called out.

“Back here. I’ll be out.” Her voice sounded strained.

She felt his tension double when his mother stepped out from the hallway towards their left. Her hair was slightly messed up, and she had a scared look on her face. It was obvious she had a black eye and was trying to hide it with her hair. She’d been crying and her shirt was ripped in a few places.

“Where’s Sophia?” he asked, moving closer.

“She’s at a friend’s house,” his mother answered loudly, glancing backward.

“Mom?” Lucas asked as a tear slipped down her cheek. He took her shoulders gently, and she cried out as if he’d broken her.

“He’s got her,” his mother whispered to Lucas against his chest.

Lucas shot through the house, rushing back to where his mother had just come from.

Avery was there to catch Lucas’s mother, who fell into her arms, crying out in pain just before passing out.

After settling Emily on the floor, she pulled out her phone and dialed 911. She had seen the numbers on the door of the house and easily told the dispatcher the address as she heard the sounds of a fight happening in the back of the house.

When Sophia ran into the room, a wild look in her eyes, and spotted her mother on the floor, she rushed to her side. Sophia looked worse than her mother did. Her left cheek was red and swollen. Her lip was bleeding and her hair was in tangles. The girl’s clothes were torn and messy like Emily’s were.

“Mom!” Sophia cried. Then she looked up at Avery. “He’s going to kill him. Help him,” she pleaded.

Fear for Lucas shot through her so quickly that she jumped up and rushed down the hallway to the sounds of the fight.

When she entered what appeared to be his mother’s room, Lucas was on the floor hovering over a man and punching the guy over and over again.

“Lucas!” Avery shouted and rushed to stop his next blow. “He’s unconscious,” she said after seeing the man’s eyes closed.

Lucas stilled the moment she touched his arm. “Son of a…” He dropped off as he stood up, standing over the man as if waiting for him to jump up again. “Sophia?”

“She’s with your mother,” Avery answered.

The room was a disaster. Avery didn’t know if the fight had caused the damage or if something had happened before they’d arrived. Since the rest of the home was spotless, she could tell that the mess wasn’t normal.

“Did you happen to call the police?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, they’re on their way.” She held onto his arm. “Is that…”

“Diego.” He nodded, knowing that she was going to ask if the unconscious man on the ground was his and Sophia’s father. He sighed. “Are they okay?” He motioned towards the door.

“I’ll go check.” She turned towards the door.

Both of them had their focus off the man on the floor for a split second. One minute Lucas was standing next to her and, the next, he was falling towards her as Diego pulled on his legs.

They hit the ground with a thud and, thanks to Lucas controlling the fall a little, she landed beside him instead of under his full weight.

Diego jumped up and sprinted past them, out of the door and down the hallway.

By the time they heard Sophia scream, Lucas was up and chasing after the man.