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I race back to the house, grab my phone and keys, and hop in the Mustang, determined to find him and chase him down. I dial 9-1-1 and tell them about the kidnapping and give them a description of Derrick. I hang up and head straight for the highway. He has to be headed there. A few feet ahead I see the pickup truck and haul ass. I dial Davis and tell him to call everyone he knows to come after this guy.
I follow Derrick toward the center of town as he weaves and speeds his way out of the city. He must know I’m following him. As I get closer and closer, I can see through the back window that Raya has woken up. She flings her arms at him and he pushes her off of him. As they turn the corner and near the interstate ramp, she jumps for the wheel and yanks it to the left, causing the truck to slide into the side of a sedan and spin out as it slams into the side wall of a nearby building.
I drive up behind the truck and hop out of the Mustang, “Raya!”
The driver’s side door opens and out comes Derrick, holding on to Raya with a gun pointed at her. Blood trickles down her face as she sobs. Her busted lips are starting to swell up and she has lacerations all over her body from the shattered glass.
I raise my arms in surrender, “Look, let her go. She’s not the one you want. You want somebody, then here I am. Take me. Leave her behind.”
Derrick shouts, “She’s all I’ll ever want. You were the one who took her from me. My sweet, sweet angel. I won’t give her up. She is mine.”
In that split second, Raya shouts, “No! I was never your angel and I never will be.” Then she elbows him in the gut and slams her heel into his foot, causing him to buckle over. He smacks her across the face and throws her to the ground. “You fucking bitch!”
He aims his gun at her but I rush into him before he can shoot. Slamming his body into the concrete floor, I pound my fists into his face. I can feel the bones in his face crack as I unleash my rage and hatred onto this man. Blood spurts from his nose and teeth are knocked out of his mouth. I continue to hit and hit until I hear Raya scream, telling me to stop. I look over to see Raya sprawled out on the floor and hear the sirens of police cars in the distance.
I stand and walk over to Raya, bending down to sit her upright until I hear a shot fire. A sharp pain and a strange warmth starts to fill my chest and I look down
to see blood slowly stain my shirt.
I hear Raya scream, “No! Duke! Oh God, no!”
My body starts to slide to the ground as an immense pain seeps into my bones. Raya lays her head on my chest as her wails and howls of horror echo around us. Suddenly, everything starts to blur and her screams begin to fade away. I shake my head to try to clear my senses.
Derrick is hovering over her, preparing to yank her off me. She looks into my eyes and softly nods her head, smiling with a sense of determination and malice. I faintly hear the rummage of glass as Derrick yanks her off of me and stands her close to him.
“Let the bastard rot in hell. Like I promised, you are mine and always will be.”
Then, in an instant, Raya swiftly moves her hand toward his neck and stabs him with a shard of glass. He immediately lets go of her and reaches to pull out the glass. Blood begins to gush from his neck and he tries to stop the bleeding with his hand. Raya stands back and watches as his eyes go wide with shock and terror at the imminent death that awaits him. He slowly begins to sink to the ground, and just as he hits the floor, Raya bends down to whisper, “And I promised you that one day I would kill you.” Derrick tries his best to grab for her but his strength slowly diminishes. As he takes his final breath, he chokes on his blood and a tear runs down his face.
Raya rushes to my side and pounds my chest with tears pouring down her face. “Duke, please. Please don’t leave me. I need you, Duke. You’ll be fine. You’re going to make it. You hear me? You’re going to make it.”
I look into her eyes and reach up to touch her face as I hear the sirens getting closer. My body is trembling profusely and I don’t even feel pain anymore. Everything is numb. I look at her one last time and mouth, “I love you.”
Raya
The beeping of the heart monitor is at a constant pace. Sweat runs down my face as I try to breathe through the pain. I clinch my teeth and pant through the next contraction. I cry out as the agony of it rips through my body.
Melanie holds on to my wrist, “Breathe, Raya, breathe.”
I growl at her, “I am breathing. This shit hurts!”
In that moment, the doctor comes in followed by the nurse. He places my feet into the stirrups and checks me, ensuring that I’m fully dilated. The doctor says everything is good to go and tells me to push when the next contraction comes along.
I shake my head, “No, not yet. I have to wait.”
The doctor responds, “Ma’am, you will have to push once you’re ready. You can’t refuse to push.”
“No, he has to be here. I promised him I would wait.”
Suddenly, Duke comes running through the door and races to my side.
“I’m here, I’m here!”
The doctor looks at Duke, “Are you the father, Mr. Grayson?”
He shouts, “Hell yes, I’m the father! Now let’s get this baby out!”
He looks down at me and rubs my cheek. “You can do it, baby, just breathe. Push through and we’re done.”
