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She didn't listen to anything else.
Just shoved her phone into her pocket and ran to the living room.
Hannah skidded to a stop when she came through the door.
A man around her age stood in the living room with Asher in his arms.
He also had a gun.
She had a paralyzing phobia of guns.
Even the sight of one was enough to have her go basically into a trance.
But she couldn’t do that right now.
Her daughter’s life depended on her holding it together.
Help was coming, she just had to keep the man here and talking until then.
“Noelle, come to mommy,” she ordered her daughter. Reading the tone in her voice, Noelle immediately ran over. Grabbing her daughter, she shoved her out of the room. “Go to your room. Now.” Noelle looked like she wanted to cry, but instead she did as she was told, and Hannah said a quick prayer of thanks that her usually stubborn daughter had for once done as she was asked without trying to argue or negotiate. With her daughter out of the way, she just had to find a way to get herself and Asher away from the stalker. “Put him down,” she said, trying to infuse into her voice confidence she didn't feel.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” the man warned. “I don’t want to hurt you or your daughter. I just need to take Samara’s nephew so they stop trying to keep us apart. I won't do anything to hurt him. When they give me Samara, I’ll give him back.”
“He’s scared. Please, just give him to me, and you can stay here and wait for Samara. She’s coming. She wouldn’t want you to hurt Asher, she loves him. I was going to make the kids grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken nuggets for lunch. I can make some for you as well, then we can just sit at the table and wait for Samara to get here, then we can sort all of this out.”
For a moment it looked like he was going to do as she said, but then he shook his head. “I don’t think so. You seem nice, but the others aren’t. They don’t want Samara and me to be happy. Everything will be okay.” He said it like he truly meant to console her, but nothing was okay. This man was here in her home, and he had a gun. “Just stay right there, and when they come tell them I won't hurt the kid so long as they let Samara come to me,” the stalker said.
There was no way she could stand back and let this man justwalk out of here with Asher. The little boy was squirming, trying to get out of the man’s arms, he wasn't crying yet, but his big brown eyes were watery. “Please, just give him to me.”
“Stand back,” the man’s eyes grew dark, and he raised the gun pointing it directly at her. Her entire body was shaking violently, and she could barely focus on anything other than the barrel of the gun.
“I can’t let you take him.” She tried to tear her gaze away from the gun but couldn’t.
He muttered something under his breath, then stalked toward her.
She screamed, sure he was about to kill her, her unborn child, and then her daughter before fleeing with Asher.
The man reached her, standing right in front of her. She tried to reach for Asher, hoping to tear him from the man’s arms.
The butt of the gun swung down, connecting with the side of her head.
The blow stunned her, her vision went cloudy, and she dropped to her knees as the world spun wildly around her.
Another blow struck her in the back of the head, and she fell into unconsciousness.
*****
12:08 P.M.
“You don’t leave my sight for a second,” Michael ordered as they pulled up in front of Hannah’s house.
Samara nodded, much too vigorously, hurting her neck.
“I mean it,” Michael added.
“Okay,” Samara said because she knew he wanted a verbal acknowledgment. He hadn't wanted her to come. In fact, he had all but handcuffed her to the off-duty cop who had been helping out and watching her house. But she had to come here. Thiswas all happening because of her, and she wasn't going to be sidelined anymore.
Just as they climbed out of the car, another car came screeching to a stop half in the street half in the driveway.
