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Every part of me froze. My bones. My skin. My heart. Andrea pointed that gun at my chest, and I stumbled back toward the door.
She waved the gun. “Don’t fucking move.”
My heart started back up, but every thump was a single name.Huey. Huey. Huey.I willed him to stay asleep. Prayed to my parents to keep him quiet and safe. Maybe she’d forgotten he existed. Maybe she thought he was with the guys.
Andrea gestured with the gun. “Toward the bed, whorebag. This only works if you’re on your back, but that should be your natural position, right?”
I moved, my hands out in front of me. I tried to think about the self-defense classes my mom had made me take in high school. I’d complained, of course. I’d told her I was smart—I wasn’t going to be walking around late at night, or in shitty neighborhoods, or going on dates with psychopaths. She’d said most men were good, but some were bad, and the problem was that sometimes they were indistinguishable from each other until it was too late. So it was better to know how to protect yourself.
She probably never thought I was going to be attacked by deranged journalists, though.
I moved toward the bed, because that moved her focus away from the room where Huey lay sleeping. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I watched her, barely blinking. “Why are you doing this? I don’t understand.”
Andrea snorted, her eyes so wide I could see the whites around her irises. “He was meant to be mine. Hewasmine until you came along. Sure, he had Marissa—that dumb bitch—but I knew they just had an arrangement. He was a professional, and he respected my career too much to out us as a couple. She was just a ruse.”
Woah. Crazy town had arrived. I wasn’t stupid enough to provoke her, though. “You’re ready now?” I said softly, like her spiel was completely legit. “I have Devan and Rigby. If you say River is yours, then he’s yours.”Over my fucking dead body.
Andrea narrowed her eyes. “Oh, you think you can just give me what’s already mine and I’ll thank you? Fuck off. The only way he’ll truly get over you is if you’re dead. Dead as your shitty parents. Dead as his shitty parents. We’ll raise his nephew together. I’ll be an amazing mother. Where is he?”
My breathing became ragged. “Huey isn’t here. He’s with Rigby today.”
“I think you’re a fucking liar. Let’s check, shall we? Maybe it would be best if we ruin your whole family line. I mean, every time he looks at that bastard, he’s going to think of you, right? I’m going to pin this on Devan, because I’ve always hated that fucker. Thinks he’s so much better than everyone else. Like he isn’t a petty fucking criminal.” She laughed. “Honestly, you’ve set this up for me perfectly. A crime of passion. He couldn’t stand the fact that his best friends were fucking you too. It’s a tale as old as time.”
She started toward the other room, and I panicked. “Wait!”
But she ignored me. Keeping her gun trained on me, she was almost at the door to the room where Huey was sleeping. It was now or never.
I ripped the lamp from the side table and threw it at her head. I wasn’t an athlete, so she ducked it easily. But that meant taking her eyes off me. I dived for her stomach, taking her down to the ground, but she still had hold on the gun. Grabbing the arm holding the gun, I wrestled it up and then bit her hard on the fleshy part of her bicep.
“Argh! You fucking bitch!” But she loosened her hold on the gun, although a shot went off and hit the window with a cracking sound. Yanking the gun away and tossing it behind us, praying it went under the bed and into the hands of the dust bunnies, I wasn’t focused enough to dodge the headbutt that came right at my face. I reared back, my vision going white then black, before she was on top of me again. Her forearm was now pressing down on my throat, cutting off the oxygen. She wasn’t big, but she was fucking crazy.
I went for her eyes, turning my head so she didn’t crush my windpipe, but I knew I only had a few seconds before I passed out and was done for. I got a hand to her face and a thumb in her eyeball, making her pull back a little and giving me some airflow, but not enough to get her off of me.
I was fucked. So fucked.
I kicked my legs and lifted my hips, trying to get back on top, but she was back to pressing down on my windpipe. I continued to struggle, because I wasn’t leaving Huey alone with this psycho. I couldn’t.
Blackness danced at the edges of my vision when Andrea suddenly went rigid, falling to the side. Standing above us was an absolute giant of a man. Like, he must have been seven feet tall and built like a barn. He was holding a taser, which was crackling loudly.
Who the fuck was this guy? I panted as I drew oxygen back into my lungs, knowing I should get away because if I couldn’t win a fight against Andrea, I stood no chance against this behemoth.
He smiled down at me, giving a groaning Andrea a glare. “Let’s give her another zappy-zap, what do you say?”
I was panting loudly, shock and adrenaline coursing through my veins and making my heart feel like it was about to explode. The big guy leaned down and zapped Andrea again, the buzzing sound deafening in the room.
Finally, he stood back up, thrusting his hand toward me. “Hi, I’m Xander. Your next-door neighbor.”
A part of me relaxed, and I reached up to put my hand in his. Jesus, his hand engulfed mine like I was a child. I’d never met a man so big before. I wonder if he was proportionate.
“The noise makes sense now.” I slapped a hand over my mouth. I was definitely in shock.
The behemoth didn’t take offense, just tilted back his head and laughed.
I looked past him at the door. “Huey!” I breathed. I looked down at Andrea, then back at Xander.
He waved a hand. “Go get the little one. I’ve got this.”
I raced to the other room, and there was Huey, still sound asleep, swaddled tightly. I picked him up, careful not to wake him, and held him to my chest. All the fear came rushing back, and I sucked in lungfuls of air.
