AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I started to rock, holding Rhett to me. I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel him. My baby. His hands pinched at my sides as he tried to escape, not comprehending why his mama was crying and holding him against the floor.
“Em!”
Otto’s voice was so loud that it seemed to reverberate through the floor. His hands on my shoulders pulled me upright, unyielding and firm.
“You okay?” he asked, his eyes wide and frightened. His hands brushed over me, running through my hair and down my shoulders, over Rhett’s back, skimming over my hips and legs.
“Otto?”
“The fuck,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder. “Who the fuck?”
I followed his gaze to find Parker face down on the floor.
“I hit him,” he said, sounding almost surprised. “I used a pan from the kitchen. Why the fuck doesn’t Michael have a fuckin’ bat or somethin’? Jesus!”
“Otto,” I said, scooting backward until I hit the wall behind me. “Call 9-1-1.”
“Fuck that,” Otto spat, pulling out his phone. “I’m calling my dad.”
“You need to stop saying fuck so much, or Rhett’s going to say it, too,” I murmured, my thoughts everywhere all at once.
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” he muttered, holding the phone to his ear. “Dad? You need to get the fuck over here, right fuckin’ now.”
When Michael’s dad and the others showed up less than ten minutes later, I was still on the floor with Rhett in my lap. He’d calmed down once he was sure that everything was okay but didn’t fall back asleep, content to curl up against my chest with his thumb in his mouth, his favorite pink blanket wrapped around him. Otto stood above the still-unconscious Parker holding a gun he’d found stashed somewhere.
“You okay?” Tommy asked, coming straight to me as the others filed into the house behind him.
“We’re okay,” I confirmed, my eyes watering as he helped me to my feet. “Otto—”
“Thank fuck he was here,” Tommy said, pulling me into his arms. “Thank fuck.”
I didn’t bother telling him not to say fuck.
“Where the hell is your son?” Michael’s uncle Will barked, looking over at us.
“Otto, call your brother,” Tommy ordered, then more gently, “You can put that away, bud.”
Otto nodded, his eyes still wider than normal. He set the gun on the table behind him and kind of stumbled away from it.
“You did good, kid,” Gramps told him with a nod. “Real good.”
“Looks like he’s about to puke,” Leo chimed in with a laugh. “Don’t worry, we’ll handle it from here.”
“His head sounded like a ripe cantaloupe,” Otto muttered in disgust, making the men laugh.
“Call Micky,” his dad ordered. When Otto pulled his phone out and walked toward the kitchen, Tommy looked down at me. “You sure you’re good, sweetheart?”
“He thinks I took his money,” I murmured, staring at Parker.
“You did.”
“No, he thinks I took way more.” I shook my head in confusion. “Or it was his excuse? I don’t know. He’s going to keep coming back.”
“No,” Tommy replied grimly. “He willnot, I can promise you that.”
I wasn’t sure what Otto had said to Michael, but when he came back from the kitchen, his face was even paler than it had been before.
“He’s on his way.”
