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My heart was racing by the time I was standing in front of the door. For some reason, I felt more comfortable holding my breath, pressing the tip of my index finger against the door, pushing it open very slowly.
While I’d been right about the fact what I’d heard was a movie, I could tell by Christian’s face that I’d been totally wrong about the giggle. It hadn’t belonged to him. He sat frozen on his bed, his face ashen. When I noticed me, he opened his eyes wide. But instead of being a terrified kid, he slanted his eyes to the right.
Then he signed to me very carefully, but it was clear.
His word?
Intruder.
Swallowing hard, I nodded, terrified of what was going on, uncertain of what I should do. However, I refused to allow that little boy to suffer for one minute longer. The fact whoever had made it into the house had done so with ease meant something had obviously happened to the men standing guard. There was no time to grab a knife from the kitchen. What else could I use?
I pressed my finger across my lips, shaking my head. Then I signed back to him, telling him to be ready to run. God love the kid, as strong as his father. Other children his age would be crying or too terrified to respond, but not this adorable little boy.
He blinked once to tell me he understood. I backed away without making a single sound, carefully tugging my phone from my back pocket. A phone call was too risky. A text would have to do. I typed it quickly, hitting send then returning it to my pocket.Easing into Jonny’s bedroom, I remained as silent as possible, opening drawers in hopes of finding a hidden gun or another weapon. How in the hell had the person gotten inside without tripping the alarm?
That was an easy answer. Margaret. Who the hell was she really? Hissing, I was furious with myself for not following my instincts. I’d known something was off about her.
Finding no weapon, I started shaking all over, partially from fear but mostly from the rush of adrenaline. Almost desperate, I noticed a small marble statue that obviously meant something to Jonny.
Well, at that moment it had become the most important thing in my world as well. Grabbing it, I almost jumped for glee feeling the weight. I’d need to be very careful but at least I had something I could use.
After returning to the hallway, I purposely moved forward with heavier footsteps. I knocked on his door, immediately starting to push it open.
“Hey, Christian,” I called, holding back before taking a single step inside the room. “How about some ice cream?”
He nodded enthusiastically, immediately rising to his feet. There wasn’t a single sound made, not a peep from whoever was inside the room, but I sensed Christian’s fear and his worry.
I pushed open the door a little more, easing the statue behind my back. The moment I crossed the threshold, I sensed the person standing behind the door. I had a split second to calculate what the hell I was going to do. Without hesitation, I lunged forward, shielding his little body, shouting at the same time.
“Run!”
The kid was fast, racing toward the door, bolting out of his room as I turned around, lifting the statue in both hands. As I brought it down, I issued a primal scream, making contact, the brutal cracking sound reverberating in my ears. A split second later, I was pitched backward, struck on the side of the head with something cold and metal. As the statue started to fall from my hands, I refused to give up, scrambling forward on my hands and knees, snagging the person by the leg and yanking, trying desperately to reach the statue.
As soon as the son of a bitch fell, I threw a hard punch, wincing in pain as my fist connected with the man’s jaw. He was wearing a mask, jeans, and a hoodie, preventing me from getting a good look at his face.
“Ah!” When the bastard backhanded me, I let out another sharp scream, doing everything I could to take a deep breath as pain exploded in my head. I kicked out, my heel catching him in the face, pummeling him backward. I scrambled to my feet again, lunging for the statue. Within seconds, the bastard was on me, knocking me to the floor, the wind knocked out of me.
Gasping, before I had a chance to react any further, he was on me, pressing his arm against my windpipe. Lights flashed in front of my eyes, my yelps muffled as the bastard tried to suffocate me. I did what I could, punching him in the face, struggling with everything I had inside of me.
It was no use, the asshole stronger than me. Tears formed in my eyes and my thoughts drifted to the happy moments during the insanity I’d shared with Jonny, especially meeting Christian for the first time. I started punching the guy in the face over andover again, refusing to go down without a fight. But he wasn’t budging, his hold around my neck with two hands firm.
More punches. More gasping for breath. As the lights turned to dark specks, I sensed I was ready to pass out. I lifted my arm one last time, grabbing the mask the bastard wore. I at least wanted to see the person who was responsible for my death.
I almost laughed, my hand slowly falling from her face, the woman’s long red hair cascading down to mine. Oh, God. I was dying. I could feel the air leaving my body.
Whoosh!
Air rushed into my lungs, the mysterious woman who’d nearly killed me pitched backward with extreme force, her body hitting the wall. Grasping my throat, I rolled over, gasping for air as I struggled to figure out what the hell was going on. There were additional savage thuds, and there was no doubt the growl I heard was coming from the depths of the man I loved.
“You fucking bitch.”
I managed to turn over, reaching out to him. Michael and two other men rushed into the room, Jonny barking orders that were garbled in my muddled mind.
My handsome man pummeled his fists into the woman’s face before yanking out his weapon, pressing the barrel against her temple as he wrapped his other hand around her shirt, yanking her off the floor.
“No!” I managed. “Jonny. You’re… not a… killer.”
He slowly turned his head, his chest heaving, his eyes turning from venomous to concerned. Then to something else. Love. I could see love in his eyes. “Baby. Oh, my baby. Take this bitchdownstairs. Tie her up and shove her into the vehicle. I’ll deal with her later.”
