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The question made me freeze. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t figure out where exactly I was until the words came out of me in a rush. “The park across from Maddison and Rayne.” I could hear the emptiness of my own voice echo back at me through the speaker of his phone.
His steps resounded, hard, fast, echoing in tandem as he screamed. “She’s at the park.Go! Go!”
I scanned the trees, tearing away from the path and headed for the darkness. “He’s got a gun, Laz…he’s got a gun.”
“Who the fuck is it?” Laz’s words were quiet and controlled as the doors slammed shut and the engine roared to life. “Baby…baby who is it?”
I burst into tears. “I don’t know.”
“It’s okay, are you listening to me? It’s all going to be okay.” I could hear the howl of tires as they left wherever they were and raced toward me. But they were still too far away. They werestilltoo far away.
Loneliness swallowed me as I spun, searching for somewhere to hide. But it was useless. Sophie bucked and screamed, her voice carrying.
“It’s okay, baby.” I soothed, trying to press my hand over her mouth. “Shh…shh.” I tried my best to muffle her screams as I raced out from under the cover of trees and headed toward a coffee van parked near the children’s play area, but she was like a siren, drawing every gaze.
“Help me!” I screamed. “Please someone help me!”
“Don’t.” Laz’s command filled my ear. “Now you need to listen to me, Kat.” His words were careful, and controlled, pulling me away from the panic. “Can you see him, baby? Can you see the man with the gun?”
My fingers trembled, pressed against Sophie’s mouth as I spun and searched the pathway behind me. There was nothing, no one. Just the sun and the trees, and a woman who rose from a bench with earphones in her ear. “No,” I panted around the word. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Good,” He murmured, trying his best to control his rage. “That’s good. Keep running, baby. Do you her me? Keep running. Put as much distance as you can between you and the gunman. Don’t stop. Don’t stop for anyone. Just keep moving. We’re on or wa—” he broke away. “How long?”
The savage growl of the Explorer’s engine was deafening as Freddy barked. “Twenty minutes in this fucking traffic.”
Twenty minutes…
Twenty minutes…
I wasn’t going to make it.
The words killed me, filled me, but I didn’t say the words. I kept running, doing exactly what Laz said as I tried to muffle Sophie’s cries.
Crack!
I screamed with the gunshot, ducking my head as my fingers smothered her mouth.
Crack!
“LAZ! LAZ!”
I could hear him call my name through the speaker as the gunman unleashed a roar and grabbed me, throwing me forward and to the ground. The phone slipped from my hand and hit the asphalt as I stumbled. My knees buckled, sending me crashing to the ground. I threw my hand out, but it was useless.
Agony tore through my palm as my elbow buckled and I slammed into the ground. He was on top of me in an instant, wrenching me over until I lay on my back. But it wasn’t my clothes or my rings he fought for…it was my Sophie.
“Let go!” he barked, those dark, soulless eyes were all I could see. I screamed, lashing out. I clawed his face as I kicked and bucked, screaming until my throat burned.
In the echo of my cell, Laz’s rage bellowed.“I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll find you, and I’ll fucking kill you!”
I fought for my baby’s life as he grabbed her little arm and wrenched her from my hold.
“No! No!”I howled, kicking and thrashing, beating him off her with all that I had, until he lashed out, striking me with the end of his gun.
Agony was blinding, blurring the world in white. Still, I kept hold of her, my arms like a fortress around her body as I kicked and thrashed, howling and fighting.
Smack!The blow smashed my eye, knocking my head backwards.
“Stupid fucking bitch!” he barked.
