Three long strides brought me to Andy.He turned just in time to see my fist before it connected with his face.The impact lifted him off his feet, sending him staggering backward.He lost his grip on Zelda, who scrambled away immediately, running back to her mother and sister.
Andy’s face contorted with hate.“You think this changes anything?”he spat.“I’m taking Zelda with me.You can do whatever you want with the other two bitches, but I need Zelda.”
By that time, however, his men were back in the game once again, cockroaches down but not out.A sharp pain exploded at the back of my skull -- the tire iron again.My knees buckled, the world tilting dangerously.I caught myself on one hand, refusing to go down completely.I’d never been so thankful someone had shitty aim in my life.That was twice I should have been dead.Lord knew my head was hard, but though I might not be out, I was definitely down.Through blurred vision, I saw Penny and the girls reaching the edge of the woods.Almost safe.
Andy’s foot connected with my ribs, sending fresh agony through my body.I rolled with the kick, trying to get back to my feet, but one of the remaining men landed a blow to my temple that sent stars bursting across my vision once again.
“Should’ve stayed in your lane, convict,” Andy sneered, standing over me as his men closed in.“You think a piece of shit like you gets to play house with my wife?With my kids?”
I spat blood onto the frozen ground.“They were never yours,” I managed, each word sending fire through my broken ribs.
Another kick, this time to my back.I grunted, absorbing the blow, focusing through the pain to check the tree line.Penny and the girls had disappeared into the woods.Good.They knew to head east, toward the compound.Knight would have people out looking for us already, alerted by the tracking app on my phone when we deviated from our route.I just needed to buy them more time.
With a surge of effort that sent black spots dancing across my vision, I lunged upward, catching Andy’s jacket and driving him into his men.All three went down in a tangle of limbs.I staggered to my feet, my body screaming in protest.
Andy was the first to regain his feet, his face twisted with hatred.“You’re a dead man,” he snarled.
“Maybe,” I agreed, bracing myself as all three charged me at once.“But they’re alive.That’s all that matters.”
Once I stood, after the blows to the head, my world began to fade around the edges, my vision narrowing to pinpricks of light.I kept fighting, though I was slowing drastically.Another blow to the head sent me sprawling onto my back.Through dimming vision, I stared up at the winter sky, gray and endless above me.
Andy’s face appeared in my field of vision, his lips moving, but the words were lost in the roaring that filled my ears.It didn’t matter.Nothing he said mattered anymore.Penny and the girls were away, running toward safety.Running toward home.
As darkness closed in around me, a sense of peace settled over me.They were safe.My family was safe.And that was worth any price.My last conscious thought was of Penny’s smile that morning, of Zelda’s grudging approval, of Kira’s small hand in mine.Of family.Of home.
Of love worth dying for.
Chapter Eleven
Penny
I crashed through the underbrush, one hand clamped around Zelda’s wrist, the other reaching back for Kira.My lungs burned with each ragged breath, the December air stinging my throat and lungs as we plunged deeper into the unfamiliar woods.Behind us, the sounds of the fight still reached us.I knew each grunt of pain came from Tiny and no one else.I was about to lose my mind and I had no idea what the hell to do.Worst of all, hearing Tiny’s voice growing weaker but still defiant as he bought us time to escape.
“Mom, take Kira and head deeper into the woods.”Zelda gasped for breath, tugging at my grip and determined.“I’m going back to help Tiny.”
“Believe me, honey, there’s nothing I want more, but if one of us gets hurt trying to defend him, Tiny would never forgive himself.”Then my ass-cheek buzzed and I gave a startled yelp before reaching back to pull my phone from my pocket.“Why the fuck didn’t I think to call someone for help?”
Zelda snorted.“Who would we have called before now?The police?Call someone at the club.They’ll come for Tiny.”She said all that as I answered the phone and the man on the other end -- Knight -- heard.
“You tell Z we’d come for all of you.Like right now.”
“Knight!”I sobbed and sank to my knees in the dead grass, leaves, and mud.“I-I can dr-drop you a p-pin.”My voice trembled and my whole body started to shake as well.
Through a gap in the trees, I caught a glimpse of the Bronco, its door still hanging open.And Tiny… God, Tiny was on the ground, blood streaming from his face as one of Andy’s men kicked him in the ribs.Another blow landed, and yet somehow, impossibly, Tiny struggled to his feet again.
“Don’t worry, Penny.You should be able to hear the bikes any second now.Drop Caleb a pin.He’s headed your way too and I’d feel better if he was with the three of you.”
I whipped around and saw Andy and one of his associates breaking away from the main group, peering into the trees where we’d entered the woods.Andy’s face was contorted with rage, blood streaming from his nose where Tiny had struck him.
“We’re safe for now, but Tiny’s still back there,” I choked out.“He’s fighting them alone.There are at least three men, Knight.They’re beating him, and I just left him there!I just --”
“You got your girls to safety,” Knight cut in firmly.“That’s what Tiny wanted.That’s why he fought.We’re rounding the corner now and we’ve got Tiny’s back.Just focus on keeping the girls safe until we get the situation under control.”
I pressed my fist against my mouth to stifle a cry as Tiny finally fought his way back to his feet when one of them swung the tire iron again, catching Tiny on the shoulder.He staggered but didn’t fall.I watched as he spun, delivering a devastating blow to his attacker’s face that sent the man sprawling.But there were too many, and Tiny was already injured, already slowing.
My entire body shook with the need to help him, to run back and fight alongside him.I’d made my choice the moment I pulled them into the woods.Their safety had to come above all else, even above the man I’d come to love.
The unfairness of it burned like acid.We’d been so close to normal, a simple Christmas shopping trip, the kind of mundane family outing I’d thought was forever lost to us.And now Tiny was bleeding, possibly dying, while I cowered in the woods unable to help him.
