“Do you really think you can run from me?”
Randall’s voice came out of nowhere, low and deadly. He was back on two feet.
And close.
Valerie sank back to the ground as all fight or flight drained out of her body. Enough was enough. I’ve got nothing left. It’s over. I’m done.
“Just do it, Randall. But leave the kids alone.”
Suddenly exhausted, she slumped. Every decision, good or bad, that she had ever made was about to culminate in a horrific ending.
“I warned you. I promised you.”
She held her head in her hands. “Quit talking. Quit explaining. Just get it over with.”
He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up. His hand clamped over her mouth as she cried out.
“No, bitch. You don’t get to dictate to me. I’ve waited a long time for this. Do you know what happens when you disobey me and then sick your little dragon friends on my home?”
No, asshole. You did that to yourself.
He shoved her forward, away from the house.
“My car’s over here. We’re going out for a drive to… talk.”
He’s going to kill me. I know it, he knows it. "Will you give me your word that you'll leave the kids alone?"
"No."
His answer was simple and terrifying.
They reached the clearing where she saw a car hidden in the shadows. You have two seconds to decide. Are you seriously giving up, or do you have any fight left at all? Cause, chick, this is it.
She stopped all of a sudden and threw herself forward in a slump. As she felt Randall bend to maintain his grip, she suddenly stiffened and launched herself backwards. She head-butted him right in the face. With his stance slightly off kilter, her momentum caused them to fall over backwards. He landed with an oomph with her on top of him, and his grip relaxed enough for her to roll away from him.
He grabbed his face. “You bitch! I think you broke my nose.”
She hissed at him and scrambled to her feet. “Maybe the guys in prison will feel sorry for you.”
His hand shot out and grabbed her ankle which sent her sprawling again. Before she could get up, he was on her. He yanked her up as she struggled. He spun her around and backhanded her across the face. The force of the blow knocked her to the ground with a whimper.
Stunned and defeated, she didn’t struggle when he yanked her up off the ground. "That's better. Now you're being a good girl by cooperating. It's a little too late, but better late than never. I'll be sure to teach that to your daughter."
Valerie hesitated. Do I run? She ran her fingers through her hair as she screamed internally for help and tried to force her mind to make a decision. If I get in that car, I'm dead. Ty will never find me.
Randall made the choice for her when he started to drag her to the car. When she turned to look at him, he backhanded her hard across the face again. When she picked herself up off the ground, she had the coppery taste of blood in her mouth.
Something in Valerie snapped. All the years Randall had used her as his personal punching bag, all the pain he had caused her, all the mental anguish, all the hurt to her children; and now he was going to threaten her daughter and possibly kill her son? It all boiled to the surface in one flash of a moment.
Instead of running, she stopped quickly and threw herself backwards. More expectant this time, Randall was still caught off balance and stumbled and tripped over a bush. He fell to his knees.
Valerie advanced on him. “You sonofabitch. You can hurt me, you can do what you want, but you will NOT hurt my babies.”
With a perfect roundhouse kick that both Jean Claude van Damme and Chuck Norris would have been proud of, her foot connected with the side of Randall’s head. The impact almost knocked her off balance but she caught herself, and her follow through was flawless. Randall crumpled to the ground without a sound and didn’t move.
Valerie backed up a few steps and doubled over with her hands on her knees. Her breath came in deep, heaving gulps as the enormity of what she had done overwhelmed her.
Sarah suddenly ran out of the dark to her. "Valerie! Are you okay?"
