Gunner certainly doesn’t.
My stomach lurches. The room tilts. I want to scream, to rip her away, but I just can’t move. I’m a terrible mother, not even able to save my baby…
Kolton’s steady presence is the only thing keeping me from losing it completely. His eyes lock onto mine, silently telling me to trust him. I so badly want to, but how is he going to get us out of this? Neither of them seems to have a weapon, and my baby is stuck in the arms of the man who ruined my life! He could end hers in a second. My god, there’s nothing we can do to protect her! Not now that she’s in his arms…
But then there’s the crunch of tires outside. Faint. I barely hear them myself.
Gunner stiffens. His head jerks toward the sound and his face darkens. My pulse skyrockets, and I may actually pass out. I don’t know who could be here, but either way, it can’t be good.
If it’s people with him, we’re screwed. We’re not getting out of this alive—none of us. I guess if my baby is going, then I’m going too. I won’t be able to live after that, so it’s better to just get it over with. Only, I doubt that’s what they have in mind. That’s not what they do.
If it’s Lucian and Tommy out there… it’s only going to piss off Gunner, and who knows what he’ll do then.
The front door rattles a second later, the knob turning hard against the lock. There’s pounding and shouting. Gunner’s lips twist into a sneer, his grip on Dorothea tightening.
“No!” I finally shout, reaching my arms out like I can save her. He ignores me, his gaze toward the kitchen, where the front door is about to be kicked in.
Kolton moves an inch, ready to pounce, but he’s too far. There’s too much distance between him and Gunner. If he ran for him, Gunner would have too much time to react.
The door bursts open, the sound echoing through the house. A blast of icy air whooshes in, along with heavy footsteps. Snapperdoesn’t flinch, doesn’t change his expression, as the footsteps get closer—louder.
Someone emerges from around the corner, stepping out of the kitchen and into the living room, a foot from Kolton.
Grizz.
The fury on his face could melt every bit of snow in a hundred mile radius. A small blossom of hope ignites in my chest, but it’s quickly tamped out by fear.
“Put. Her. Down.” His voice is dangerous enough to make the hair rise on my arms. If he spoke to me like that, I would cry. But to have him on my side… it’s a relief.
But the problem still stands.
Kolton and Grizz are on one end of the room. Gunner is on the other, holding my precious and fragile baby.
Dorothea lets out a sharp cry, and my heart breaks.
“Let her go!” I cry out. “Please!”
Gunner turns his sharp gaze on me. “You think I’m going to letmydaughter go?” he growls. “She’s half mine, you fucking whore. How dare you—”
“Don’t you dare fucking talk to her that way,” Grizz bellows. I swear the walls shake. Kolton grips his arm, holding him back.
Gunner shifts his hold on the baby, his hand sliding up under her chin.
“No! No, please don’t. No!” I cry.
His grin widens, and he takes slow steps toward me. “I could kill her, you know. It would be so fucking easy. And it would be all your fault. Had you just stayed with me, everything would have been fine. But no… you had to leave and kidnap my daughter.”
There’s only a few feet between us now. He’s still moving toward me, still speaking words that go right through me because I’m panicking so hard I can’t hear a word. All I can think about is my baby and how fragile she is and how easily he couldharm her. I feel like I’m going to pass out. I think my heart is going to give out.
But then everything happens all at once.
Glass shatters.
Something warm is on my face.
The guys shout.
Gunner falls.
