“Angel. It’s time to leave,” I bark, and she pops her head out of the bedroom. “Quick, there are more men coming, I need you to go now. Take Bobbi up the beach and find a house to get help.”
She nods, worrying her lip, before ducking back into the bedroom, and a moment later, she comes rushing out, Bobbi bundled up in thick blankets, cradled to her chest, her caramel eyes wild with fear.
“You’re coming, right?” she asks, and I nod.
“Right behind you.”
“There’s the baby!” someone from outside yells, and I grab Abbey’s arm, urging her through the living area to the opening where glass doors used to be.
“Go. Now!” I yell, and the moment more shots crack through the air, Abbey finally does what I’ve asked, and runs out onto the deck, down the steps, and up the sandy path that cuts through the low dunes that lead to the beach.
When her shadow gets engulfed by the darkness, I go to spin back to the men charging the house, but another flash of movement at the top of the sand dune has my heart lurching in my fucking throat.
No.
“Gun!” I scream, spinning back to where the dead attackers are lying in a pool of their own blood. “Give me a gun!”
JD, seeing what’s got me freaking the fuck out, searches the dead guys and finds a gun, tossing it to me, and the moment I catch it, I turn and sprint out after my wife.
“Abbey!” I bellow, rain and wind pelting my face as soon as my feet hit the sand, and I fucking charge up that path, my legs burning with every step that sinks into the cold sand.
Out here, all I can hear is the howl of the wind and the crash of the waves, while getting attacked by the icy cold rain like flicks of hail that melt as soon as they hit my searing skin.
As I reach the mouth of the path that opens up onto the beach, a scream from my left has me jerking, and the flash of a gun firing feels like it’s ripping my heart from my chest.
FUCK! NO!
“Abbey!” I scream, charging in that direction, the burn of my legs barely a fucking afterthought as I spot three shadowed silhouettes up ahead, running up the beach.
One is my wife. And the other two are men dressed in all black.
The faint glow of sunrise lines the horizon, giving me the slightest visual as I get closer.
“Don’t shoot the baby!” one man yells to the other as he raises his gun again, directly at my wife.
With my heart just about fucking stopping, I raise the gun in my hand, skidding in the sand, stopping for just enough time to aim and shoot. The crack is loud, and the moment I see the fucker that was going to shoot at my wife fall to the sand, I start fucking running again.
“Just hand over the baby and this will all be over!” the other man yells to my wife, gaining on her.
I hear her scream, and charge forward, running faster than I ever think I’ve fucking run before.
The man seems determined not to shoot at her, but he’s fucking fast, and I can hear Abbey’s cries of desperation as she tries to get away.
“Stay away from her!” I yell, gaining his attention, his gaze darting over his shoulder, spotting me on his tail.
He doesn’t fucking stop though, charging closer to Abbey, reaching out to grab her. Even though I’m close, I fucking fear I’m not close enough as the flash of a knife appears a moment before he lunges for my wife.
She screams, spinning to face him as he crashes towards her, and time fucking slows as the bundle of blankets containing Bobbi goes flying from Abbey’s arms, slamming into the wet sand before waves rush over it.
“No!” I bellow right as a loud piercing crack meets my ears, and I glance back to see the man and my wife sprawled on the sand, and a dark pool of what has to be blood seeping from between them.
24
“No!”
Ringo’s bellow is gut wrenching, and I blink my eyes open to see his bare legs shuffling from one direction to another like he’s torn between which way to go.
Me or my baby.
