Allison would have cried out, but the pain took her scream away. She lay there, doing her best not to pass out. Doing all she could not to let the bastard win.
Maddie. I have to get to Maddie!
Before she could try, Tommy roughly yanked her to her feet with a painful fist wrapped around the top part of her arm.
“Get up!” He sounded more annoyed than mad, as if he wasn’t the reason she’d fallen in the first place.
Unable to hold back a cry of pain, Allison’s hand went to her injured side. She’d had broken ribs before, and knew there wasn’t anything that could be done. All she could do was breathe through the pain.
“I won’t go with you.” Her voice was noticeably strained.
Tommy simply laughed and brought the tip of his nose down to the edge of hers. “You’ll do whatever the hell I tell you to do, bitch. You don’t, I’ll kill her, too.”
Her.
Dear God, no.
Was the deranged man really using the threat of killing Maddie to get her to quit fighting?
“You won’t kill Maddie.” Her chin quivered as she looked evil square in the eye. “Not her. No your owndaughter.”
“No?” The sick bastard grinned. “Are you really willing to take that risk? I mean, come on.” He chuckled. “You knew how I felt about having kids.”
It was true, Tommy hadn’t exactly been thrilled with the news that she was expecting. But to even think such horrible, unthinkable things…
Look at his eyes, Al. He’s not just threatening. The murdering son of a bitch would kill Maddie and not lose an ounce of sleep.
“Okay,” she agreed. What other choice did she have? “I’ll go with you as long as you promise never to come after Madeline again.”
He shrugged. “Why would I need her when I have you?”
Allison’s mind raced as her gaze fell back down to Liam’s unmoving form. Tears flooded her eyes and her heart shattered into a million pieces. He was dead because of her. And Maddie…
Please, God. Please don’t make me leave her.
But even as the silent prayer was sent up to the sky, she knew her destiny had come down to this. She’d made plenty of mistakes in her thirty-two years, but even now, Allison couldn’t regret meeting Tommy. If for no other reason than he’d given her the most precious of gifts.
Because of him, she’d been given the most precious of gifts. A daughter she loved more than anything else in the world. And now, as a mother should, Allison was going to willingly sacrifice her own life so that her child would live.
She let Tommy lead her from Liam’s house. Though she wanted to, she didn’t look back. She couldn’t see Liam’s body or the blood another second, especially knowing it was her fault that he was dead.
Maddie would be the one to find him, and the pain from that knowledge was worse than the fear of being killed. But her daughter would be alive, and that was the most important thing. Though the terror of not knowing who’d raise her child was as overwhelming as the loss of the man she loved.
I love him.
The realization struck as Tommy forced her into the passenger seat of his car. Sirens blared in the background as they pulled away from the curb.
A neighbor probably heard the commotion. Someone most likely reported the gunshot.
Hope that her daughter would soon be safe and protective came with a strange sort of peace. Allison’s jumbled thoughts returned to Liam as the houses on his street passed by in a blur.
He’d been shot in the head trying to protect her and her daughter. The man had died a hero’s death. And now, in order to ensure her daughter lived?—
I have to die, too.
CHAPTER 15
“He’s coming to.”
