“Do not say the words.” I cut him off before he can say anything else. I know what he means. Something going wrong is rolling through my head like a movie montage of blood and broken limbs.
The ambulance turns the same corner as Ramirez did with its lights swirling. Fuck. Don’t go there. Don’t envision the worst. But I can’t stop the shiver from going down my spine. This is Emily and Grace. I can’t stop from going there. They’re my future. I don’t want a future without them.
I pull to a stop in the middle of the street in front of Chad’s house, cutting the engine and jumping out of the car. Before I slam the door shut, more of my friends pull up and pile out of their vehicles.
If I wasn’t about to spew the contents of my stomach on the street, I’d be pleased at the turnout of support for my girls. I place the palm of my hand on the butt of my Glock and flip the clip off.
Later. Once I have them safely in my possession, I’ll thank them.
But this is Brookhaven. What else should I expect?
“Jake!” Chief Carter yells as I stride toward the sidewalk.
“Later.” It wouldn’t matter if he said anything else. I wouldn’t hear him over the crashing in my ears. Hell, he could still be speaking for all I know.
I don’t bother to look at him in my single-minded pursuit of breaking down the damned door and strangling the life out of Chad Whitlock. I’ll do it. With a smile on my fucking face.
Chapter Eighty
Emily
Go. This is your only chance. You’re 75lbs lighter than him. But I stand frozen with only my chest rising and falling. If it were only me, I’d make a run for it. But I’m not leaving Grace behind. Her safety is more important than mine.
Flashing lights and blaring sirens break through the screaming in my head. Jake’s here. I twist to face Chad before he can pounce in either direction. “Let Mackenzie and Grace go.”
“I assume that the baby you’re dragging around is Grace.” When I nod, he braces his hands on his hips and eyes me up and down. “Now, why would I do that?”
“Because….” I swallow hard over the lie. “You’re not a bad guy.” Grace wails and kicks her feet against the blanket. “You’ve had a hard life, and I’m sure that shaped who you became. Your father couldn’t have been an easy man to live with.”
“Who I became?” He arches an eyebrow and strides toward me, stealing the air from the room.
“Yes.” I give him a slight nod of my head as if I’m commiserating with him rather than about to shit my pants. “Your father was a violent man. I’m sure he punished you when you didn’t do what he demanded.”
“You have no idea.” He raises the sleeve on one arm, exposing pucker marks. “He enjoyed putting out his cigarettes on my arm if I talked out of turn.”
Mackenzie’s face is ashen as she stands watching Chad move away from her, putting all his attention onto the baby and me. I shift my body in front of my arm, dangling the carrier behind me. My fingernails dig into the heel of my palm from the tightness of my grip on the handle.
“I’m sorry.” And I am.
I’m sure that the pressure and hate that spilled out of his father and into him is the reason he’s a narcissistic bully. And I feel empathy for him. But those feelings don’t extend to forgiveness of the hurt he’s caused others.
As an adult, he had the choice whether to control his anger or take it out on other people. He chose the wrong path.
He scoffs, “You don’t feel anything for me. I see it in your eyes.”
That’s not true. I feel a lot of things toward him. Pity. Disgust. Fear. “Let Grace go. She’s an innocent baby.”
“Which I can use against your asshole boyfriend.” He stomps forward. “He’s going to let me walk right out the front door, get into my car, and disappear.”
“He’s not going to let you do that.” I shudder as he nears. Eyes full of menace. Fists clenching at his sides.
“Emily, are you and Grace in there?” Jake’s voice is muffled from the other side of the door.
“Yes, we’re fine.” I let the ‘for now’ hang in the air between us.
Chad pops his neck from side to side as if he’s prepping for a fight.
“Is Mackenzie there with you?”
