“She said she was Charleen!”he objected, nostrils flaring as he squared his shoulders and faced the guy with the teardrop tattoo.
“Her.Fucking.Name.Is.CHARLIE!”he screamed in the other man’s face.“You killed the wrong fucking woman and took the wrong baby!”
“Fuckkkk.”The other guy groaned and tipped his head back, distracted for a split second, which was all the time I needed.
I swung my body the best I could, given how tied up I was, and grabbed the gun from the back of his waistband.I knew I didn’t have much time, but I didn’t need it.What I was going to do would take a second or two—tops.
“What the fuck?!”he growled, spinning around and reaching for the gun as I took it.
“I’m so sorry, Charlie.I’m so fucking sorry.”
I lifted my hands as high as I could until the gun was under my chin and pulled the trigger.
Twenty-One
Axel
Charlie’s ear-shatteringscream jolted me awake as I flung the covers off and jumped up, looking for the threat.It took me a few seconds to orient myself and clear the sleep fog from my brain as I scanned the room, not finding anything wrong.
My eyes then immediately went to Charlie, watching as she clutched her stomach and cried out, screaming as tears ran down her cheeks.I rushed back to the bed, climbing beside her as I gently touched her shoulder.
“Charlie, wake up,” I said firmly, hoping the sound of my voice would be enough to pull her out of the nightmare.“Baby, I need you to please wake up.”
I could hear the desperation in my voice as I gently shook her, needing her to wake up so I could make sure she was okay.
“Charlie,” I begged, my voice getting louder as I sat on my knees beside her and stroked her cheek, wiping the tears away.“Wake up, baby.It’s just a nightmare.Wake up, you’re safe, my love.”
Suddenly, she startled, throwing her hands up in surprise.Her eyes were wild as they searched the room while her chest heaved up and down.
“It’s okay, baby.It was just a bad dream,” I assured her.
She pushed the blankets the rest of the way off her body and looked at her stomach as her hands quickly felt around, looking for something.
“The baby is okay,” I promised her.“You’re okay.You’re both safe.”
Her eyes pinched closed as fresh tears spilled over, and a heavy sob escaped her lips as she tried to press them together.
