"You can't have my life. Tyler's my husband. Dash is my son." Her finger tightens on the trigger, and I fear what she's about to do and send a silent prayer that help arrives in time to stop her.
"Tyler's your ex-husband, Megan. The judge took your rights away. They're not yours. I didn't take your life from you. You did when you tried to drown Dash," I say, my voice shaking.
"Shut up," Megan screeches, her face contorting with unhinged rage.
The sirens grow louder, closer. Tires screech, and I can see the first patrol car turning into the parking lot. Megan's eyes dart toward the sound, and I use that split second of distraction to lunge forward, grabbing for the gun.
We grapple for control, my hands wrapping around her wrist, forcing the barrel away from me. She's stronger than she looks, fueled by desperation and madness. My head throbs where she struck me earlier. I can feel the sticky blood in my hair.
"Let go!" she snarls, trying to knee me in the stomach.
I twist away just in time, maintaining my grip on her arm. The gun discharges, the blast deafening in the quiet park. Birds scatter from nearby trees. My ears ring as I struggle to maintain my grip on her wrist.
"Drop it. Now!" A deputy's voice cuts through the chaos.
Megan's eyes widen at the sight of uniformed officers approaching, guns drawn. Her grip loosens just enough for me to wrench the weapon from her hand. I stumble backward, tossing the gun away from us both.
"On the ground! Hands behind your head!" the deputy's commands echo across the playground.
Megan doesn't comply. Instead, she lunges toward me again, fingers extended like claws. "This isn't over! You're gonna pay for taking everything from me."
Two deputies tackle her to the ground, cuffing her wrists behind her back. Her face contorts with fury as she screams obscenities at me, at them, at the world.
"Ma'am, are you hurt?" A female deputy approaches me cautiously.
I touch the back of my head, wincing at the sticky blood matting my hair. "I'm okay," I tell her, looking over to my truck. "Dash, he's in my truck. I have to get to him."
"You stay here," she says, walking me to the closest bench. "I'll go grab him and bring him to you."
"T-thank you," I croak, the adrenaline crashing as I sink onto the bench. My hands tremble uncontrollably as I watch Megan being forced into the back of a patrol car. Her wild eyes never leave mine until the door slams shut.
"Laney!" Dash's small voice breaks through my haze.
I turn to see him running toward me, the female deputy right behind him. His little face is pale, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Kiddo," I whisper, opening my arms. He crashes into me, burying his face against my neck.
"You're bleeding," he sobs, his small fingers gently touching the back of my head.
"I'm okay," I assure him, though my head throbs with each heartbeat. "Just a little bump."
"You should get checked out," the female deputy suggests.
More tires screech to a stop, and I glance up in time to see Tyler jumping out of the passenger seat, sprinting across the park to get to us. Tears well in my eyes at the sight of him. The look of fury on his face mixed with anguish and terror.
It's not until I feel his arms wrap around me that the first sob escapes me, and I know that Dash and I are safe.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tyler
The moment I answered the call from Sheriff Holloway felt like my life had been suspended midair. His calm, collected voice telling me that Delaney had called into dispatch reportingthat Megan was at the park with them did nothing to help ease me. He told me deputies were en route, and he was giving me a heads up that they had everything under control.
Control my ass. The psycho bitch could’ve done anything to them, and I wasn’t with them. I wasn’t there to protect them from her.
Mammon couldn't get me to the park soon enough. He barely has the truck stopped before I jump out. The sight of my woman and son clinging together on a park bench, deputies surrounding them, did nothing to help the anguish eating away at my chest.
With my eyes locked on them, I sprint across the grass, my heart hammering against my rib cage. My boots pound the earth as I close the distance between us. Delaney's face is pale, her eyes wide with fear even as she tries to comfort my son.
