Page 57

My phone buzzes again, and I grab it, glancing up at the house.

Dina:

I’m ready.

I glance up at the little yellow house, and the curtains in the front window move back into place. I reach for the keys before deciding to leave it running. I’ve got a bad feeling today, and I don’t want to get stuck here.

“Let’s do this,” I say, and we both climb out. Chance scans the street as we walk up the steps. The front door opens, and Dina steps out with a suitcase in her hand and a tentative smile on her face.

“You ready to get out of here, Sweets?” Chance asks, and she nods as she looks down the street.

“You know where Mitch is, Dina?” I ask, and she looks back to me, shaking her head. We usually like to have eyes on the husbands just so we have a warning if he’s headed for us but Dina’s husband is a hard guy to track down. His hours are erratic, and we couldn’t ask around too much without word getting back to him.

“What do you say we get you out of here then?” Chance asks her, and she nods, taking a couple steps toward him. I nod at the woman standing in the doorway who gave Dina our number and gave her shelter.

“Thanks for what you did.”

She shakes her head. “No need. I was happy to help her.”

I nod and hold my hand out to her. She takes it, and I slip the hundred dollar bill into her palm. “For your trouble.”

She looks down at it as Chance starts leading Dina to the truck and shakes her head before trying to hand it back to me. “Oh, I couldn’t take this.”

A car squeals around the corner, and I glance behind me, cursing when I see the blue Mustang we were supposed to watch out for. “Get back inside and lock your doors,” I tell her.

Her eyes widen, and she disappears into the house, slamming the door, and locking it behind her. I turn to Chance. “Get her in the truck!”

He looks up and I hear him curse before he runs to the truck and opens the door for her. She climbs in and locks it, glancing out the back window nervously as the Mustang skids to a stop, and Mitch jumps out, not even bothering to close his door.

“Dina!” he bellows into the quiet neighborhood and tears start falling down her face as she shakes in the passenger seat.

“Get back in your car and leave,” I tell him calmly but inside I’m raging. Fuck this piece of shit, thinking he can show up here and take Dina back by force. I’ll end that little illusion right now.

“Fuck you,” he spits, trying to move around Chance to get to Dina. I move in front of the truck door and let my arms hang loose at my sides.

“Last chance. Get in your car and never come near this woman again.”

“You don’t get to take her from me. I’ll kill every last one of you fuckers if you don’t give her to me.”

I shake my head. “That’s never going to happen. You lost her, that’s what happens when you knock a girl around to make yourself feel better. You’re a fucking coward, and no woman wants a coward.”

His face turns red in his rage but he turns to Dina and softens his gaze. Even I have to admit that he’s a pretty damn good actor but Dina’s still got bruises around her neck where he tried to choke her the last time they were in a room together. “Dina, Baby, please don’t do this to me. I love you; you know that I do. I’m sorry, Sweetheart. Come home with me, and we can fix all this.”

For a moment, I think she’s going to break. She looks back at him with tears in her eyes, and it’s obvious that she’s struggling. What the hell am I supposed to do if she decides to go back to him? After a couple of seconds, she takes a deep breath and turns away from him, hardening her face, and all hell breaks loose. Mitch bellows as he runs at Chance and punches him in the face before Chance can react. As he falls from the blow, his head smashes into the side of the truck, and he slumps to the ground, not moving. I don’t have time to check on him as Mitch keeps coming for me, his gaze homicidal.

He slams into me, and we fall to the ground. Mitch manages to get a couple of good punches in before I’m able to roll him to his back. Laying my fist into his face again and again, I think about how many times he’s probably done this shit to poor Dina and any woman unlucky enough to come before her, and it fuels me on. I want to make sure that he’s never a problem for any woman ever again.

Mitch lands a punch to my throat, and it knocks the wind out of me long enough that he rolls us again and starts returning the beating I just laid down on him. I know my face is probably already swollen and bruised but the adrenaline keeps me going, trying to get him off me. His fist comes flying at my face again, and I turn my head, causing him to punch the ground right by my head instead, and in the next moment, a booted foot is kicking him off me.

“Piece of shit,” Chance growls, gently touching the side of his head as he stares down at Mitch in disgust as he lands half on the concrete steps. Mitch rolls around on the grass, shouting that Chance broke his ribs.

“Serves you right, fucker.” He laughs but there is no humor in his tone. He walks over to me and holds out a hand to help me up. My head spins when I’m back on my feet, and Chance slaps a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

“You okay?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’m good but we should split.”

“I called Smith. He’s coming to sit with our friend here until we get her somewhere safe.”