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She shook in my arms and pulled back slightly, her gaze meeting mine. “River?” she asked.

“He’s okay. He’s safe at home right now,” I explained, my heart beating a bit faster at her love for my son. “You kept him safe.”

I could see a weight lift off her shoulders, her body relaxing slightly. She glanced over her shoulder to where Silas stood. I hadn’t noticed him before, but he looked as worse for wear as Goldie. He was also shoeless in the cool night, his feet cut and bleeding. I looked down at Goldie and saw she was much the same.

“We need to go,” she explained, extracting herself from my grasp and grabbing Silas behind her, pushing him forward. “He’s following us. We need to keep running.”

“How far?” Oliver asked, stepping closer to Silas and resting a gentle hand on his shoulder as he looked the boy over. “Are you okay?”

Silas nodded and jutted a thumb over his shoulder. “That way, maybe…” He glanced at Goldie pleadingly.

“A mile or two from where we came,” she explained, and grabbed at something Silas had been holding—my baseball bat from the house. “He’s following.” Her panicked eyes met mine. “It’s Darren. Detective Ransom.”

A whoosh of air left me at the confirmation. “That’s what we thought.” I looked toward the treeline, where I heard crashing. I reached forward, taking the bat from Goldie gently and pushing her behind me.

“Oliver?” I shot him a worried look, and I could see in his eyes he was thinking the same thing I was.

We couldn’t outrun the man through these woods; they were his home. Especially with Goldie and Silas shoeless. I also wasn’t entirely sure which way the car was. Oliver moved next to me, pushing Silas behind him as the crashing sounds grew louder.

“We need to go,” Goldie insisted, pulling at me.

I looked over my shoulder at her. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but I also think you make stupid, rash decisions sometimes, and I don’t want you to make one now, because I really need all of us to get out of here.”

I don’t know how, but I laughed. This godforsaken woman I was head over heels for managed to make me laugh even in this shitty situation. Oliver jumped to my defense, his tone gentle and his gaze trained on where I suspected Darren was about to burst through the trees. “This is our best bet.”

“Fight him to the death?” Silas asked.

I took the bat, tossing the handle once, watching it complete a full turn through the air, and clasping it once again. “Not to the death, but enough to keep him from following us while we get out of here.”

Darren came barreling through the treeline, pausing momentarily when his gaze met ours. I could see the shock ripple across his features as he caught sight of Oliver and me. I had a sneaking suspicion he was egotistical enough to believe that no one would ever find him out here. He messed up underestimating Peter.

Messed up underestimating Silas, Oliver, and myself.

It was a grave error underestimating the storm that was Goldie.

Darren was the definition of unhinged. His usual pristine appearance was completely gone. His salt-and-pepper hair, normally gelled back to perfection, had become a greasy, stringy mess falling over his brow. Shadows dark as bruises hung beneath his eyes, and his jaw bristled with days of uncharacteristic stubble. His gaze was angry and glaring as he looked us over, his frustration radiating off him in waves. His shirt was covered in dirt and sweat, and if I strained, I could have sworn I saw specks of blood on the collar, dripping from the back of his head.

With a growl and an angry yell, he barreled straight toward us. I didn’t hesitate, stepping forward and readying my bat. The months I spent at the batting cage didn’t teach me skill, but they taught me how to hit, and hit hard. Darren was too lost in his anger to even notice as I swung at him when he stepped closer to Goldie, connecting straight with his stomach. I would fight heaven and hell before I let him touch Goldie again.

The bat connected with a sickening crunch, and he groaned as he dropped to his knees. Oliver pulled Goldie with him as he and Silas retreated to the other side of the clearing, keeping them away from the danger they had already escaped twice. I heard Goldie yell and struggle against him, but Oliver knew exactly what I needed. If she was safe, I could focus on finally stopping the man who had caused so much damage to the woman I loved.

Darren struggled to stand, and I could see the dazed look in his eyes. It seemed my hunch was right—he’d definitely taken a hit to the head. I let him scramble to his feet, watching with near-taunting satisfaction as he struggled to stand. I had never been a cruel person. I was the opposite to most: kind, jovial, the first to smile. But when it came to protecting my family… to River, to Goldie… all bets were off.

Just as Darren made it to his feet, I hit him again at the back of his knees, watching him fall forward once more.

“Goddamn it!” he yelled angrily, his glare now on me. “You can’t have them!”

“Oliver,” I called, keeping my gaze on Darren. “Take them away from here.”

“Lex,” he warned.

“Just through the trees,” I explained. They didn’t need to see this; they didn’t need to hear this. “I’ll be fine.”

It took a beat before I heard Goldie argue with Oliver and the scuffling of feet. I had a feeling she wasn’t going without a fight, but she didn’t need to see this man for one more minute. I wasn’t going to kill him. It wouldn’t be fair—there were far too many answers he held for the countless people who had been hurt by his actions. But I could ensure he would never hurt Goldie again, that he couldn’t hurt Goldie again.

Darren fell into a sitting position in front of me, his angry eyes slowly melting into pure panic. Good. It was about time he understood the fear he had caused others for decades. “You will never see her, hear her voice, or touch her again,” I seethed, pointing the bat at his face. “Do you understand?”