A scream pierced the night, standing the hairs on the back of his neck on end. Nic jerked his gaze to the building, searching out Beth and Anna’s apartment. Shadows appeared behind the thin gauzy curtains. The larger, thicker shape of a man’s broad shoulders and rounded belly bent over a smaller, thinner female.
His heart resumed its beat, only to hammer his ribcage. Anna.
The son of a bitch was in her apartment.
Nic straightened off the car and yanked the passenger door open, bending down to duck inside.
“Lacey. Lacey, baby, wake up.” Trying desperately to keep his voice calm, he reached inside and shook her shoulder.
Her eyes slowly blinked open, then focused on him.
Nic held the key fob and his phone out to her. “Hi, honey. I need to go upstairs to the apartment. I want you to lock the doors behind me. Don’t let anyone in except me or your mom. If anything bad happens, I want you to call the police, okay? Do you know how?”
She blinked at him for a moment then sat up straight and nodded, taking his phone and the key fob, hugging both to her chest. “Mama taught me. I push nine, one, one on the dial pad then CALL.” Her eyes grew big and round, filling with a palpable fear as they darted to the building. “Is Mama okay?”
Nic stepped sideways, praying he was somehow blocking her view, and dragged a hand through his hair. He hated lying to her, but he had no desire to terrify a six-year-old who’d already seen far too much violence in her life.
Instead, he flashed a smile. “She’s fine, sweetheart, but she’s been upstairs for a while, and I want to go see what’s keeping her. I just don’t like leaving you guys alone in the car.”
She hitched up her chin. “I can be a big girl. I can watch Ella.”
Nic smiled again for her sake, but a good thirty seconds had passed. The yelling had stopped, leaving an eerie silence to the night that sent ice skittering up his spine. Was Anna even okay?
“That’s my girl. I’ll be right back, okay? Remember to lock the doors.” He closed the car door and waited until Lacey engaged the locks before turning and heading for the stairwell. For her sake, he lengthened his stride, but forced himself not to run. His blood ran cold in his veins, and his heart pounded his ribcage with every step.
Every bad possible scenario flitted through his thoughts. Had her ex hit her? How badly was she hurt? Where the hell was Beth? Had anybody called the cops yet? He had no idea to what ends her ex-husband would go. If he’d put Anna in the hospital, he obviously was more than just a mean drunk.
Rounding the final stairwell, he jogged the last few steps and pounded on her door. “Anna?”
Inside the apartment, something crashed to the floor. “You answer and you’ll get the butt of my gun.”
The male voice drifted through the door seething with controlled rage. Nic gritted his teeth and turned the knob, shoving the door open. As it bounced off the inside wall, he quickly scanned the interior. Beth sat on the corner of the blue couch, her wrists, ankles, and mouth bound with gray duct tape.
Anna huddled on the opposite corner, feet tucked up against her belly. A large, dark- haired man hovered behind her, her hair in his fist and her head yanked back so hard he exposed the column of her throat. Her eyes flicked in Nic’s direction then filled and overflowed.
An angry red haze filled Nic’s vision. He gritted his teeth, his hands curling into fists at his sides, and strode inside, heading for the man. “I’m giving you three seconds to let her go.”
“Or what?” Nic only got halfway across the room when Tony lifted his other hand, shoving the muzzle of a black handgun into Anna’s temple. “You gonna play the fuckin’ hero?”
Nic halted dead in his tracks, his heart now hammering from the vicinity of his throat. Shit.
Tony’s lip curled, a cross between challenge and a vile sort of amusement glinting in his black eyes as he pulled back the hammer on the pistol. “Think you can reach her before I pull the trigger, hero?”
Anna’s eyes flew open wide. She gave an emphatic shake of her head. A single tear escaped, sliding down her pale cheek. “Nic, don’t. I’m okay.”
Every cell in Nic’s body vibrated with rage. Every muscle tensed to the point of aching, and adrenaline fired through him, begging him to move, to run. Only sheer force of will kept him in his spot. If he so much as blinked wrong, he risked her life. The man’s eyes were deadly calm. Beyond a shadow of a doubt Tony would pull that trigger just to spite him.
So Nic forced his fists to unfurl and held up his hands instead. “Let her go.”
“Or what? What’re you gonna do about it, lover boy? She’s mine, and I’ll do what I want with her. If you think you can come in here and lay your filthy hands on my wife, you better think again.” Tony’s eyes narrowed, rage darkening his expression, and drew his shoulders back, swinging the gun in Nic’s direction. He waved it between them like a taunt. “Come on, asshole. Play the hero.”
When the gun swung away from Anna’s temple, Nic launched from his spot. His gaze trained on that gun, he ran, managing to make it to the couch in four long strides. As he rounded the side, he cocked his arm and smashed his fist into Tony’s face.
Tony’s nose gave a satisfying crunch, blood splattering across his face. His head rocked back, and the pop of a firecracker going off echoed through the apartment.
A red-hot poker pierced Nic’s right shoulder, jerking him back a step. His left arm went limp, hanging useless from his shoulder.
“Nic!” Anna’s terrified screamed echoed off the walls.
Time seemed to slow in that moment. Nic glanced down at his chest. Bright red blood oozed from a hole in his right shoulder, seeping across the fabric of his pirate shirt, stark against the white cotton. The son of a bitch had shot him.
As the realization sank in, the shakes began in his hands. They spread outward to the rest of him, and the pain finally hit him. A burning sensation traveled across his shoulder and down his arm. His chest tightened until dragging in his next breath became impossible. Dizziness swept over him, and the world slanted sideways.
He managed to turn his head in time to catch Anna’s wide-eyed stare before his legs dropped out from under him. His knees hit the cold, hard floor as the world went black.
Chapter Fifteen
Anna’s chest tightened, her heart hammering in her ears, as she stared at the sheer amount of blood seeping across Nic’s shirt. God, he was so still. His face had gone pale. His chest rose and fell, so he was still breathing, but how long before it stopped? How much blood could someone lose before it became too much? Her mind whirled but settled on nothing. What on earth did she do now?
She jerked her head again in an attempt to free herself, but Tony’s grip on her hair was too tight. Pain sliced across her scalp again, and she winced. “Call nine-one-one, Tony. It’ll be blood on your hands if he dies.”
“Fucking bastard broke my nose. Thinks he can put his hands on my wife?” Tony dashed a hand across his upper lip then shoved the gun into her temple and leaned his mouth beside her ear. “He can bleed to death for all I care.”
A fresh wash of tears blurred her vision. She’d illogically hoped Nic would stay with the girls and call the police, because she’d known Tony would go after him the minute Nic opened the door. If only she hadn’t moved in with Beth. Her friend might not be in danger now. If they hadn’t stopped by the apartment tonight, Nic might not be lying here bleeding. As long as she lived, she’d never forget the way his eyes rolled back in his head right before he crumpled to the floor.
“You belong to me, you hear me? You’ll always belong to me. The son of a bitch got what he deserved.” He released her head with a twist of his wrist and pivoted away from her, stomping across the floor toward the windows. He dragged his free hand through his hair as he went. The other hand waved the gun wildly around the room, using it like a pointing device. “You are mine. Don’t you forget it.”
Anna shifted her gaze to Beth, sitting wide-eyed on the c
ouch. She mouthed the words, “Are you okay?”
Beth nodded, and Anna turned back to Nic. He still lay unmoving; the blood continued to flow. She blinked back the tears, darted a glance over her shoulder to Tony, who paced like a caged panther, and attempted to inch off the couch. Maybe if she could get to Nic, she could stop the bleeding. Put pressure on the wound. That’s what you were supposed to do, right?
Tony’s face appeared over her right shoulder, his hand once again in her hair and jerking her backward. “You move, kitten, and your friend here is next.”
“Call an ambulance, Tony. Please. He’s going to bleed to death.” He wouldn’t, of course. She was grasping at straws at this point.
Tony let out a maniacal laugh. “Now you’re getting the idea.”
A thousand curses filled her mind, but Anna held her tongue. For now, she would bide her time. Tony outweighed her by a good hundred pounds. She’d have to time her strike just right. God, if only she’d remembered to bring her damn cell phone.
Tony gripped her chin in his hands, wrenching her neck so hard a vertebra popped and a sliver of pain shot down her spine. “The only way you’re leaving me again is in a body bag.”
This time, Anna couldn’t pretend anymore. She yanked her chin from his grasp and spat at him. “Then you’ll have to kill me, because I’ll never come back to you. Never. He’s twice the man you’ll ever be, and I hope you rot in hell for what you’ve done.”
“Stupid little bitch!” Tony’s bellow echoed off the walls seconds before his heavy fist connected with the side of her face.
A sharp, searing pain shot through her skull. Her head rocked back, and she pitched sideways onto the couch. Tony shoved his face into hers. His eyes held a dangerous glint she’d seen one too many times. Terror slithered through her like a coiled snake. Tony had reached his limit.
He pointed the gun in Nic’s direction. “Say goodbye to your lover, kitten.”
The wail of police sirens sounded outside. Someone must have heard the ruckus and called them, no doubt Mrs. Tennyson, their cranky downstairs neighbor. Thank God for small towns and nosy neighbors.
Tony’s gaze swiveled to the windows on the far side of the room, his eyes widening in panic. He pivoted and ran, using the tip of the gun to pull the blinds down enough to peer through them.
“How the hell did they get here so fast?” He spun and ran back across the room, gripped her by the elbow, and hauled her off the couch. “Get your ass up. It’s time to get moving.”
Ice slithered down Anna’s spine. She had about two seconds to get herself out of this situation before he carried her out the door. If that happened, she wouldn’t live to see tomorrow. As pumped up as he was, he’d beat her into oblivion.
She’d have to be braver than she’d ever been or she’d end up back in the same place: Tony’s prisoner. Or dead. Nic’s fight would have been for nothing. He could die, and for what? So she could be a coward again?
She drew a deep breath and let loose a primal scream she hoped they’d hear two blocks over. Tony jerked back, his eyes wide. Before he could react, she balled her fists and punched any part of him she could reach. She let the anger seething inside of her fuel her movement. The first time he hit her filled her mind, and she slammed her fist into his nose. She jabbed two fingers into his eyes—that was for the first time he’d beat her unconscious. Brought up her knee hard into his groin for the night he’d sent her to the hospital.
Tony howled at the strike but didn’t crumple the way she’d anticipated. Instead, his face contorted with fury. Brows furrowed, lip lifting in a snarl, eyes black with hatred, he wrenched his arm back, his fingers curling into his palm.
It was a look Anna had seen before. Heart hammering like a freight train, she dropped to the floor, rolled onto her back, and kicked her legs out as hard as she could.
Her heels connected again with his groin. This time, the breath whooshed from his lungs and Tony sank like a stone to his knees. The gun clattered to the floor as he grabbed his jewels, moaning in pain. Anna rolled sideways. She had to get that gun if this was ever going to end.
“Oh, you fucking little bitch. I’m gonna get you for this.”
Anna focused on the gun, lying beside the couch. On her hands and knees, she scrambled for it, managing to get her hand around the grip just as Tony grabbed a fistful of her hair. He hauled her off floor and turned her, walked her backward, and slammed her against the wall separating the living room from the kitchen.
“You think you got balls now, kitten? Huh?” An eerie grin curled across his face, pleasure glinting in his eyes, as his free hand closed around her throat. His thick fingers squeezed just enough to make each breath measured and difficult, but not impossible. “How’s about now, kitten? Still feeling brave?”
The bastard was toying with her. All her instincts screamed for her to fight back, to kick and punch with everything she had left. Outside, the police sirens grew closer. They were coming, but not soon enough.
Anna forced her mind to focus. She needed to keep her head or Tony would kill her, then likely finish off Nic. God only knows what he’d do to Beth, and heaven forbid he discover the girls, alone in Luc’s SUV in the parking lot.
She shoved the muzzle of the gun into Tony’s stomach. “Let … me … go.”
He tipped his head back and laughed before meeting her gaze with an eerie calm that sent chills down her spine, then shoved his face in hers.
“Think you can pull that trigger before I choke the life out of you?” He made rhythmic squeezing motions with his fingers, closing off her breath, then relaxing again.
Her hands began to shake so hard she could barely keep her fingers around the gun’s grip. Time seemed to slow into increments, and the room began to spin around her. She had no doubt he really would kill her. Please God let the police get here soon.
Twice the gun wobbled in her hand, her trembling fingers having trouble keeping hold of the grip. Each time, Tony laughed. The third time, she gripped the gun as firmly as she could and shoved it harder into his stomach. “I said let me go.”
He went still as a statue, his gaze locked on hers and roaming her face. “Well look at you. You really did grow some balls.”
In the time it took her to blink, all sense of his previous humor faded from his expression. His brows furrowed, eyes dark and angry, as he leaned into her, his grip on her throat tightening, this time cutting off her air supply completely. His other hand shot downward, seizing the gun’s muzzle. He yanked it toward him, attempting to pull it from her grasp; at the same moment Anna squeezed the trigger.
A loud bang rang through the room, and the air filled with the acrid scent of gunpowder. Tony reared back with a violent, pain-filled roar. His hand dropped, and Anna sucked in a sharp breath, filling her starving lungs, and touched a hand to her aching throat.
Tony stumbled back a step, looking down at the blood oozing from a small hole in the outer portion of his right thigh.
“You fucking little bitch.” His gaze jerked to hers, rage twisting his features, and took a step toward her. “You’re going to pay dearly for that, kitten.”
Head still spinning, her breaths coming hard and fast, Anna raised the gun again, aiming in the direction of his chest. “Touch me again, and I’ll kill you where you stand.”
Tony stared for the span of what seemed an endless heartbeat. Anna concentrated on remaining upright, using the wall behind her for support. Her throat hurt, and the gun trembled so hard in her hand it was a wonder she didn’t drop it.
Seconds, minutes later, Tony pivoted and limped for the door, one hand braced against his injured thigh. He stopped in the open doorway and turned sideways to look at her. “I’ll be back for you. You can run all you want. You can change your name. But I will always find you. Have your fun with your lover over there, because next time, I won’t miss.”
Tony disappeared around the corner. As his feet thumping down the stairs faded into the distance, the stress of the moment
sank over her. The shaking started in her limbs, traveling outward. Anna’s breath whooshed from her lungs. The gun clattered as she reached to set it on an end table. She took a moment to draw a much-needed, calming breath, then spun and stumbled to Beth.
As she ripped the duct tape from friend’s mouth, the events of the last fifteen minutes caught up with her, and her eyes filled and overflowed. Her first friend in years, and she’d almost gotten her killed. “I’m so sorry.”
Beth flashed a smile, her own eyes filling with tears. “I’m okay. Really. Go put pressure on his wound.”
Anna nodded and spun, dropping to her knees beside Nic’s still form. She was pulling her shirt off over her head, intending to use it to staunch the flow of blood seeping across his chest, when two uniformed police officers rushed into the apartment. Two paramedics entered right behind them.
The EMTs moved her gently out of the way and took over. One of the two uniformed officers strode past her, heading for Beth, pulling a pocketknife from his pants as he walked.
The second officer, a kind-looking blond guy about her age, touched Anna’s arm. “Your neighbor called 911. Said she heard screaming and gunshots. Is everybody all right?”
Anna managed a vague nod and turned to stare at the open doorway. The girls were still downstairs in the car. Had Tony seen them? Surely if he’d tried to get to them, she would have heard something—the car alarm going off maybe?
She jerked her gaze to the officer. “My daughter. My daughter and his are in the car in the parking lot. Nic left them down there to come up here.” A thick lump formed in her throat. They’d been in the car all this time. Alone. “The girls must be so scared … ”
The officer gave a gentle nod toward the doorway. “Come on. We’ll go get the kids then you can tell me what happened.”
The officer led Anna downstairs. As soon as they reached the ground floor, Lacey erupted from the car, turned to help Ella out, then grabbed the girl’s hand, tugging her behind as she ran to Anna. Both girls hurled themselves against her legs. Ella trembled, tears streaming down her little face.
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