Page 79 of Seal of Approval

Max crashed into the door. The door shook. Ethan strode towards me. Another almighty bang and the door crashed down. Like a feral animal, Max jumped to his feet and honed in on his target—me.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Ethan

I ran to Jasmine. She froze as an unhinged Max rampaged toward her. He threw a punch. His fist connected with her jaw. A thud louder than my rushing pulse resounded. Jasmine’s head snapped to the side. She wobbled on her feet. I was still a few feet from them. My legs needed to go faster, but I felt like I was going in slow motion. Or Max was going at the speed of a killer whale.

Max grabbed her throat. He punched her again. Blood sprang from her cut lip. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Jasmine’s eyes were unfocused. Her hands snatched at his. She kicked out at him. He didn’t even flinch as her foot connected.

“Max,” I yelled. “Let go of her.”

It was like he didn’t hear me.

I rushed at them. Max didn’t notice me. There was only one thing on my mind, saving Jasmine.

“You fucking bitch.” Spittle flew from his mouth. “You can’t keep my children.”

I collided with him. His hands flailed, releasing Jasmine’s throat. She crumpled to her knees, gasping for air. Max and I slammed into the floor. He thrashed beneath me like a shark caught in a net. I couldn’t contain his throes. Knees and elbows connected with me.

Fuck. Where were the police?

Jasmine. I searched for her. She was rising to her feet, unsteady.

A punch connected with the side of my head. I pushed out of Max’s grasp. I threw my elbow at his chin. His head swung sideways. I elbowed him again. And again.

A growl roared out of his throat. His narrowed eyes focused on me. I needed to get to my feet. Get outside. Away from Jasmine. Keep Max away from her.

I shoved on his shoulders. The distance between us increased. I shuffled backwards like a crab. Max’s eyes were on me, where I wanted them to be. He followed. Stealthy. The hunt was on.

“You can’t take my fucking children from me,” he roared.

I stood up and backed out of the house. He tracked my every move.

“They’re mine.” He charged at me.

We plummeted off the porch and smashed into the ground. Pain erupted through me. Max’s weight forced the air from my lungs.

Sirens in the distance.

He sat up and slammed punch after punch into me. My ears were ringing. His face was blurry. I bucked beneath him.

“Max, stop,” Jasmine screamed.

He was distracted. I blocked a punch with my arm and grabbed his fist. He was off balance. I threw him off and rolled to my hands and knees. Blood dribbled from my mouth. My head was foggy. I didn’t get to my feet quickly enough. His foot connected with my ribs. Cracks reverberated through my body.

“I’m going to fucking kill you both,” Max ranted. “You can’t stop me then.”

His rants mixed with the sirens. Loud. Lights flashed dimly in my vision.

“Stand back,” a police officer yelled.

I fell to my side. Max calmly stepped back and put his hands up. The crazed animal was gone. He looked me straight in the eyes. “I’ll fucking get you.” Then he turned to the police, knelt down, and folded his hands behind his head.

Jasmine ran to me. Max looked between us and gave us a haunting smile. “She doesn’t love you,” he said. “You’re nothing now that you’ve done your job.”

I tried to take a deep breath to calm my racing heart. Piercing pain shot through my chest. I gasped. I wanted to get up, to show him that the pain he’d inflicted meant nothing because we’d won. The children were safe. Jasmine was safe. But I couldn’t move.

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