Page 77 of Seduced in Ink

“Guy? What are you doing? Get off my daughter. Is that a knife?”

“You bitch!” Guy screamed. Madison didn’t know if he was talking to her or her mom.

“Let go of my daughter!” her mother said, falling slightly as she tried to make her way over.

“Stop. He has a knife!” Her mom’s eyes widened, even as the rain picked up, the wind howling even louder around them.

“Just go, save yourself,” Madison yelled.

“Let go of my daughter!” her mother growled, coming straight at Guy.

“Please. Take me instead,” she pleaded.

“No! Mom.” Madison couldn’t believe it. It was like a different person was standing in front of her right now. Or maybe the person that she had known when she was younger.

“Let go of my baby.”

Madison tugged at Guy’s grip, and both of them went down to their knees as she tried to get away. Guy scrambled for her, pulling at her clothes. The sound of ripping fabric filled the air as she tried to get to her mother.

“Mom, run!”

But it was too late. Guy was there, a rock in his hand. He smashed it against her mother’s skull. Her mom’s eyes went wide for an instant before blood flowed, and then she crumpled to the ground.

“No!”

Madison turned wobbly in the knees and pushed herself forward in the mud, lunging at Guy, hitting him with all her might. He scrambled back, the knife falling to the ground. She hit him again, pushing at him. Screaming. He yelled, but it was all so incoherent, she couldn’t even tell what he was saying anymore. Didn’t know if they were words at all. It didn’t matter, though. She pushed him again, grateful when he fell back. She moved to her mother, scared of what she would find. Blood seeped from an open wound on her mother’s forehead, but she seemed to be breathing. Madison had to get her out of this rain, needed to get her out of this situation and get help. Madison’s clothes stuck to her, and blood coated her hands, her knees, and every other place she’d hurt when she fell and from where the hail had hit her. She had a slight cut on her arm from the knife earlier, but she couldn’t feel anything. She was far too cold for that.

If they didn’t get back to the lodge soon, they were going to die out here. Not necessarily because of Guy, but because of the elements.

She began to drag her mom away, too weak to pick her up. She wasn’t sure if she would make it.

Suddenly, Guy was there, screaming again. He pushed her mother away from her, and then wrapped his hands around Madison’s throat.

She clutched at Guy’s hands, digging her fingernails into his skin.

She gasped, trying to breathe, but he squeezed harder. Madison fell to her knees beside her mother, tears rolling down her face and mixing with the rain.

This was it. She was going to die. Her mother had actually tried to save her, but it hadn’t been enough.

They were going to die together, with nobody to hear them scream for help.

Suddenly, someone else was there, and Guy was on the ground with a large shape on top of him, the person punching and yelling.

Madison coughed, her gaze spotty as she tried to fight for breath. She looked up to see Aaron pummeling Guy’s face. The man she loved was enraged. He shook, his body covered in mud, and so wet from the rain that it looked as if he had jumped into a pool.

“Aaron!” she gasped, crying fully now, her body shaking with wracked sobs.

Aaron gave one last hard punch, knocking the other man out, then scrambled off Guy and came to her. He cupped her face, his gaze searching hers.

“Madison. Are you okay?”

“My mom,” she choked out, not able to say anything else.

He looked down at the blood on her, and then over at her mom. His face went impossibly pale.

“Ralph! Mark! They’re here. Get the authorities!” he yelled over her head before pulling Madison close and going down to his knees to check her mom’s neck for a pulse. When he gave her a tight nod, tears flowed harder, and she just clung to him, shaking.

The earth started to rumble, and she looked up to see mud coming at them.

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