Page 2 of Crimson Flames

Just when I take aim at one of the two left, the other lunges and grabs the gun from my hand, twisting until I cry out in pain as it crashes to the floor. The shorter man runs inside as I’m pinned to the ground.

He knocks the breath from my lungs with his weight. He is larger than the other guy, making me feel like I might become one with the floorboards if he doesn’t get off of me fast.

I fight with all of my might but the crushing weight doesn’t let up. It’s only when I hear a little cry I know too well that I freeze and turn my head to the scene in the living room.

“Kai,” Pokey whimpers.

The man who ran inside is holding him up in the air by his hair as Pokey clutches onto the blue blanket he’s had since I met him.

“Come nicely, and I won't hurt the little guy,” the man says as he actively hurts him.

“Put him down!” I shout, restrained but still trying to break free.

Pokey turns and bites the man, drawing blood while causing him to curse and send Pokey flying. When his little body lands on the coffee table with a hard thud, Mikey and Isaiah come running in to grab for him. I assume they were hiding in one of the back rooms or waiting for a moment to get Pokey to safety.

But it's too late. I watch in slow motion as the man who will soon take everything from us aims a gun at the little guy.

“I will give you one chance to come quietly. Fight me again, and I will kill him,” he threatens.

Slowly, the man pinning me down releases me from his hold. Rising to stand, I jerk away when he tries to pull me back by the shoulder. Careful not to alarm the men, I keep my arms raised as I make my way over to the sweet tiny boy crying on the floor.

He reaches for me instantly, and I cradle him to me. His short arms wrap around my neck as he begins to cry into my shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

I hate hearing his broken voice. Mikey, Isaiah, and I have worked so hard to try to help Pokey feel safe, but these men ruined all of our progress in under three minutes.

“It’s okay, little guy. I’ve got you.”

Mikey raises his brow, asking if they should run. I shake my head softly. There is at least one gun on us. If we ran, this would end badly.

With no other choice left, I stand and face the ugly dude who is holding a weapon to a child’s face.

“Try not to injure the merchandise, you know how the boss gets,” the man who was holding me down says as the other stares at Pokey like he wants to take a bite out of him.

“We will come with you,” I grit out. “But you need to promise we will stay together. If not, I’ll put up a fight and you might risk harming your ‘merchandise’.”

Both of the men laugh, apparently finding humor in my demand.

“Don’t worry,” the one by the door says, “where you're going, you'll be spending a lot of time together.”

I glare at them as three sets of pleading eyes look up at me.

“The boss is going to like this bunch,” the man behind me states.

“They sure do have a lot of fight in them. That Ken guy got a pretty penny for the lot because the boss man saw the older one fight.”

Ken did this? But we had a deal.

“Let's go.” I'm nudged in the back with a gun. “If you behave, they all might just survive.”

Anger rises in me as I walk with a sobbing little boy to an unmarked black van. When the door is opened, four other kids sit inside, defeat and sorrow covering their features.

It's in that moment I vow to protect them with all I have. If we can survive this, then I can come back and make sure that Ken will suffer for breaking our deal.

We get in, and the man I shot is tossed in with us, cramming all the kids into a corner as he bleeds out everywhere.

“You can thank this one for the mess,” one of the guys sneers, gesturing to me.

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