Page 67 of Big Red

Gripping the gun on his hip, he shouts, “Get out of the truck, now!”

Red turns to me. “Stay in the truck.”

He gets out slowly as Xavier leads him toward his patrol car. With Red's back facing Xavier, he doesn’t see him pull out his taser. I open my mouth to warn him, but it’s too late. Red drops to the ground, and a scream rips through me.

Before I can even think of a plan, a van comes out of nowhere, blocking us in.

My worst nightmare becomes a reality when Declan hops out of the passenger side while Chloe and Jeffery pull up behind them in a blacked-out SUV.

What in the entire fuck is happening?

I lock all the doors, but that doesn’t deter Declan. He smashes the driver's window with a baton and unlocks the doors. Cindy and Colt scream, reaching out for me.

“Mom!” they cry in unison.

I’m holding on the best I can, but when all the doors are ripped open, we’re torn from each other. Chloe and Jeffery grab the kids from the backseat, leading them to the SUV.

Vincent drags me out of the truck, pulling me toward Declan.

I have never seen him look so evil.

This night was beginning to be so beautiful, but like the dark cloud that he is, Declan just had to come and ruin it.

I haven’t been taking any self-defense classes since I found out I was pregnant. I learned a few moves, but this differs from defending myself. They took the kids as well. I don’t know how I’m going to get them back.

“Miss me, honey?” Declan sneers.

I keep my mouth shut. Nothing I say will end well, and I have my unborn child to think about.

Declan backhands me, making my ears ring.

“ANSWER ME!” he roars, spit flying.

“Declan, not here. Let’s go.”

My heart drops into my stomach as I watch Xavier drag a handcuffed Red and throw him in the back of the van.

Declan approaches me with a needle in hand and a devious smile. “You’re going to take a little nap until we get to our destination.”

“No!” I whip my head back and forth frantically, fighting against Vincent's hold.

My baby. I can't let them do this. My fight is futile as Vincent locks his arms around me. Declan stabs me in the neck with the needle. I can feel the liquid shoot into me as my limbs grow weak.

“I told you. If I can't have you, then nobody will.” Those are the last words I hear before darkness takes me.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

CHLOE

Iknow you all didn’t think you would be hearing from little ol’ me, but my story deserves to be toldjustas much as Red’s. I’m sure he has painted me out to be some horrible villain. That isn’t the case at all.

I’m just a small-town girl who has had to survive any way I could.

When I met Red, it was love at first sight. At least it was for me. In the beginning, he only wanted sex with no strings. I was crushed, but I did whatever I had to do to be with him. After a while, I was the only woman he was sleeping with. We kind of fell into a routine like we were together, but not officially. That was good enough for me until it wasn’t.

I had to do something that permanently earned me a spot in his life, so I told him I was on birth control, but I wasn’t. He was furious at first when I told him I was pregnant. For a while, I thought I would become another statistic and raise my baby alone. But one day, he finally came back.

He was so attentive to me and my needs. I was over the moon to finally receive true affection from him. I knew he cared for me, but I wanted… no, Ineededhim to love me like I did him.

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