Page 1 of Guardian

Chapter 1

Jemma

My precious baby boywas finally asleep in his secondhand crib, but I knew without a doubt he’d wake up in a couple of hours screaming to be nursed the same as he’d done since I’d given birth a month ago.

I was so tired that my bones ached. Four weeks of sleepless nights were more than my body could handle without a break.

My husband was lying in our bed dead to the world. His snores echoed through the quietness causing my anger to bubble up inside of me.

Mitch never heard the baby, or at least he pretended not to. Even if he woke up, there was no getting any help from him. He always proclaimed that the baby was my job. His duty was over once the kid had been conceived.

As far as I was concerned these days, it was better that way. My perfect little boy didn’t need the influence of a man such as theone who created him if one night of forgetting a condom counted as creating a life.

I climbed into the bed that stank of his dirty body and the stale scent of liquor and cigarette smoke. At one time I would have woken him, yelled about his disgusting condition, and forced him to get his ass up to shower. Lately, I was simply too tired to give a damn.

Besides, every minute I wasted dealing with him and his bad habits was one less I got to sleep.

It wasn’t long before I was out, deep into dreams of a better life for Jackson. My unconscious mind always returned to the imaginary world I’d once hoped to live in; one where there was plenty of food, a small house with a yard, and no fears for what might happen to my son if my husband screwed up in his so-called job.

The fact that there was still hope inside me was a revelation I’d have to consider during my waking hours. After the way things had turned out, all hope should have been lost forever.

My poor body jerked as something brought me out of the dream. At first, I assumed the baby had cried out and it was time to feed him, but there were no screaming baby sounds reaching my ever-alert ears. I rolled over in bed too tired to give a damn what had awoken me. If it wasn’t Jackson, then it wasn’t necessary.

I was drifting back under when the noise repeated, only louder this time. There was yelling, and I reached over to shove my husband out of bed so he could go scream at the neighbors to shut the hell up before they woke the baby.

Mitch wasn’t there. His side of the bed was empty and cold. That’s when I realized the yelling was inside my apartment.

A cold chill of fear went down my spine. Nothing good ever came of his having visitors in the middle of the night.

As quietly as possible I slid from the bed and pulled on the sweatpants I’d tossed in the floor earlier. I considered myself sufficiently covered with those and the t-shirt I slept in, at least enough to peek around the door to see who was arguing with Mitch.

I jumped when something crashed to the living room. Whatever was happening was getting rough and out of hand. My fear grew as I tiptoed down the short, dark hallway. I was already shaking before I peeked through the narrow archway and caught a glimpse of the terrifying scene.

A large man with long, greasy hair was beating Mitch to pieces. My husband fought back, although he was no match for the bigger, heavier man. With each punch, the man demanded that Mitch tell him where the drugs were or hand over the cash he’d received for them.

Through his bloody lips, Mitch kept mumbling, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

He knew. Of course, he knew. That’s what he did. It was his job to deliver the drugs these men supplied him with, get the cash payment, and return it all to the big boss. Once that was done, he’d be paid his usual pittance for his services.

Apparently, he hadn’t done precisely as he’d been told. If I was getting the gist of the argument, then Mitch had gotten greedy. Because of his stupidity, my baby was in danger and so was I.

I could clearly see the gun in the shoulder holster the man wore. I knew he’d use it without hesitation. None of us meant anything to him. All he wanted were the drugs or the cash, and I didn’t know where any of it was hidden.

“Please don’t wake up, Jackson,” I begged inside my head. “Sleep my precious so that you can survive. I swear I’ll get you out of this mess forever if you’ll just stay asleep until this is all over. God, please take care of my son.”

The man began choking Mitch, and I let out a startled gasp. He was an asshole, but he didn’t deserve to die.

The man’s evil gaze turned to me, and his face lit with an eerie grin that chilled me to the bones. “What have we here? Maybe, I’m going at this the wrong way. Torturing and raping this pretty lady may be the way to get your sorry ass to speak up. And I’ll have a little fun.”

He threw Mitch to the floor where he gasped for breath. The man drew the gun from the holster and came after me.

I didn’t move. I simply allowed him to grab me and hold the gun to my head. I knew that if I even dared one sideways glance toward the tiny room where Jackson was sleeping, my baby would die as punishment for his father’s sins.

The click of the safety being unlocked made it obvious that this man wasn’t playing games. As he began to push me down to the floor I begged, “Mitch, don’t let him do this. If I ever meant anything to you at all you’ll give him what he wants.”

“Shut up, bitch! I don’t have nothing,” he answered through gritted, bloody teeth in the raspy voice caused by his swollen throat.

“Then I’ll take the payment out of your woman, and so will the others. We’ll take turns screwing her every which way until she dies. Afterward, we’ll put a bullet in your worthless brain. I’ll show you a sample of what I mean right now, then I’ll drag you both to the warehouse and finish this shit,” the stranger warned as he pawed his way under my t-shirt and squeezed my breast so hard I screamed.

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