Page 101 of Beyond Oblivion

“Madison, get the fuck out of here,” Hazel snapped, stepping between us, her stance protective.

Madison sneered. “Did you get your little bodyguard at a discount on eBay?” Her voice dripped with venom. “Already sweating.”

I bent forward, pressing against the pain with my fingers. “What’s your plan, Maddie? They’re going to kill him. You don’t know what you’ve done!”

“That wasn’t the deal. Have you heard of deprogramming, Cami? It’ll probably take us six months to undo the hold you have on him.”

Hazel’s eyes darkened. “You really are insane.”

“I’m not crazy!” she screamed, her entire body shaking. She took a moment, and then spoke again, this time sweet and calm, even more unsettling than when she’d lost control. “Trent loves me. He’salwaysloved me.”

Hazel took a step back, closer to me. “You come anywhere near her, and you’re gonna wish you’d stayed in your padded room binge-watching true crime documentaries instead of living one, sweetheart.”

Madison took another step, but Hazel wasted no time, lunging at her. A fight broke out between them, Hazel’s blunt strength clashing with Madison’s desperation. As they thrashed into the hallway, I struggled to my feet, the pain intensifying.

Hazel gave her one hard push, then slammed the bedroom door, holding it shut. As Madison pushed back, I rushed over to help Hazel keep her out, looking down when warm liquid began dripping down my thighs.

“Oh, God,” I cried.

The door burst open, blowing us back onto the floor, but instead of Madison, three men in black stormed in, faces hidden, guns drawn. I crawled back as sweat dripped into my eyes, fear clawing up my spine.

Hazel scrambled to cover me with her body, protecting me the only way she could. “Don’t hurt her! Don’t!”

“I told you!” Madison said to the men. “Look at how people react. She’s brainwashed this idiot to be a literal human shield! She just… she…” A blur of screeching nonsense exploded from Madison’s mouth, ranting that she hadn’t planned this, that I wasn’t supposed to have Trenton’s baby anyway. Her delusions poured out in a litany of jealousy and rage, each word more unhinged than the last.

“Enough!” one of the men said, his Japanese accent muffled by his mask. “Bind her hands. We need to move.”

“She’s bleeding, fuckface! She needs an ambulance!” Hazel screamed.

The moment she shouted the words, one of the men was yanked backward into the hallway, leaving a beat of shocked silence.

Then, chaos erupted.

Travis yanked out the other two, Liis swiftly knocking one of them out with the butt of her side arm. Trenton’s brothers systematically disarmed the other intruders, bursting into action like a well-oiled machine, each moving with the precision and force only the Maddox family could muster.

Hazel lifted me from the floor, helping me to the bed. She nodded once and then turned around, prepared to defend me again if anyone got through the Maddoxes’ defenses.

Thomas drove his fist forward in a powerful hook that landed square on his adversary’s jaw, sending him stumbling back. The masked man barely had time to recover before Thomas drove a knee into his gut, knocking the wind out of him with a sickening thud. As he doubled over, Thomas locked an arm around his neck, twisting him down with a chokehold that forced him to the ground, struggling but quickly losing strength.

Travis had his hands full with the last intruder, who’d managed to swing a punch his way. He ducked under the blow, his movements fluid and quick, and countered with an uppercut that snapped his assailant’s head back. Not missing a beat, Travis followed with a brutal elbow to the face, blood spraying the wall. With a sharp kick to the back of his knees, Travis brought him down hard, pinning him to the floor, one arm twisted painfully behind his back as he held him there.

With all three intruders subdued, Thomas and Travis exchanged a quick nod, each breathing heavily but ready to react to any movement from their captives. Liis didn’t let her guard down either, keeping her grip firm on her target’s throat until he slumped, too weakened to resist further.

Liis kept them targeted with her 9-millimeter, threatening to put holes in the first person who moved.

“No! It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Trent was supposed to… We were going to…” Madison said, walking toward me.

Hazel stomped forward, cutting off her path and delivering a single solid punch to Madison’s nose that snapped her head back and knocked her out cold, sending her crashing backward to the floor.

Thomas scrambled in, breathing hard and staring at me. “Thank God for that app. It alerted us, and we turned around. You okay? Did they hurt you?”

“Where’s Trent?” I cried.

Trenton staggered into the room, dazed and bloody, crimson trickling down from a deep cut in his hairline. He made his way over to me, his hand unsteady as he drew back the comforter, his face draining of color when he noticed the blood-soaked sheets beneath me. They were soaked through, my life’s blood spreading like a haunting shadow, the reality settling like ice in my veins. Everything around us was a blur of voices, chaos—Thomas barking orders into his phone, sirens already howling in the distance.

Despite her round belly, Liis moved quickly, checking Madison’s bag and using the zip ties inside to secure Madison and the other fallen men. With swift precision, she looped the restraints around their wrists, pulling each one tight to prevent any escape.

“I’m going to check the perimeter,” Travis said, still breathing hard.

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