Page 116 of Hawk
The kids didn’t need to see her, and I didn’t want them to see me lose my temper. Just as I moved to step onto the front porch, the stupid bitch did something I should have expected. In the old days, I would’ve been prepared, but the last few weeks with Colton had caused me to lower my defenses.
The gun in her right hand made me stop in my tracks, realizing she was crazy. Why else would she show up here with a weapon? I raised my hands in mock surrender, hoping she’d move closer to me so I could disarm her.
“Where are my kids?” she asked, and it was then I noticed her bloodshot eyes and rotting teeth.
“You don’t have any kids here. You forfeited that right when you signed them over to Hawk and walked away without a backward glance.”
“Who the fuck are you to talk about my family? You don’t know me, and I guarantee you don’t know anything aboutmy husband.”
“I know enough,” I remarked, and she shook her head as her eyes narrowed.
“Where is he?” she asked, and I shook my head, refusing to answer her questions.
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll just have to come inside and wait for him to return,” she said, and I shook my head again.
“You have no right to come inside this house. Why don’t you go away and leave us alone?”
She cocked the hammer on the gun, and I knew there was a good chance of her hurting the kids if I didn’t stop her. Moving a little closer, I used every bit of training Rhys gave me, and when her gaze glanced to the side, I used one hand to slap the gun and the other to wrench it from her hands.
She was unprepared for my move, and I could see the rage burning in her eyes. Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a stun gun, and it was then I knew she wasn’t going to stop until she got what she wanted. Matthew and Anna would be fair game for her delusions and anger if she got her hands on them.
I had one chance to stop her taking them, so I yelled over my shoulder into the house. “Zeus, protect the kids! No one gets them!”
I knew he heard me when I heard Anna say, “Why is he pulling my shirt?”
“Follow him,” Matthew replied with fear in his tiny voice, and the sound of the back door closing echoed through the house.
“What did you do?” Araneta screeched as I reached out and pulled the door closed, knowing it locked behind me.
“I won’t let you touch those precious children,” I explained calmly.
“They’re my kids, and I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with them. Who are you to stop me?”
“I’m their momma,” I returned, and when the words fell from my lips, I knew I’d made a mistake.
Araneta tried to hit me with the stun gun in her hand, and when I raised the gun to fire it, the sound of an empty strike of the hammer was all I needed to know. She never planned on using the gun, and now, she had an advantage. My eyes glanced down so briefly, I was sure she’d missed it, but that’s where I was wrong.
The stun gun pushed into my side, and when she pressed the button, I felt the shock into my soul. It hurt so badly, and as I dropped to the front porch, I prayed she would leave but knew my luck was never that good. Araneta leaned over, and I could smell a foul stench coming off her.
“I’ll have to handle you before I claim what’s mine. Don’t worry, whore, I’ve got plenty of men who’ll keep you company.”
She pressed the stun gun into the side of my neck, and as she fired it again, I felt my bladder evacuate onto the front porch moments before she pressed the button again. The third shock wasn’t as strong as the first two, but it was enough to scramble my brain.
She lifted my legs off the porch and began to drag me down the steps, allowing my head to crack against the bricks as she moved me. On The last step, she yanked, and when my head hit the concrete sidewalk, my vision grew dark around the edges, and that was the last thing I remembered.
I prayed Zeus could protect the kids from her craziness until someone could save them. I didn’t hold out much hope for myself, but as long as I protected them from the kind of abuse Hailey endured, it would be worth it.
