Page 54 of Joker's Ghost
“Nah, I made sure he won’t be home, and by the time he does get home, it’ll be too late.” He slams my back up against the counter, and I wince. My back is tender with the weight ofthe baby, but the pain travels around my midsection, grips me hard, then releases.
I draw in slow, deep breaths.
“Your husband took out someone very close to me. Now it’s his turn to lose someone close to him.”
“You doing this won’t bring back whoever you lost.”
His deep, rumbling laugh fills me with dread. “Before I’m done, I’ll take out everyone he loves.”
My brain scrambles for a way out. A diversion.
I grip my belly with my free hand. “I need to sit.” Then I groan, deep enough for him to hear but not loud enough to attract Derek or Deana.
His dark eyes narrow above the bandana.
“I’m not kidding. I’m due this week.” Total lie. I bend from the waist, and his eyes dart around the room.
“Please just let me sit.” I bend down farther, and he steps away from me. Perfect. I groan, twist my body, then grab my heavy Calphalon stainless steel frying pan off the stovetop and whip it at his head. The dull thud knocks him back against the counter. I whack him again, this time connecting with his shoulder. He staggers for a second then regains his balance.
“You’ll regret this, bitch.” He charges toward me, his body hitting me with all two hundred pounds of pissed off.
I grapple for the edge of the counter seconds before I lose my footing and stumble backwards. My back hits the floor, and I cradle my stomach, but my head makes a sickening crack against the tiles. Pain sears through my skull, my ears ring, and my eyes focus on Derek bolting into the room.
“What the fuck?” Derek bellows, then sweeps his leg, connecting a perfect roundhouse kick to the guy’s head. The guy staggers backwards and lands with a thud on the floor.
I struggle to get up, but my abdomen clenches so hard, you can see the baby move beneath my shirt. A second later, I’m drenched, and the floor is covered with amniotic fluid.
Derek crouches beside me. “Are you all right?”
“My water just broke.” I grimace as another contraction hits harder than the first. “The baby’s coming.”
“Now?” His eyes grow wide.
“Now,” I moan.
Derek fumbles with his phone and calls 911. He gives them our address and information, then swipes away the call.
I grab his hand and nod to the guy laid out on the tile. “You were amazing.”
“All these years of karate finally paid off.” Derek stands, then opens the kitchen drawer. “Who the hell is he?”
“I don’t know, but he knows your father.”
He pulls out the duct tape and makes quick work of securing the Nomad’s ankles and wrists together.
“I don’t want to know where you learned that trick.”
“You forget I spent the first thirteen years of my life living at the raunchiest, wildest, craziest clubhouse on the East Coast.” Derek grins, and I swear I’m looking at his father fifteen years ago.
Another contraction hits, and this one makes me curl into a ball.
“Mom?” Deana’s little voice drenches me like a bucket of cold water. “Are you all right?” Her bottom lip quivers, and my heart melts.
Another contraction rips through my abdomen, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle my pain.
“I’m fine, honey,” I pant out. “But I don’t think your baby brother or sister can wait to meet you.” I catch Derek’s eye. “Take her in the other room and try your father again, because I don’t think the paramedics are going to make it in time.
Another contraction tears through me, and before I can recover, it hits again stronger than the first. I cradle my belly, and my body automatically folds into the fetal position.
