Page 57 of 2nd Strike
Another door flies open and Susie jumps out, screaming at Jon. He picks up his pace and sprints toward us, throwing a scared look back at her.
My heart kicks hard. Where is Meg?Please let her be okay.
In the next instant, my sister appears, and I sigh audibly. "There she is."
She’s trying to calm Susie, while stepping in front of her to block her from Jon.
I release my belt, open my door, and tell JJ, “Get Jon in the car."
I take off and start running toward Meg and Susie. As Jon and I pass each other, he gives me a frightened look. "Get in the back," I tell him. “You're safe now."
Meg is doing a dance with Susie, trying to keep in front of her as the woman charges, screaming Jon's name at the top of her lungs. The sirens grow closer, and we're drawing notice from people leaving the store.
I speed up, reading Susie's body language, and yep, as I suspected, before I can get there, she grabs Meg and shoves her to the ground.
Meg being Meg, she sticks out her leg and trips the woman.
That’s my sister.
Susie jumps up clumsily, screaming obscenities at her, and me as well. She rushes toward me, anger in her face, fists raised.
I'm not sure if it's a mother's instinct for her child, even though Jon is technically not hers, or if it's just rage at being found out, but she's in bulldozer mode and there's little that’ll stop her from getting to the boy unless I do something drastic.
Good thing I don't have my gun.
I stop, and as she comes at me, I wait until she's nearly in my face. She rears back as if to hit me, and I send a right jab straight into her nose.
Her cursing turns into a cry of pain. I feel cartilage crunch under my knuckles and she stumbles, grabbing at her face.
Her feet tangle and she lands on her butt. Rolling on the asphalt, she cries out, blood seeping through her fingers as she cradles her nose.
My knuckles burn, but the adrenaline is flowing and I barely feel it, shaking out my hand and standing over her. "Nobody hurts my sister and gets away with it," I tell her. As if that's the worst of her crimes.
In my book, it pretty much is.
She tries to roll to her hands and knees and I use my foot to push her back down. “If you know what's good for you, you’ll stay on the ground."
She curls into a ball, sobbing. I jog over and make sure Meg’s okay. She brushes off her jeans and gives me a quick hug. Together we surround Susie, who is still crying and wiping her bloody nose on her sleeve.
“You’re Amelia's sister, aren’t you?" I ask.
I hear screeching tires and see Matt speeding in. Tony's truck is behind him, Grey in the passenger seat. The sirens are only a block or so away now, and I'm sure they're coming to us.
I pull my cell out and hit my record app. I want a confession before they take her away.
Grabbing Susie by the arm, I haul her into a sitting position. Shoving my phone in her face, I ask again, “Are you Amelia Norris’s sister?"
She swipes at her wet cheeks. “What does it matter? She's dead."
“Which one of you kidnapped Jon and Ethan, or were you both involved?"
"I love him. He’s mine."
“Who?” Meg asks. ”Jon?"
She nods, raising her chin in defiance. "Amelia wanted him for herself, but he bonded with me." She jabs a thumb into her chest. Her sad eyes lock with mine. "I left her the other kid."
“Is Jon the real Ethan Havers?”
