Page 25 of Hunted

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Ashot reverberated through the small apartment and both men froze. Thomas screamed more loudly from the other room. Clint stared up wide-eyed at Leila while she pointed her Sig Sauer at her ex, her expression determined, her shooting stance perfect. The screech of tires and the wail of sirens reached the parking lot, followed by the shouts of officers outside, but Leila didn’t budge, keeping her gun trained on her ex.

“For the last time,” she said, her tone bristling with anger. “I am not your property. Neither is my son. You might be his father biologically, but you’ll never be true family to him. Try to come after us again, and I’ll blow your brains out.” She leaned in closer just as the cops raced into the room. “And I won’t miss, you bastard.”

“Drop your weapon!” one of the cops shouted and Leila immediately complied, putting her gun on the floor and raising her hands. The officers frisked her, Clint and Mike. Leila gave the officer’s a quick explanation of what had happened since Mike showed up at the apartment. With each word describing the things Mike had threatened to do to her and Thomas, Clint’sgut knotted tighter. With each word, his pride in Leila also grew. Being confident shooting a paper target at a gun range was one thing. Having the balls to take down a human when necessary was something else entirely. Damn.

She was the bravest woman he’d ever known. He’d come here to save her, but she’d saved herself.

“Please, can I go to my son now?” she asked. An officer had opened the bedroom door to check on Thomas, but the boy continued to wail for his mother.

“Go ahead.” When the cop gave her permission, she rushed to Thomas, picking him up and hugging him tightly to her. She tucked his face against her shoulder, and Clint saw tears streaming down her cheeks. He wanted to go to both of them, hold them, comfort them, but the cops were busy asking him questions that he was doing his best to answer.

A couple of the officers knew Mike on sight and were aware of his criminal record, so they quickly sorted out who the bad guy was.

“All right, you’re coming with us,” an officer said to Mike after slapping a pair of handcuffs on him. “Your parole officer’s meeting us at the station. He’s not going to be too pleased with you.”

Mike snarled and struggled against the cops holding him as they hauled him out, but Clint just breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over.

Clint continued to answer questions, then showed his ID to prove his identity. When he was finally cleared, he walked over to where Leila stood near the corner, rocking Thomas in her arms. A female officer was with her, interviewing her, but the woman walked away when Clint approached.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his body still humming with energy. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” she whispered, her face buried in Thomas’s hair. “I’m sorry I left earlier. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“None of this is your fault. Mike’s the bad guy here. Not you.” He wanted to hold her and comfort her but stopped himself. This wasn’t the time or the place. “You… you were amazing.”

Leila snorted, then kissed the top of her son’s head. “I guess what they say is true. A mother’s love is the strongest force on earth. All I cared about was making sure Thomas was safe. I would have done anything to guarantee that.” She bit her lip before continuing. “I’m glad I didn’t have to shoot Mike, though. That would have been hard to live with.”

“It can be,” Clint said. He’d been there, and he knew that taking a life was traumatic, no matter how bad the guy was.

“I should thank you for teaching me how to handle a weapon. I was terrified, but your words about holding the gun and taking aim kept running through my head. They gave me courage when I needed it most.”

“I’m glad for that.” God, he wished he knew what to say to her. There was so much hewantedto say, but she was still visibly reeling from what had happened. So was he, truth be told. He’d faced some hellish situations, but none of them had hit him like this one had. Things had been a heartbeat away from going sideways.

“They tell me that I have to go down to the station to sign my statement,” she said, looking past him.

“Do you need a ride?” Clint offered, hoping she’d let him do that for her.

“No, it’s fine,” she said after only a slight hesitation. “I’ll go with the officers.”

His gut clenched, but Clint nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you there then.”

A moment later, he watched her walk out with one of the cops, Thomas still in her arms. Clint followed behind, feeling more alone than he ever had before and knowing he had no right to expect anything more. Leila was a strong, independent woman. It was one of the things he loved most about her. She was making it clear that she didn’t need him anymore. So the only thing he could do was let her go.

Leila finished up with the police about two hours later and went to find Thomas, who was being watched by yet another officer. She just wanted to take her son and go home. So much had happened in the last few hours that her head was still spinning. Mike was back behind bars where he belonged. She and Thomas were safe from him. One major problem in her life was resolved.

As for Clint, though… She sighed and stopped, leaning against the wall in the brightly lit hallway. That problem remained. She was grateful he’d shown up after the way she’d bailed on him, but she’d seen the hurt and anger banked in his blue eyes back at the apartment. Knowing his past and how she’d left, Leila didn’t expect him to forgive her for leaving the way she had. He had issues with getting close to others. She’d broken through some of that, and then she’d burned him in the worst way.

Leaving him only to reach out minutes later, desperately needing his help to escape another man. She really doubted that that was the way to anyone’s heart. Maybe it was for the best though. Her life was still a mess at the moment, even with Mike out of the picture. She had some rebuilding to do. And Clint deserved a woman without all her baggage, someone unencumbered by a kid and a past and a million other things that made Leila totally unsuitable for him.

No. Leaving was for the best. What had happened at the apartment only reinforced that. Seeing him in danger and knowing she was the cause of it had nearly been too much to bear. No. She needed to get away for a bit, take some time to think and figure out what was best for her son. Perhaps her trip to see her mother in Puerto Rico was still her best option. She checked the travel app on her phone for the ticket confirmation. Two tickets for the following morning. She had just finished texting her mother to let her know that she and Thomas were coming when another door opened at the other end of the hall.

Mike was led out of an interrogation room and toward a sign that read Temporary Lock Up. One of the officers headed in Leila’s direction to fill her in on what would happen next.

“Don’t worry,” the female officer who had stayed with her since the apartment said. “He’ll be transferred from temporary holding to prison shortly. He’s going away for a while this time. In addition to violating his parole, when we searched his car, we found a significant quantity of drugs.”

“I want my attorney,” Mike shouted to someone in the interview room, just before he disappeared around the corner. “We can work a deal. I’ll tell you what I know about the gang in exchange for leniency.”

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