Page 5

His grin cracked wider. “You think you’re better than me? Think you’re gonna stop me from seeing my own kid?”
He stepped closer. I backed up. My hands were inthe air now, slow and shaking. I felt the wall behind me before I saw it—nowhere to run. No more doors.
“Don’t do this,” I whispered.
“Too late.”
He was going to kill me. I knew it.
His finger twitched near the trigger?—
Then stilled.
Not because he changed his mind.
Because he heard something.
A child. Crying.
Faint, but clear through the walls—out back, past the gate.
His head snapped toward the sound. And that’s when I saw it. Not grief. Not regret.
Rage.
“They’re out there,” he muttered. More to himself than to me. His voice dropped into a growl. “She took my baby.”
Before I could speak, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me with him—out through the hallway, past broken glass and overturned chairs. His grip was iron. My heels scraped across the old wood floors. I tried to pull back.
“Stop—please?—”
“Shut your mouth.”
He threw open the back door, gun still in one hand, and shoved me out into the courtyard ahead of him. Rain slapped against my face. The gate was still locked. I’d told them to lock it. But the latch wasn’t broken—just bent.
And he was strong enough to rip it open.
With one loud crack, he slammed his shoulder into it. Once. Twice.
The latch buckled.
The door flew open.
And suddenly, we were in.
Screams erupted as he stormed into the courtyard. Mothers grabbed children, shielding bodies with their own. He raised the gun and waved it wildly, yelling over the noise.
“Everybody down! I said down!”
The chaos stopped.
Fear dropped like a stone. I stood frozen, soaking wet, watching it all unravel.
He turned toward the center of the courtyard—where she was. The woman from earlier. The new one. Huddled beneath the awning with her toddler on her hip, her body curled around the child like a shield.
Her eyes locked with his. And I saw it all. Recognition. Terror. And then ... something worse.
Defeat.