Page 23 of Clash

“Is he okay?” the man asked, kneeling down by my son.

“No, I think he may have broken his arm.”

The man nodded, though his eyes weren’t on my son’s arm, they were on my tits, making me even more worked up.

“Let me help you. I can take you to the hospital.”

“No, it’s okay,” I replied, standing to my feet, while helping Alex to his.

“I noticed you don’t have a car though. The closest hospital is miles away.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll call an ambulance if I have to.” He didn’t need to know I didn’t have a phone. God how I wish I had a phone right now.

The man gripped my arm. “Nonsense. I’ll take you.” His voice was gruff and there was a wild look in his eyes. He started tugging on me, and I panicked.

“I said no thank you,” I shouted, pulling my arm away.

“I’m insisting you come with me,” he said again, his voice getting more growly and insistent. “If you know what’s good for you,” he whispered so only I could hear, “you will come with me. Don’t want that sweet boy of yours to get anymore hurt, do you?”

Alex was still crying and had no idea what was going on. But there was absolutely no way I was going anywhere with this crazy man.

“Go away!” I told him, quickly grabbing Alex as I started to back away.

He took a few steps toward me, increasing my heart rate tenfold.

The man’s brow dropped menacingly, but instantly washed away, backing up quickly while holding up his hands. “I don’t want any trouble.”

Glancing over my shoulder, relief washed over me when I saw Clash running towards us, at least until I saw the gun in his hand, one that was trained on the guy.

“Get the fuck out of here!” Clash ordered. “Touch her again, and I pull the trigger.”

The man took off running, not even bothering to look back.

Clash tucked his gun behind him, quickly rushing to my side.

“What happened?”

“Alex fell off the slide. Then suddenly that guy showed up, insisting I get in his car with him, so he could take us to the hospital, but it didn’t feel right…”

“I should’ve warned you. There’s been quite a few sexual assaults in the area. Most of them don’t go reported, and police don’t monitor the area as much as they should. When you said you were going to the park, I didn’t think about which one was closest to me.”

“Why are you here?” I asked him, watching in awe as he scooped Alex up into his arms and carried him over to a car a few feet away.

“I told the little guy that I would come to the park with him.”

Instantly, my heart swelled.He came here to play with Alex? What is this world right now?

“I’m sorry, Mr. Clash. I fell. I ruin everything.” Tears fell down my son’s beautiful face, his eyes shining as that once vibrant smile shifted into a frown.

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay. Let’s get you to the hospital. We’ll get you checked out.”

My steps faltered.Would taking him to the hospital make it easy for my ex to find me?

“I don’t know if a hospital is a good idea, Clash. What if…”

“Don’t worry, Gina, everything is gonna be okay.”

“But, Clash…”