Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Gavin and the man who restrained him were struggling, but once he saw his partner was down, he let out a string of words I didn’t understand. My brother used his distraction to our advantage. He jerked himself to the right so he fell to the side. This gave me access to the stranger’s body. I shot forward and slammed into the bloke, knocking him to the ground a second later. He fought me like a madman. He rocked my jaw twice, but his punches weren’t as hard or as calculated as mine. It didn’t take long for me to overpower him, but unlike me, he had backup. Without a sound, the woman jumped onto my back. She tried to hook her good arm around my neck but couldn’t, so instead, she fisted a handful of my T-shirt as well as my hair.
I felt her pull strands of my hair out at the root. I heard the unmistakable rip of fabric as she released my hair and clawed at my back like the fucking animal she was. Burning, white-hot pain suddenly flooded my shoulder before I jerked my head back and felt the instant contact of my skull smacking into hers, followed by her screaming.
“Fuck! Date! Bitch, get off him!”
That was JJ’s voice that bellowed just as the woman on my back was yanked off my body. I continued to hit the unmoving piece of scum under me until I felt hands grab me and pull me back. I struggled against the hold on me until I heard him speak.
“It’s Harley,” my brother shouted. “It’s me.”
With a blink, the cloud of rage I had been held captive by was quickly dissipating, and I could think clearly once again.
“Get Gavin,” I rasped. “They stabbed him!”
I straightened myself, stumbling a little before I turned and stared down at my little brother. “Christ, Gav.”
“Kalin,” he said, his face contorted with pain. “Indie.”
“I’ll get them.”
I ran out of the sitting room, checked behind every door I passed by until I came to the bedroom. I kicked the door open and braced myself for another fight, but it was a waste of time. The fight in this room had already ended. A man lay on the floor, out cold, surrounded by the shattered pieces of a broken lamp. Kalin was cowering beside the bed, clutching her tiny son to her chest. She was shaking something fierce, and when she saw it was me, she jumped to her feet and rushed towards me on unsteady legs. Tears streaked her face, and she let out a cry. Indie instantly responded and began to wail even louder than his mother.
“Honey, what happened?”
She pressed herself to my side, crying so hard she struggled to breathe.
“The man swiped at me with his knife when I tried to leave the room. I hit him with the l-lamp when he w-wasn’t payin’ us any m-mind.” She sobbed, bouncing Indie. “It’s how I could p-phone you and the others. I was so s-scared that woman would c-come back in here. She said she’d c-cut Indie’s throat if Gavin didn’t do w-what she wanted.”
I felt sick.
“It’s okay.” I put my arms around them both. “Gavin’s okay. The man and woman aren’t a problem anymore.”
My nephew continued to scream, and Kalin couldn’t calm him down. She was far too upset herself.
“Hand him to me, honey,” I urged gently. “You go into the bathroom and splash some water on your face while ye get your bearings.”
She nodded, sniffling as she handed my nephew to me. She left the room while I rocked Indie and leaned down to kiss his face. He was screaming, and it was only then that I realised he had blood on him. At first, I thought it was Kalin’s or maybe my own that got on him. That was until I noticed the cut on his neck. My blood boiled as I quickly laid him on the bed and stripped him bare while he cried all the while. The cut on his neck was the only one on his body, and it was bleeding enough to worry me.
“JJ!”
My shout brought my eldest brother running. Kalin dashed out of the bathroom and was hot on his heels as they barrelled into the room.
“He’s been cut,” I said, frantic. “On his neck.”
Kalin screamed with fright and rushed to pick a naked Indie up. She checked him all over and made a sound somewhere between a sob and a retch when she saw his bloody neck.
“The man.” She trembled. “When he hit me, he was holdin’ a knife. It must have ni-nicked him.”
“He’s okay. It’s just a little cut. We’ll get him checked out, and he’ll be right as rain.”
I was worried about my nephew, but I had to soothe his mother. She looked like she might drop dead of fright at any second.