Chapter 5 – THE BLOOD ON THE CONCRETE

The heavy iron connected with Marco’s temple with a sickening crunch.

He staggered backward, his gun firing wildly into the ceiling.

I didn’t stop. I swung again, hitting him in the jaw.

Marco collapsed onto the concrete, completely unconscious.

I dropped the flashlight. My hands were shaking so violently I could barely breathe.

“Mommy?”

Ellie was sitting on the floor, holding her cheek. A red mark was already blooming on her pale skin.

I dropped to my knees and pulled her into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”

“You hit him,” she whispered, her wide eyes staring at the massive man on the floor.

“I had to.” I grabbed the gun from Marco’s limp hand. It was heavy and terrifying, but I wasn’t leaving us defenseless again.

I picked up the flashlight and grabbed Ellie’s hand.

“We have to go.”

But before we could take three steps toward the exit, the heavy steel door of the stairwell banged open.

A figure stumbled into the garage.

It was Liam.

He looked terrible. His clothes were torn, and blood was seeping through the shoulder of his jacket.

He stopped when he saw Marco on the floor.

Then he looked at me. And he saw the gun in my shaking hands.

“Well, well,” Liam rasped, a cruel smile twisting his face. “Little Maddie finally grew some claws.”

“Stay back, Liam,” I warned, raising the pistol. “I swear to God, I’ll shoot.”

He laughed. A wet, rattling sound.

“You don’t even know how the safety works.”

He took a step forward.

“Give me the kid. I need leverage to get out of the city. Luca is insane. He practically tore my arm off.”

“You haven’t seen her in three years!” I screamed. “You don’t get to use her now!”

“She’s my blood,” Liam sneered. “She owes me.”

He lunged.

I pulled the trigger.

Click.

The safety was on.

Liam hit me like a freight train. The gun clattered across the floor.

He grabbed my throat, pinning me against the side of Luca’s SUV. His grip was crushing. Black spots danced in my vision.

“I’m taking her,” Liam hissed, his spit hitting my face. “And you’re staying right here.”

Ellie was screaming, hitting his back, but he didn’t even feel it.

My lungs burned. My vision narrowed.

Then, out of the darkness, a voice like thunder shook the garage.

“Take your hands off my family.”

Liam froze.

He slowly turned his head.

Luca emerged from the stairwell.

His expensive suit was ruined, covered in drywall dust and blood. In his right hand, he held his gun. In his left, the heavy, tarnished key.

Liam let go of my throat. I collapsed, coughing violently, dragging Ellie behind me.

“You want the key?” Luca asked, his voice dead flat. “Come get it.”

Liam pulled a knife from his belt. “Toss it over.”

“No.” Luca stepped forward. “You want it, you fight me for it. You touch her again, I’ll bury you under this house.”

Liam’s eyes darted nervously between Luca and the exit.

He knew he couldn’t win a fair fight.

So he did what cowards always do.

He turned, grabbed the heavy iron flashlight from the floor, and threw it directly at Ellie’s head.

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