Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Charlie
“We can talk about the debt Jason owed,” I said calmly, keeping my eye on his every movement as he held Molly. “But please put the baby down. You don’t want to hurt her.”
“How the fuck do you know what I want?” he seethed, his eyes raking down my body as he took me in. “You don’t know shit, just like you didn’t know the trouble your loser husband got himself into.”
I knew where the gun was that Axel kept hidden in the bedroom, but I couldn’t trust that I could get to it before this man could hurt us.
I hated that I couldn’t hear anything happening downstairs and that I didn’t know if Axel was alright.
It was unnerving not knowing how many guys might have shown up and just how outnumbered we might be.
“Okay, that’s fair,” I replied, appeasing him. “What is it that you want?”
My hands trembled at my side, so I clenched them to try to remain as calm as I could while I kept looking at Molly, making sure she was okay. Before he could answer, Molly started crying. He glared down at her, his face scrunching in disgust as she cried louder.
“She’s hungry,” I said quickly, extending my arms as I stepped toward her. “I’m breastfeeding her. She just needs to eat, then she’ll stop crying.”
I could feel him judging whether I was telling the truth as he studied me before handing her over. I took her quickly, pressing her to my chest as I bounced gently, trying to calm her. He raised his eyebrows and reached his hand to his side when I shook my head.
“I was just calming her for a second,” I rushed out as I quickly worked to pull my shirt down and get the baby latched.
Molly watched me as she cried, her lip quivering as she fought to find my nipple.
I couldn’t risk taking my eyes off of him for too long, so I ignored her frustrated wails and bounced her while using my free hand to try to guide my nipple into her mouth so she would nurse.
Finally, she latched on and started suckling. I breathed a sigh of relief as he watched, something changing in his eyes. I had no idea who he was, but the sight of her nursing seemed to soften him for a split second as the anger and coldness evaporated from his face.
“We don’t have time for this shit,” he muttered, shoving a hand through his hair as the icy coldness returned. “Get your shit and let’s go.”
“Go?” I questioned, not thinking about it before I said it.
He stepped toward me, immediately invading my space as he pulled a gun out from behind his back and pressed it against the side of my head.
“I said, let’s fucking go,” he growled angrily.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with a baby attached to my breast, but I nodded slowly, breathing a sigh of relief as he lowered the gun.
“Grab what you need for that thing, and let’s go.”
I wanted to correct him and tell him my daughter wasn’t a thing, but I thought better of it.
I took a slow, steadying breath as I grabbed the diaper bag Jo had given me at the baby shower and began tossing diapers and wipes into it.
I turned my back to him while I kept Molly pressed tightly against my chest as I grabbed some clothes from the bookshelf.
My phone was sitting on the shelf beside the swaddle blankets, so as discreetly as I could, I grabbed it and tossed it in the diaper bag with a few blankets, hoping he hadn’t seen it.
“Hurry the fuck up,” he said, his voice tight with anger as he glanced at the door that led downstairs.
“Okay. I think I have everything I need. Can I grab a jacket?”
I didn’t want to piss him off, but I also didn’t want to freeze my ass off wherever he was taking me. I needed to do the best I could to stay alive and protect my daughter until I could find help.
He nodded and yanked the diaper bag out of my hands as I flinched in response.
I ignored the look on his face as I grabbed Axel’s jacket from the hook and slipped it on while balancing Molly.
She had already fallen asleep, so I pulled her off my nipple and covered myself before grabbing a blanket to wrap her in.
“Let’s fucking go!”
I sucked in a breath and nodded as I walked over to where he stood and then followed him down the stairs.
The bar was quiet as we walked through it and out the door into the frigid cold.
He opened the back door of a lifted truck and impatiently waited for me to climb in before slamming it shut and getting in the driver’s seat.
Before I could consider fastening my seatbelt, he flew out of the parking lot, forcing me to leave the only safe place I knew behind.