Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Delaney
"Higher, Laney, higher," Dash squeals, and I do as he demands, pushing him higher in the swing.
"Make sure you hold on tight, no jumping off mid-air." I laugh.
"I won't," he yells, kicking his legs back and forth with each descent to the ground.
Our morning has been amazing, starting with a trip to the library once they opened.
He found himself some new books. A few on baseball players, one on dinosaurs, and another about history of past presidents meant for his age range.
I'd even been able to find out that the library has group session days for those who are homeschooled.
I made sure to gather up all of the information to go over this evening with Tyler when he gets home from work.
Now, we've been at the park for a little over an hour, and Dash seems to be having the time of his life.
He's played on the slide, the monkey bars, just running around, and everything else a little boy could think of doing.
We were getting ready to head out, but he asked me to push him on the swing so he could fly.
I couldn't not do this for him. I would do anything to see that beautiful smile on his face.
Dash might not be mine, but from the first smile he gave me, I've felt a connection down to my soul. It's how he'd been able to weasel into my heart alongside his dad.
"Cute kid." The rasp of the husky voice behind me has me stepping back and turning to see the woman who spoke. She looks familiar, but I can't place why. Tyler's words of warning about his ex pops to the front of my mind.
Could this be her?
"He is," I agree, nodding, not taking my eyes off the woman, but also keeping Dash in my sight as well.
"Is he yours?" she asks, watching him.
"Yes," I say without hesitation.
The woman narrows her eyes on me, taking me in fully. "You don't look like you could be his mother," she says, her voice dropping to something more menacing. "He looks nothing like you, for that matter."
I feel my heart rate quicken as I realize this must be Megan, Tyler's ex. The woman who tried to kill his son. The one Tyler warned me to stay away from.
"Who are you?" I ask, keeping my voice steady despite the anxiety building inside me. I need the confirmation before I grab Dash and get us away from her as quickly as I can.
She smirks, not answering my question. Instead, she takes a step closer, her eyes darting over to Dash for a split second. Something about the way she looks at him twists my stomach.
"I'm his mother, of course," she says, her tone making my skin crawl.
"You know, the one who actually carried him for nine months and pushed him out.
" Megan cocks her head slightly, a sneer curling her lips as she takes me in.
"You know, Tyler always does have a type. Blonde. Pretty. Easily replaceable."
My heart pounds. The anxiety flows through me faster, and I take a step back toward Dash. "I think you should leave."
"Or what?" She takes another step forward. "You'll call the cops?"
"That's exactly what I'll be doing," I inform her, though I keep my voice calm and collected so as not to freak Dash out when I reach for the swing to bring it to a stop. "Come on, kiddo." I'd taken to using Tyler's nickname for Dash. "It's time to go."
"Aww, man, okay." He sighs and glances over to Megan. "Who's she?"
"No one we need to worry about," I tell him, taking his hand in mine and starting to walk in the direction of my truck, pulling my phone from my pocket.
"You know it's a shame about that house of yours," Megan calls out sweetly, not far behind us. "Sucks it burned down. Maybe it's a warning that you should stay away from what's not yours."
My steps falter, but I keep moving us toward the parking lot, my hand gripping Dash's much smaller one tighter.
"Laney, you're squeezing too tight," Dash complains, wiggling his fingers.
"Sorry, kiddo." I loosen marginally. "Come on, we need to get you back home," I tell him while dialing 9-1-1 and lifting the phone to my ear.
My thoughts spiral from Megan's words, and I glance back to find her staring after us, moving at a much slower pace. What the hell is she doing?
"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"
"Hi, my name is Delaney Knox. I'm at the park on the corner of Main and Third Street.
There's a woman here that I believe you have a warrant for. She claims to be Dash Henderson's mother." I keep my voice low enough in hopes that Dash doesn’t hear me, but I have no other choice. I just pray he isn’t paying attention to what I’m saying right now.
"Ma'am, has she confronted you?" the dispatcher on the other end of the line asks.
"Yes, she has. I have Dash with me, and we're heading for my vehicle," I inform them.
"Okay, get to your vehicle and wait for deputies to arrive. Keep your phone to your ear and let me know when you get there."
I agree and hang up not thinking about the fact they told me not to hang up.
The phone immediately starts vibrating again, but I ignore it to focus on getting Dash and me to my truck.
It’s probably a stupid move on my part. As I shove my phone back in my pocket, pain splinters across the back of my head.
I stumble and turn, placing Dash behind me.
"I tried to warn you," Megan snaps. "Figured the way your house burned to the ground, you might receive the message. I won’t let you have them. You can't have what isn't yours."
God, she sounds like a lunatic.
"I haven't tried to take anything of yours," I protest, backing away, doing my best to protect Dash from seeing the woman. Or her seeing him.
"Laney," Dash's voice wavers.
"It's okay, kiddo," I say, doing my best to reassure him. "But I need you to do something for me."
"What's that?" His soft voice causes an ache in my chest.
"Take my keys out of my back pocket and run to my truck, lock yourself in it until I get there. Can you do that for me?" I ask, not taking my eyes off Megan for one second.
Dash doesn't answer me, but I feel him reach into my pocket and grab my keys. Behind me, small feet take off at a run, and I let out a relieved breath, knowing he listened to me and is doing as I ask of him.
"You think calling the cops is going to keep me from getting my son back?" Megan scoffs, lip curling. "Tyler and Dash are mine, bitch. I won't let you nor any of those pigs keep them from me. They’re mine. Mine. Mine," she screeches the words, nearly causing me to flinch at the sound of them.
"You need help, Megan," I tell her. "They're not yours."
"They're mine," she snaps, lunging forward.
This time I don't let her get close. I'd been an idiot for turning my back on her earlier, but I did it to get Dash as far from her as possible. Now I just need to stall her until the deputies get here. The sounds of sirens in the distance should make me feel better, but they don’t.
I sidestep Megan's lunge, adrenaline surging through me. The sirens grow louder, but they’re still too far away. My head throbs from where she hit me, but I push through the pain.
I have to protect Dash.
"You know you’re not going to win, Megan. Deputies are on the way. You'll be going back to prison," I say, keeping my voice calm despite my racing heart. "They'll be here any second."
She laughs, a hollow sound that sends chills down my spine. "If I'm going back, I'll be sure Tyler suffers for it." She reaches behind her, the flash of black metal bright with the sunlight.
I hold up both hands, stepping back. "We're in public, Megan, you don't want to do that."
"I don't?" She cocks a brow and aims the gun at my stomach.
"You think I don't know you stole my life?
That you're pregnant with Tyler's baby? It's all over town that you moved in with him because you're pregnant with his kid.
You trapped him. You knew I was coming home to my family and took what belongs to me.
And because he is who he is, Tyler moved you right into his house after your house burned down.
You should have heeded my warning, bitch, and got out of town altogether," she rants, not making sense.
How could she think I knew she was getting out? I didn’t even know anything about her.
"Why would burning my home down send a warning? I didn't even know you were behind it." Honestly, I thought maybe Philip had been the one to do it.
"I didn't do it with you in the house," she shouts, waving the gun in front of her. "I could have done it with you inside. I told myself to do it while you were asleep, but I waited until later in the day to start it."
I couldn't understand her logic. She's clearly out of her mind.
"You can't have my life. Tyler's my husband. Dash is my son." Her finger tightens on the trigger, and I fear what she's about to do and send a silent prayer that help arrives in time to stop her.
"Tyler's your ex-husband, Megan. The judge took your rights away. They're not yours. I didn't take your life from you. You did when you tried to drown Dash," I say, my voice shaking.
"Shut up," Megan screeches, her face contorting with unhinged rage.
The sirens grow louder, closer. Tires screech, and I can see the first patrol car turning into the parking lot. Megan's eyes dart toward the sound, and I use that split second of distraction to lunge forward, grabbing for the gun.
We grapple for control, my hands wrapping around her wrist, forcing the barrel away from me. She's stronger than she looks, fueled by desperation and madness. My head throbs where she struck me earlier. I can feel the sticky blood in my hair.
"Let go!" she snarls, trying to knee me in the stomach.
I twist away just in time, maintaining my grip on her arm. The gun discharges, the blast deafening in the quiet park. Birds scatter from nearby trees. My ears ring as I struggle to maintain my grip on her wrist.
"Drop it. Now!" A deputy's voice cuts through the chaos.
Megan's eyes widen at the sight of uniformed officers approaching, guns drawn. Her grip loosens just enough for me to wrench the weapon from her hand. I stumble backward, tossing the gun away from us both.
"On the ground! Hands behind your head!" the deputy's commands echo across the playground.
Megan doesn't comply. Instead, she lunges toward me again, fingers extended like claws. "This isn't over! You're gonna pay for taking everything from me."
Two deputies tackle her to the ground, cuffing her wrists behind her back. Her face contorts with fury as she screams obscenities at me, at them, at the world.
"Ma'am, are you hurt?" A female deputy approaches me cautiously.
I touch the back of my head, wincing at the sticky blood matting my hair. "I'm okay," I tell her, looking over to my truck. "Dash, he's in my truck. I have to get to him."
"You stay here," she says, walking me to the closest bench. "I'll go grab him and bring him to you."
"T-thank you," I croak, the adrenaline crashing as I sink onto the bench. My hands tremble uncontrollably as I watch Megan being forced into the back of a patrol car. Her wild eyes never leave mine until the door slams shut.
"Laney!" Dash's small voice breaks through my haze.
I turn to see him running toward me, the female deputy right behind him. His little face is pale, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Kiddo," I whisper, opening my arms. He crashes into me, burying his face against my neck.
"You're bleeding," he sobs, his small fingers gently touching the back of my head.
"I'm okay," I assure him, though my head throbs with each heartbeat. "Just a little bump."
"You should get checked out," the female deputy suggests.
More tires screech to a stop, and I glance up in time to see Tyler jumping out of the passenger seat, sprinting across the park to get to us. Tears well in my eyes at the sight of him. The look of fury on his face mixed with anguish and terror.
It's not until I feel his arms wrap around me that the first sob escapes me, and I know that Dash and I are safe.