Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Chloe hummed in wonder before perking up.
“A peacock! Like the one Taj has,” she replied.
I smiled and nodded, warmth blooming in my chest. She seemed pretty fond of all the guys, who never ignored her and always went out of their way to talk to her or compliment her on something she made or did. The fact that they were tattoo artists had inspired her to do a lot of art-driven activities lately like drawing and painting.
“That sounds awesome. I think he’s coming by tomorrow if you want to show him,” I told her. Ti left early this morning, and the next shift of guys would arrive soon.
Chloe nodded enthusiastically as I took her around the corner down a quieter street. It seemed like most people were asleep on this quiet Saturday morning.
“Can Ti bring Shadow?” she asked.
Spiders still sort of freaked me out, but Ti loved his tarantula, Shadow, and Chloe was fearless when it came to animals or insects. As much as I feared having a spider loose in the house, I knew how particular and disciplined Ti was about his beloved creatures. I parted my lips to answer, but the sound of tires squealing to a stop and quick, heavy footsteps behind me made the words die in my throat.
Suddenly, I was grabbed and shoved to the side, my body hitting the street and knocking a pained cry from me. I lifted my head to see a masked man lunge at Chloe, grabbing her arms and trying to yank her close to pick her up.
“No! Chloe!” I screamed as I started pushing myself up to my feet, my adrenaline masking the pain that shot through my body. I didn’t care if I broke bones or put my life on the line against this dangerous person. I was going to get to my daughter one way or another. With gritted teeth and teary, narrowed eyes, I managed to take a few pained steps toward the man. “Let my daughter go!”
“Mommy!” Chloe shouted as she struggled against the man, frightened tears filling her eyes.
The sound of her cry made my stomach twist, nearly making me choke on my tears, but I still pushed myself forward another few steps. My legs threatened to give out under me, but I slammed my palms down on the asphalt to push myself back upright, sheer determination driving me.
The man grunted in exertion and managed to throw Chloe over his shoulder. He started running to a black car with tinted windows parked in the middle of the street, but he didn’t even make it off the sidewalk before he faced off with Marcus and Gus, who were panting from sprinting.
“Put her down, or I swear I’ll make you regret laying a finger on her!” Marcus demanded, seething with anger.
Gus narrowed his eyes, tightening his hands into fists.
The man made the bad move of trying to dart around Marcus and Gus, and he was quickly intercepted.
Marcus wrapped his arms around the man’s torso, dragging him to a stop, while Gus pried Chloe out of the man’s arms. Gus cradled Chloe against his large chest, her cries muffled against his shirt.
The man swung at Marcus, who easily ducked and dealt a harsh punch to the man’s stomach. He advanced to deal even more damage, but the man spun around and raced around to the driver’s seat of the car, locking himself in and tearing off down the street.
“Chloe!” I cried as I ran over to Gus, who gently gave Chloe over to me.
“She’s okay,” Gus promised me, having already checked over Chloe for injuries.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I won’t let anyone take you ever again,” I told her as tears rolled down my cheeks, a sense of defeat crushing me. She had almost been taken. What if I never saw her again? How could I fail like that? It all happened so fast!
Chloe buried her face in my shoulder, crying and whimpering into my shirt. She grabbed the material in tight handfuls like she was afraid of being torn away from me, but I didn’t even care if she ended up stretching or ripping the fabric. I just wanted her to feel safe again.
“Come on. Let’s get back to the shop in case he comes back with others,” Marcus said as he hurried over to me, wrapping his arm around my back and guiding me to Gus’s Ford truck that they both arrived in. He opened the back door for me and helped me buckle Chloe in since my hands were shaking so badly. “It’s okay. You’re both okay.”
I sniffled and shook my head as he buckled me in too.
“He almost took her from me. And I don’t even know who he is!” I told him, panic rising in my chest.
Marcus cupped my face.
“We’re going to figure it out. I promise,” he swore to me before kissing me on the forehead and getting into the passenger’s seat. He looked over at Gus, who hit the gas right when Marcus shut the door. “We need to tell the others. We have to figure this out for real.”