Page 125 of It Must Be Fate

“Stay.”

Blood trickles down my forehead and over my brow, dripping steadily onto my cheek. I lift my head and glare back at Peter. Horrifyingly, his eyes aren’t on me.

They’re on my son.

“Stay,” he repeats. He raises his gun and points it at Rhodes who recoils. “You’ve just made my plans significantly more interesting, little boy.”

“Let him go,” I plead, fear icing the blood in my veins. “I’ll do whatever you want, but please,pleaselet my son go.”

Instead of answering me, Peter watches as Rhodes comes out from behind me. He positions himself in front of where I’ve fallen, his shoulders rolled back and tight.

“I’m not a little boy and I’m not going to let you hurt my mum,” he announces.

My brave Rhodes. As brave and protective of his father.

“Who are you and what do you want with her?”

I wrap my arms around him from behind and try to pull him down into me, but he won’t let me.

“Rhodes…Don’t.”

The blow to my temple is making my head spin. I’m dizzy and my brain feels addled. Nausea rolls up the length of my throat until I feel like I’m going to be sick. A cold sweat breaks out on my forehead, my vision tunnels, and I have to fight the creeping oblivion.

“And who isthis?”

I follow Peter’s gaze where it’s pinned somewhere above my left shoulder, instinctively knowing the situation is about to take yet another turn for the worst. I find Ivy standing in the doorway behind me, a look of shock twisting her features as she tries to make sense of the scene unfolding before her.

She stammers, her voice small and unsure. “Aunt B… What…”

Peter moves his gun from my son to Ivy and Rhodes goes crazy. “Let me go, Mum.” He thrashes in my arms, throwing his body every which way to try to free himself from my hold. “Mum!” He rips at my hands, his fingers digging into my skin. “Stop, please. Let mego.”

I release him, hoping that he’ll go to Ivy and run. He lunges for her, but Peter gets there first. With a shove of his hand, he pushes Rhodes out of the way, sending him flying down the front steps.

I scream, too weakened by the violent blow to be able to move. Stars appear before my eyes and I blink them away, bathing my eyes in blood in the process.

“Rhodes…” I call out weakly, trying to hold on to my consciousness.

Rhodes tumbles down to the fifth and final step and pops easily back to his feet, apparently unharmed. His face is determined, his expression angry as he immediately lunges up the stairs once more.

But it’s too late.

Peter has Ivy in his hold before Rhodes has even cleared the first step. She cries as his hand wraps around her upper arm, his fingers digging mercilessly into her flesh. His hand is so large, it closes entirely around her small bicep.

She fights, kicking and screaming. When she feels cold metal touch the spot at the back of her neck, she freezes instantly. Her eyes widen, colliding with Rhodes’s.

He stops in his tracks, his hands going up.

“Please don’t hurt her.” His eyes are wild, darting from Ivy to Peter and down to me, unsure where to focus is panic.

I try to stand so I can help him, hating how defenseless I am. Both of my palms are on the ground and I’m pushing myself up when Peter pistol whips me a second time.

There’s nothing I can do to fight this blow.

I fall in a pile of bones, rolling onto my back.

Rhodes’s terrified scream echoes in my ears. “Mum!”

Almost like they’re weighted with anvils, my eyelids close against my will. I manage to blink them a few more times, but the effort to keep the void at bay is monumental.

---