Page 44 of Baby Me

“Hope? Xavier? Oh, Xavier, darling. I knew you were alive. I knewit.”

She came to the couch and knelt at his side. She took his hand into hers. Dirty tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving white streaks behind. Her hands were shaking and her body trembled as she fell into asob.

“It’s okay, Anna,” I heard my father say. “Everything is okaynow.”

My father snapped out of his state. His voice was hoarse and barely audible. It sounded as if he were speaking for the first time in all the years that he’d been gone. When he reached for my mother’s face and smoothed his hand over her cheek, I knew everything would be okay. Little did I know this was just the beginning of myadventure.

Chapter 11

Kate

The ambulance whiskedmy father away, along with mymother.

Not wanting to alert the police, my best friend Lola and I dragged the two thugs into the shed in the back yard and tied them up. We agreed to keep them there until Cameron returned from the hospital. Then Brook and Lola packed Sophie into Cameron’s car and drove back to NewYork.

Now as I sat on the family room sofa, armed and staring at the patch of carpet soaked with blood, wondering what was next, the bear cub nudged me at my foot,yawning.

“Are you tired? It’s been a long day, hasn’t it? All I can say is thank goodness for new showers and warm water or I’m not sure I could have survived. Come on. I don’t have much, but I’m sure this willhelp.”

I gave him and the lynx a few hot dogs from the fridge and poured two bowls of milk. I wasn’t sure whether I had the time to blink before the food was gone, so I gave them another portion. The lynx stretched its paws out and the cub rolled over on the floor. Then they both took off toward Jax’s downstairsbedroom.

“Wait, what are youdoing?”

I followed them there and found them splayed out on top of Jax’sbed.

“Oh, no, you two.” I took a step closer, but when their heads popped up and their eyes glittered in the light from the hallway, I realized that these were still wild animals, so I decided to let them have a night ofrest.

Feeling restless about the tied-up men in the shed, I slept on the downstairs couch with my gun at my side. Tomorrow would be a long day. I’d call Silvia so she could take the animals down to the sanctuary, and then I’d get Gary to help me decide what to do with the two thugs. I didn’t know how long it would be before Cameron returned, and I couldn’t just keep them locked up fordays.

It was at the point in my nightmare when my first bone cracked that I heard the urgent knocking on my door. It startled me awake. I opened my eyes and double-checked the time. It was just past midnight and the cabin had gottencold.

The knock sounded again, and I removed the blanket from my body. Chills swept throughme.

“Kate? Kate, it’sme.”

Evie?

I added a few more logs to the embers in the fire pit before I headed for thedoor.

Evie repeated her urgent knock. “Kate, I need your help. Openup.”

I pulled the door open. “What are you doing here? Do you know what time itis?”

Evie was standing on the front porch. She was soaked and shaking. Her lower lip was purple, and the mascara was running down hercheeks.

“Evie, what’s the matter?” Iasked.

“I’m so sorry, Kate. I… I didn’t have achoice.”

“Shut the fuck up.” I heard the familiar voice and gasped as my brother, Mike Donaldson, who was supposed to be in prison, appeared from the side of the house, pointing a gun atEvie.

“Hello, sis,” he said, pushing the gun at Evie’s back to force herinside.

What the hell was happening here? Was I still dreaming? Was this the beginning of anothernightmare?

“What are you doing here?” I backed into the familyroom.

“What do you think?” He pushed Evie to the side and flung the door shut behindhim.

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