Page 3 of Ozzie

“Good job, love. Now write that note.” He now has his gun aimed at me.

I write the note as John instructs, the entire time hoping, willing, Ozzie to come back. But he doesn’t.

“Grab your suitcase,” he says.

I pick it up, and he wraps one arm around my waist and shoves the barrel of the gun into my side.

“Now let’s go. I’m parked a block up.”

As I walk out of the building, I look everywhere for a sign of Ozzie. But he’s not there.

To anyone walking by, John and I probably look like a couple. There’s no reason for anyone to stop us. So, I need to end this.

A car beeps as he uses the fob to unlock it. If I get in that car, I won’t escape him. It’s trash pickup day, and there are bags piled up on the sidewalk. It’s all too soft to use. But then I spot it.

He takes my suitcase, steps to the trunk, and puts it in. While his attention is not on me, I reach down and grab the discarded blender. As he turns, I hit his head as hard as I can with it. He sways. I drop it and run.

“You bitch! I’ll kill you!”

I keep running. The gun fires, but I don’t slow down. Not until I feel the fire of pain in my calf. My leg gives out, and I go down. Please, someone stop him.

I roll onto my back and sit up as John runs to me. He likes me to suffer, so he likely won’t shoot again. The bullet grazed my calf, and there’s a lot of blood. But I force myself to stand before he reaches me.

One thing I’ve learned since I left him is I’m stronger than I’d realized, and he won’t be ready for me this time.

He reaches for my arm, but I pull it away in time, andwhile he’s off guard, I take him off his feet. He goes down hard on his back, and he drops the gun. I kick it farther away before he stands up again.

“You’ll regret that,” he says.

He lunges for me again, and I knock him down again hard on his arm. There’s a crack sound.

“Ah fuck! I think you broke my arm!”

Doubtful, but he never did have a high tolerance for pain. He manages to hoist himself up using that supposedly broken arm. When he’s close, I do a roundhouse kick to his face, and he goes down a third time. But this time, he doesn’t brace his fall, and he hits his head.

I watch and wait, but he’s unconscious.

“Piper!”

I glance up to spot Ozzie running toward us. He takes it all in.

“What the hell is going on?”

I point at John. “That’s my ex, and he was trying to force me back to Montana with him.”

He pulls me close. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner. I was so angry, but as I drove, I realized you weren’t acting normal, so I raced back. I’m so sorry I didn’t stop him.”

I step back from Ozzie. “It’s fine. I can take care of myself.”

“I see that.” He bends down and checks my leg.

“He shot me.”

Ozzie stands up again, grabs his phone from his pocket, and then calls the police.

After the call, he wraps his arms around me again.

“Even though you can take care of yourself, I want to bethere for you. I’m so sorry I didn’t pick up on your clues faster.”

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