Page 118 of Turn the Tide
Chapter 13
Marco didn’t look in Patty’s direction, but kept his eyes on Freddie. “Looks like you have a problem, Freddie. Two guns to your one. Put it down, and you’ll make things easier on yourself.”
Patty stepped up beside Marco, shotgun aimed at Marshall. “Let him go, Freddie. It’s me you want.”
Freddie laughed, an evil sound. “I’ve never wanted you, except as a good lay. I want my boy.”
“This is no way to get him,” Marco said, his tone conversational. “Look at him. He doesn’t want to go with you. He’s terrified. And why wouldn’t he be, with you holding a gun on him.”
Freddie shrugged. “He’ll get over it. A boy needs his father.”
“This isn’t the way to go about it. Put the gun down, Freddie.”
“You don’t tell me what to do. We are doing this my way.”
Freddie’s eyes bounced from one to the other, and Marco felt his adrenaline kick up another notch. Freddie was getting more and more unstable. They had to talk him down. Fast. “Think about your boy, Freddie. You don’t really want to hurt him.”
“Shows what you know, copper. I’ll kill him before either of you get off a shot.”
Marco shrugged as though it didn’t matter. “Your choice, but if you do, you’ll be dead before he hits the ground. You’ll never get Donny that way.”
Freddie looked from one to the other, his confusion growing. “Stop talking. We do this my way. We’re leaving. Don’t try to stop us.”
Patty stiffened, jaw tensed. “No.”
Marco stepped closer and put a hand on her arm. “Let them go. For now,” he said quietly.
Patty’s jaw worked as she studied her ex, and then finally, she nodded, but she didn’t lower the gun.
Marco met Freddie’s eyes. “Go ahead. We won’t stop you.” He hoped Josh had made it here and would be able to intercept them outside. But if he didn’t, Marco would find another way to stop them. No way would Freddie take the boy far.
He met Donny’s terrified gaze and sent him a reassuring smile and a quick wink when Freddie’s eyes darted to Patty.
***
Sarah shifted her weight on the back of the ATV, trying to figure out what was going on. So far, she’d heard nothing, and that worried her.
“Keep moving, kid. Stop dragging your feet.”
She froze. Freddie. And it sounded like he still had Donny. Where was Marco? Had Freddie hurt him somehow? Were they coming this way?
She had to hide, but where? It wasn’t like she could run very far right now.
She grabbed Marco’s poncho and, along with her own, tried to make herself look like a pile of discarded rain gear. She hunched down under the layers, knife in hand, and waited.
They got closer and closer, and Sarah’s grip on the knife got sweaty with fear. She couldn’t see anything. But she could listen.
“Well, lookee here. Copper left us his wheels again. Get on,” he demanded. “You’re driving. I’ll get rid of the rest of this crap.”
Sarah held her breath.Please God, let me get the right person.
When Freddie whipped the poncho aside, she lunged up with the knife and drove it hard into his arm. “Run, Donny!” she shouted as Freddie screamed in pain and grabbed for her.
Sarah leaned back to escape his reach and almost fell off the back of the ATV. She scrambled backward, desperate for a handhold.
She tried to duck as Freddie lunged for her, braced for pain, but he never made contact. She heard a shot ring out, and then a surprised look passed over his face as blood started pouring out of a hole in his chest. He fell away from the ATV as Marco shouted, “Sarah!”
He was beside her in seconds, hands running over her, checking for injuries. “Are you all right?”
