The truck decelerated rapidly as he pressed on the brake, and, with all the skill he had in him, Jason maneuvered it to the curb just by his house. He jumped out of the truck once it came to a halt, switched off the ignition, and raced right behind it with a mind overcome with fear for what Nathan might have done to Aaliyah now that he had found her.
He would make the sick bastard pay if he ever brought harm to Aaliyah and his child. His stomach curdled with only the thought of it. He made a silent prayer as he raced up the porch.
"Lia!" Jason called out her name before he even opened the door, panic having choked common sense out of him. He couldn't care less about strategy and the element of surprise. He just needed to get to her.
As he burst through the front door, a muffled scream echoed to his right. He turned immediately and saw Aaliyah on the other side of the living room with a man behind her. The man had one hand over her mouth and the other hand had a gun pointed to her waist.
Jason felt the shock of recognition a split second before the intruder brought up his gun and leveled it at Jason's chest. Jason quickly dove down to the floor just as the intruder's bullet hit the door frame, splintering the wood and sending jagged pieces of wood flying.
Jason flinched, bringing up his arm to block the worst of the shrapnel. Aaliyah's screams had changed from a muffled shriek of warning to a muffled shriek of terror.
"Well, shit, I missed," the man snarled.
Jason searched frantically for a safe place to hide and settled behind the kitchen island. He searched his pockets for his gun and cursed at himself when he relaxed that it must have fallen out of his pocket while he ran to hide.
As he looked up, Jason could see that the man who attempted to kill him just now was indeed Nathan Snyder. The hate in his chest burned the same as the first time he looked him up on Google, wondering how the hell he could have gotten away with being such an excuse of a man for so long.
His focus shifted to Aaliyah immediately after. She was barely recognizable. The bags under her eyes were heavy like she had been up for a long time. Her cheeks were puffy and her forehead was pale. She looked sickly and he noticed perspiration break out across her neck.
He realized she'd been crying.
He wanted to hold her and warm her up with assurances that he would never let her feel any more vulnerable than she had since he had caught her. However, when his gaze landed on the blood on her hands and her stomach, he saw red.
"Just so you know, I'm going to fucking kill you for hurting her," Jason warned from his position behind the island.
"Big words for a man with no weapon to defend himself with," Nathan said with a wild grin as he waved his gun around. "Now get out from behind there, or I'll be doing a lot more than hurting her."
Jason muttered a curse before moving out from behind the kitchen island with his hands held up.
He looked at Aaliyah's trembling form. "It's okay, baby," he reassured her as he stared into those terrified green eyes of hers. "I'm here."
"How sweet." Nathan's tone was mocking as he pulled her closer, and Aaliyah struggled wildly. "Is that the bullshit you spoon feed her with every day?"
"It's not bullshit when it's true," Jason shot back. "Do you get off seeing her like that? Look at her, she's terrified."
Nathan lowered the gun, leaned closer to her and licked her cheek. "Maybe," he whispered as Aaliyah flinched away from him, a disgusted look in her eyes. Nathan released his hand from her mouth and violently backhanded her across the face. Her head whipped to the side, and she fell onto the couch.
YOU ARE READING
SECOND CHANCES (ORIGINAL WORK)
Romance[COMPLETED] When Angeline married Nathan Snyder, it was supposed to give her the perfect life. Her dream was shattered the first time her husband laid a hand on her, showing her that the life she'd married into was going to be anything but perfect...
