“There!” Danielle said, speeding up.
“Danielle, wait!” I was close on her heels as she ran towards Greg. And at his side, Skyler was holding his hand.
They weren’t alone. Several men were with them, and my eyes landed on one of them. It only took me a second to recognize him. He was the one at Danielle’s place the day of the fire. So Greg was behind it, or at least connected to it.
“Mommy!” Skyler yelled. She tried to slip her hand from her dad’s, but Greg pulled on her arm so hard, I feared he might snap it off. I was already filled with rage but watching him handle Skyler like that pushed me over the edge.
“Skyler!” Danielle screamed.
We were several yards away, and they were near the jet. Greg yanked on Skyler’s arm, literally dragging her toward the jet. She started screaming for her mother. “Mommy! Mommy! I want my mommy!” Greg didn’t loosen his grip.
I rushed in front of Danielle, telling her to stay back as I moved toward Greg. He was trying to pull Skyler up the ramp to the jet when I caught up to him, and I aimed for the arm attached to the hand holding onto Skyler. I slammed my forearm into his. His bones cracked and he let out a scream, releasing Skyler while in the throes of pain.
“Run to your mom,” I yelled at her.
Skyler took off toward Danielle, and Danielle waddled as quickly as she could to her. I saw my brothers but didn’t get much of a chance to check on them, as I felt Greg’s weight come flying at me. He knocked me a little unsteady, but I remained standing. I was larger and stronger than him. But as I regained my footing, my eye caught sight of what was in his hand.
A gun.
“Stand back and give me my daughter,” Greg said, using his left hand to point the gun at me. His right was useless, dangling limply at his side and likely broken.
“You’ll have to shoot me first,” I said. “And likely all my brothers too.”
I held my hands up to show him I was unarmed. I hadn’t wanted to bring guns into this, not with Skyler around. I wanted to settle it without it turning into a gunfight, too much potential for someone to get caught in the crossfire. I kicked myself for thinking Greg would be equally as thoughtful. Up until this point, he seemed to be very concerned about his daughter’s well-being, but now his judgment was seriously lacking.
Greg moved closer, the gun wavering in his hand. “I’ll shoot you all if I have to,” Greg growled. “So will my men.”
I glanced behind me to check on Danielle and Skyler. They were surrounded by my brothers, but his men weren’t far off - guns pointed on them. My brothers had come prepared, however. They had their own weapons pointed right back at the three other men. But Danielle and Skyler were in the middle of it.
We need to get them out of here, I thought to myself.
Greg was closer to me now, close enough I could reach out and touch him.
“Do you really want a shootout here? With your daughter in the middle of it?”
Greg looked past me at Skyler and Danielle. “Guns down,” he called to the other men. “Now. Do not shoot anywhere near my daughter, do you hear me? No matter what happens, do not put her at risk.”
The others dropped their weapons, but not eagerly so.
I called out to my brothers. “Same, guys. Lower the weapons.” I turned back to Greg. “Let Danielle and Skyler go, then we can handle this like men.”
“Skyler isn’t going anywhere except with me,” Greg said.
“She is not going with you. She’s staying with her mom.”
This seemed to unnerve Greg, who lifted the gun again. Even though we were in close range, his hand was shaking, and I knew that if he tried to shoot me, he’d likely miss. He clearly had no experience with a weapon in his non-dominant hand, and I’d be willing to bet he had very little experience with a gun at all. His men I couldn’t be sure of.
If he missed me, Danielle and Skyler weren’t too far behind me. I had to act fast.
I moved toward Greg quickly, grabbing his left hand and twisting it upward. The gun went off, shooting toward the sky. I took him down to the ground, throwing all my body weight onto him. His head slammed into the concrete with a loud thud.
The gun went off again, and I heard a scream. Danielle’s scream. But I couldn’t look back to check on her. My brothers would take care of her. I grabbed Greg’s hands and slammed them against the concrete, knocking the gun free from his grip. I stared into his dark eyes. He spat in my face, but there was nothing else he could do.
“Pathetic,” I growled at him, wiping the spit from my face.
There was a commotion behind me, and I heard Graham yell, “The police are here.”
Eli walked over and tapped me on the shoulder, a uniformed police officer right behind him. I didn’t want to get up, just in case the asshole drew another gun, but finally, they managed to get me to my feet.
As soon as I did, I looked toward Danielle and my heart jumped into my throat.
Danielle was crumpled to the ground along with Skyler.
“Danielle! Skyler!” I rushed to the side, my heart racing as I feared the worse. I thought about the gun shot - the one went into the air, but could it have come down and hit them? And the other one… what if…
Danielle lifted her head and stared up at me with tear-filled eyes. “Is it clear?”
“Are you okay? Were you hit?”
“No, Graham said to get down, just to be safe, and I wanted to keep Skyler from seeing it all and—”
Before she could finish, I kissed her in relief. I held her face in my hands and kissed the tears away.
“It’s going to be okay, the police are here now,” I said.
Danielle slowly sat up, and Skyler curled up between us.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Danielle asked.
Skyler nodded, nibbling on her fingernails much like her mom usually does when she’s nervous.
“Are you scared?” Danielle asked.
She shook her head, but I could see it in her eyes. She was a bit shell shocked. She was trying so hard to be brave, though, and my heart sang.
I wanted so badly to take all that fear away, make it to where she was never scared or sad again. Is that what love is? Because I felt like I loved her like my own daughter, and I knew I would do anything to protect her.
“Mason will keep us safe, won’t he, Mommy?” she asked, her voice softer than usual.
“Of course I will,” I said.
“Then I’m not too scared,” she said.
Ooo000ooo
Greg and his men were arrested. We were questioned until Danielle seemed to be ready to fall asleep in her chair. But from the sound of it, they had all the evidence they needed, thanks to the airport security cameras.
Danielle and Skyler climbed into my truck, and I frowned as I realized several more inches of snow had fallen since we’d made the drive here. I feared those dangerous mountain roads on the way back and knew I had precious cargo to take care of. I would have to drive carefully.
My brothers would be right behind me in Eli’s truck. They waved as I climbed into mine, and I felt at ease knowing my family was with me.
We drove in silence for a while. Skyler fell asleep within a few minutes, the exhaustion from all the excitement finally taking its toll on her. Danielle was quiet too, and at times, I think she slept. But other times, she stared out at the snowy landscape.
“Ow,” she said at one point, moving around in her seat. She gripped her belly and stared at me in concern.
“What is it?” I asked.
“A cramp or something, maybe Braxton Hicks?” She was trying to downplay her anxiety. She then crumpled over, crying out in pain.
Skyler jerked awake in the back seat. “Mommy? What’s wrong?”
“I’m okay,” Danielle said, speaking through gritted teeth. It was clear that she was far from okay.
“I’m going to pull over,” I said softly.
It was snowing again, and at times, visibility wasn’t that great. Still, I saw a turn off up ahead. We passed a sign that said Liberty was thirty-six miles away. In these conditions, it was easily an hour drive to the hospital, and about forty-five minutes or so to one in Salt Lake. We were literally in the middle of nowhere on some mountain road.
Danielle’s breathing was heavy, and I could tell she was focusing on it - trying to breathe evenly.
We pulled over, and Eli’s truck pulled up behind us.
“Alright, it passed,” Danielle said slowly. “The cramping has eased.”
“Do you think—”
“Oh God, oh God,” Danielle said, squirming in her seat.
“What’s wrong?”
“My water broke,” she said. “Oh God, Mason. It’s too soon. I can’t have the babies now. It’s way too early.” Tears streamed down her face as she stared at me, her eyes wide in panic.
There was a knock on the window. I lowered the window and told Eli, “Call an ambulance.”
“There’s no time, Mason!” Danielle cried. “Oh God, no, this can’t be happening.”
All my worst fears came to light - I was now responsible for the lives of those I loved, including the children I helped create.
Danielle
“Oh God!” I kept screaming.
Skyler was in the backseat crying as well. “Mommy, Mommy, what’s happening?”
“It’s okay. Mommy’s just going to have the babies now,” I said, trying to remain calm for her sake and mine. Being freaked out wouldn’t help any of us. But not panicking was easier said than done considering the circumstances.