The bedroom. The door gave a faint creak as he opened it just enough to slip inside the apartment. He crawled over to the couch where Penelope was lying on the floor. She whimpered again when he gently scanned her little body. There was blood oozing from a spot on her paw. When he laid his hand on her hip, she growled. He left her to crawl to the other side of the room, beside the closed bedroom door.
“You fucking bitch! Did you actually think you could call the cops and this would all go away? Where’s your boyfriend, huh? Why isn’t your hero here to save you now? Because he knows you’re a whore! I saw the pregnancy test sitting over there. He doesn’t want some slut carrying his kid either!”
Sean sucked in a breath.
“Say something! I dare you to say something! Are you going to cry and play games with me this time too?” A sharp smack echoed from behind the door. He’d hit her. Fuck! He stood up and grabbed the door handle. Please say something, baby. Please say something. He had to know she was still alive.
“Y-You’re never going to take my baby from me! Sean’s more of man than you could ever be. He loves us, and I’m not letting you kill this little one like you did Caroline!”
Sean tightened his grip on the handle, waiting for his brain to process what he’d just heard. She’s pregnant? God, she’s pregnant. Abigail’s carrying my child—our child. Sean flung the door open and let his mind go blank as he ran inside. The adrenaline rush was just like that first moment of contact in the ring. All was silent and clear. Hit the fucking man or hit the fucking mat.
He swung and heard knuckle hit bone. Justin was taller than him, but he had the dickhead beat in size and strength. Stunned, Justin stumbled back and hit the wall. Sean didn’t give him a second to recover and pounced on him. One to the body, one to the temple, one to the gut…roll the shoulder. One to the body, one to the temple, one to the gut…roll the shoulder.
He vaguely heard Abigail’s scream in the background as he continued the assault. When he finally stopped to take a breath, Justin was slumped on the floor, not moving. The tissue around his eyes had already started swelling, and the blood pouring from his nose ran like a river over his cracked lips. Sean heaved breaths in and out, waiting for the bastard to wake up. “Come on! Wake up, you cocksucker! I got some more!” Sean slapped Justin across his lifeless face. “Wake up!”
A soft touch on his shoulder made him turn. Abigail jumped back when he started to stand up. “I-I called the police.” She clutched the phone in her shaking hand. “I dialed 911. I-I dialed it, and the lady said they were sending a car.”
“Baby.” Sean tugged her into his arms and squeezed so tight she caught her breath.
“I’m—I’m okay. He just hit me a little. I think he was going to shoot me.”
Sean pulled back. “What?”
Abigail pointed to the floor at the edge of the bed. “He had a gun.” A .22 caliber pistol lay on the floor. “When you hit him, it fell out of his hand.”
Sean wanted to puke. The thing could’ve hit the ground and gone off. She could’ve been shot. “Goddamn it!”
“It’s okay. We’re going to be okay.” She rested her palms on her stomach. “We’re going to be okay.”
A gurgling sound came from behind Sean. He turned around just as Justin began waking up. “Go check on Penelope. Don’t touch her. She’s hurt, and she might bite you.” Abigail hesitated and started to reach out for him. “Now! I want you out of here before he wakes all the way up. Go!”
Waiting until he heard her talk to Penelope, he kicked Justin in the side. “You motherfucker, you think you’re going to take her from me? I’ll fucking kill you first.”
Justin spread his split lips to reveal a bloody smile. “Y-You th-think y-you got h-her? You…you and that bastard baby sh-she’s got in h-her belly?”
“Let’s go, motherfucker. The police are going to be so glad to see you.” Sean shoved Justin over. Justin grunted but didn’t protest. How could he? Sean knew the signs, had them himself back in the day. Possible broken rib, concussion, broken forearm. The guy was in bad shape, and Sean was happy to have served him a dish of fuck you.
Sean tugged on Justin’s arms, adding a dislocated shoulder to the list. He stood Justin up. Taking the brunt of the weight, he walked Justin into the living room. “Go back into the kitchen,” he said to Abigail, who was huddled by the front door. “Grab the duct tape.”
Abigail shuffled her feet and ran into the kitchen to search through the junk drawer. Sean turned to keep Justin from kicking Penelope, and Justin pulled his shoulder away, freeing himself from Sean’s hold. Sean grabbed Justin’s shirt just as he reared back and headbutted Sean on the forehead. Sean stumbled back against the table, stunned. Justin took the opportunity and stumbled to the bedroom.