Chapter 2 - The Standoff
Russ stared down at me with a sickening smile twisting his face.
“You are not taking those kids anywhere, Mark,” he warned in a low growl.
I kept Tommy safely tucked behind my back and slowly climbed the first three steps.
“Step aside right now, Russ, or I will make sure you need a feeding tube just like Wade,” I replied.
Russ laughed and swung the aluminum bat in a wide arc toward my head.
My military muscle memory took over before I even had to think about it.
I ducked under the heavy swing and grabbed his extended wrist with both hands.
I twisted his arm violently, using his own momentum to throw him off balance.
Russ slammed face-first into the drywall, dropping the bat with a loud metallic clatter.
I drove my knee into his spine just hard enough to keep him pinned to the floor.
I scooped Tommy back into my arms and marched directly into the living room.
Diane screamed when she saw Russ groaning on the hallway floor.
“I am calling the police and reporting you for kidnapping!” Diane shrieked at the top of her lungs.
I looked at her with absolute disgust and told her to go ahead and make the call.
I walked over to Ava and gently wiped a tear from her bruised cheek.
“Get your coat, sweetheart, because we are leaving this house forever,” I told my daughter.
Wade’s father, a wealthy local judge, suddenly stood up from behind the sofa.
“You have no legal custody rights here, soldier,” the older man stated arrogantly.
I ignored his empty legal threats and held my hand out for Ava to take.
Red and blue lights suddenly began flashing brightly through the living room windows.
Heavy police sirens wailed loudly as multiple cruisers surrounded the front lawn.
I felt a brief wave of relief, thinking I could finally hand over the photographic evidence to the authorities.
The front door was violently kicked open by three heavily armed police officers.
They aimed their service weapons directly at my chest.
“Drop the child and put your hands on your head!” the lead officer screamed.
May you like
Wade’s father stepped forward with a flawless expression of fake terror on his face.
“Thank God you arrived, officers, because this deranged man just broke in and took my family hostage,” the judge lied.
