Chapter 11 - Blood on the Marble Floor and a Mother’s Roar
"How... how did you know?!" Devin stammered, dropping the wrench with a loud clatter against the hardwood.
"You escaped a low-security transport four miles from my perimeter," Jonathan said, stepping forward with lethal grace. "Did you truly believe my private satellite surveillance wouldn't track a man covered in orange prison wool moving through my woods?"
Devin’s eyes darted frantically toward the window. He was trapped.
Suddenly, driven by cornered rat fury, Devin reached into his boot, pulled out a ceramic shiv he had concealed, and lunged toward Jonathan, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"I’LL KILL YOU!"
Jonathan didn't even draw a weapon.
Despite his recovering shoulder, Jonathan stepped inside Devin’s strike, deflected the shiv with his left forearm, and drove his right fist straight into Devin’s solar plexus.
Devin gasped for air as all the oxygen exploded from his lungs.
Jonathan grabbed Devin by the collar of his stolen uniform, spun him around, and hurled him violently through the open doorway into the grand second-floor landing.
Devin crashed onto the polished black marble, skidding several feet before coughing up blood.
"Jonathan!"
Molly appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a dark blue robe. She had heard the commotion from Lily’s secure safe room down the hall where she had tucked her daughter away with Mrs. Higgins.
Devin looked up, seeing Molly.
With a final, desperate burst of venom, Devin scrambled to his feet and lunged toward Molly, his bloody hands reaching for her throat.
"IF I’M GOING DOWN, I’M TAKING YOU WITH ME!"
For years, Molly would have curled up into a ball. She would have cowered, covered her face, and waited for the blows to land.
Not tonight.
Looking at the monster who had terrorized her, beaten her, and tried to destroy her child's future, Molly felt no fear. She felt only the incandescent, unstoppable rage of a mother protecting her sanctuary.
As Devin lunged, Molly stepped forward with perfect balance.
She drove the heavy brass candlestick she was holding directly into Devin’s temple with all the force of her body.
CRACK.
Devin’s eyes rolled back. His momentum halted instantly, and he collapsed like a sack of stones onto the marble floor, completely unconscious, blood pooling from his forehead.
Jonathan stepped up behind Molly, looking down at Devin’s limp body, then looking at Molly with an expression of pure, unadulterated awe.
Molly stood tall, chest heaving, the heavy candlestick smoking slightly in her hand.
"Nobody touches my family ever again," Molly declared, her voice ringing clear through the grand halls.
Jonathan wrapped his uninjured arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against his side.
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"Damn right," Jonathan whispered, kissing her temple softly. "Marcus, take the trash out to the feds. Make sure they use maximum security chains this time."
"With pleasure, ma'am," Marcus said, grinning broadly as he dragged Devin away by his ankles.
