Page 16 of Scarred Temptation

“Alright. Let me see if I can find them.” We stood quietly while I checked the street, glancing from one side to the other. I was at the point of taking Mina inside when a sound caught my attention. With there being plenty of traffic, the slight squeal of tires shouldn’t bother me.

Yet I was suddenly unnerved, my instincts prickled. Perhaps more of an awareness, yet I was extremely uncomfortable. “Stay right here, Mina. I’m just going to the sidewalk.”

“Okay.”

I was cautious in moving forward, still searching both sides of the street. I took slower steps moving forward, listening until I noticed the cause of the sound. Coming at a much higher rate of speed than the twenty-five miles per hour posted, a white SUV was headed in our direction.

My heart hammered until the heavy echo pounded in my ears.

I’d seen enough thriller movies in my lifetime to know there was purpose behind the high rate of speed. This wasn’t a joyride or a teenager who was clueless as to the dangerous weapon he had control over.

I waited for a few seconds to see if I was wrong, hopeful my instincts were off, which they never were. But as soon as the vehicle began to slow, I decided to buck caution and follow my gut. Turning sharply, I raced toward Mina, knowing I’d terrified her by pushing her out of the direct line of sight.

However, her gasp and wide eyes weren’t followed by a scream. She’d been taught what to do when facing an attack. Dear God, what was I thinking? This wasn’t some movie. This could be a little girl’s life.

“Mina. I think there are some bad men coming for us. Can you trust me?” I had to talk really fast as I knew there wasn’t much time.

She nodded, her small chest now heaving. “Yes.” The ugly, strangled sound of her voice created nasty images in my mind of what I wanted to do to anyone who dared terrify a child as had been done with Mina.

“Then we’re going to play hide and seek.” I scooped her into my arms, thankful I’d decided to strengthen my upper body muscles. I didn’t look over my shoulder as I ran, but I didn’t need to. I heard another screech of tires just before three vehicle doors slammed. I’d had a split-second decision to make, the buildings too far away and too close to the street. I chose to head through the playground to the garden instead. If I could make it to the other gate, I could easily find help with people in one of dozens of businesses.

Someone barked an order and it was definitely a foreign language, but they were too far to distinguish which one. As I raced into the garden, I heard heavy footsteps. Thankfully, Mina didn’t struggle, her small hands clinging to my arms with her fingernails digging into my skin.

My pulse had already skyrocketed, my thudding heart echoing in my ears. It sounded as if they were gaining on us. I zigged and zagged, fighting tears and nerves, the horror that the sweet little girl was being hunted like an animal keeping the rage just at the surface.

Knowing she was in danger was also an incentive. I ran faster, using the fury to keep me on track. As soon as the gate appeared just ahead, I did the unthinkable and looked behind me.

I’d never manage to open the gate before they reached us. “You’ll need to trust me again. Just do as I say.” There was no time for her to respond. As soon as we were close, I dropped her onto her feet, immediately moving in front of her as I shoved my hand into my fanny pack.

Her tiny gasp brought another wave of ignited fury.

“Stay behind me.”

She didn’t budge even as they closed the distance. All three were dressed in suits, huge men who had no place near a school. They reminded me of every thug in every thriller, evil glints on their faces.

One bastard smiled, holding out his hand out to me as if in a greeting. Did the bastard think pretending he was doing nothing but saying hello would work?

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, pretending as if this was nothing but miscommunication, but I was no fool, the outline of his weapon clearly seen through his jacket. “I came to take sweet Mina home. Thank you for caring about my niece.”

Wait a minute. Had I gotten the signals mixed up?

No. Something was off. If the aging man was her uncle, then Mina would have run to him instead of digging her fingers into my legs. “Oh, she told me about you. I’m sorry.” I offered a smile to all three while trying to wrap my fingers around the only weapon I had.

I felt the sweet little girl stiffen from behind and with her breathing more labored, I knew she was terrified.

“Come, Mina,” he said, all while the other two moved to flank both sides. Were they really that stupid to think I didn’t know what they were doing?

A tiny moan slipped from her mouth, the sound agonizing and cutting through me like a knife. My motherly instincts kicked in, a mama bird protecting her fragile child.

As soon as the mace was in my fingers, the nozzle pointed in the direction I wanted, I nodded, pretending as if I was going to push the girl away. Instead, I sprayed a stream of mace into the eyes of the guy on the left, switching immediately to the one on the right and before the thug who’d dared lie to me was able to grab his weapon, I hit his entire face with the harsh liquid.

Waiting to see their reaction wasn’t on the agenda. I turned, dropped, and scooped her into my arms once again.

When I saw the fear widen her eyes, I didn’t just see a frightened child relying on me to keep her safe. I saw myself years ago during the worst moment of my life. I remembered what it felt like to be completely powerless. The memory tasted like copper in my mouth, and in that split second, a vow crystallized in my mind. The bastards would not do to her what had been done to me.

With all three men dancing and twisting in pain, I had enough time to yank open the gate. I gave one final look, noticing the man who was obviously in charge had managed to grab his gun.

With her clinging to me, shaking violently, I sprinted across the street just as two vehicles came tearing around the corner. Two big black SUVs.