Chapter 162 - PROTECT WHAT I LOVE

Twelve men were now bearing down on me. They were coming closer slowly, just one agonizing step at a time, or that was what it felt like. I know that this was just my mind making things move in slow motion. This was all happening way faster than it looked like to me.

Now that I saw these men in person, it was clear that I did, in fact, know a few of them. In my dream they were all just random people that I didn't know or recognize at all. However, at least half of these men were members of the pack. They might all be and I just don't remember them or they changed dramatically. I mean, it has been twelve years after all.

Yeah, there were some that I recognized. Of course, Matthew was in the bunch, he would do whatever it was that his brother wanted him to. There was Pauly and Andrew, two of the stupidest men I ever met, but they were strong. Keller, Frank, and Ronald were surprises though. When I was in the pack, I never would have thought that they would team up with Victor. I guess time changes people.

The other six men were strangers to me, but I didn't care, none of these men were going to hurt my baby. I would see to that.

Matthew and Pauly got to me first. I grabbed Pauly's outstretched arm and swung him into Matthew. The two of them went flying and sprawled on the floor when they landed several feet away. I barely missed being hit by the punch that Andrew threw my way, following the initial attack. I leaned out of the way just in time and managed to aim an uppercut to Andrew's chin. He was taller than me and it made it easier to take him out because I could get right into his space without needing to maneuver too much.

The fight was in full swing now. I was punching, kicking, throwing, blowing, countering; I was doing everything that I could to protect my daughter. I had taken a few hits myself. My lip was bloodied, there was a trickle of blood coming from my nose, and I felt my left eye starting to swell already. All of that was fine, because I knew that I would heal easily, and I was still able to fight.

I had one of the men that I didn't know on their ass and another one was about to join him. However, despite how well I was doing, I wasn't going to be able to keep this up for much longer. I was overwhelmed and seriously outnumbered.

Still, overwhelmed or not, I was going to fight until the very end. Even as I thought that I took a blow to my abdomen and felt something crack. Dammit, that was at least one rib, if not two. I coughed a little; blood flying from my mouth onto the floor.

In my slight hesitation from the cough, I felt someone grab my hair and yank my head back. SHIT! This wasn't good.

When my head was pulled back, I felt the person holding me spin me around. That was when I saw that Victor was standing right next to my baby.

"Get away from her, you asshole!" I screamed at him. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"I will leave her be, Jacy Rynn, if you just do as I tell you to."

"Oh yeah, and what do you want me to do?" I spat the words and the blood in my mouth at him.

"Come with me. That is all you have to do. Come home with me and I will leave her here for her daddy to find." He was looking at me with an amused look. He knew that he had won. I would either go with him or both, me and Maya, would die right here and now.

"Fine." I could feel the sorrow opening a pit in my stomach. "I'll go. Just don't hurt her."

"Very good." He grinned at me. "I am so glad that we caused that little accident outside of your hubby's office now. It delayed him just enough so that we didn't need to kill him. Now your baby will still have her daddy to raise her. See, aren't I so nice and helpful?"

"Yeah, you're so fucking nice that you should change your last name to Rogers." When I threw my sarcasm at him, the man holding my hair yanked me backwards a little more, causing the muscles in my neck and back to scream in pain.

"Watch your fucking mouth!" It was Matthew who had grabbed me. UGH! Of all the scumtastic slimeballs that had infested my home, why did it have to be him touching me? Eww! I had to wonder just where these hands of his had been. He wasn't always known for his clean and hygienic habits. Quite the opposite, really.

"Oh, I'm sorry Matthew, did you not like how I spoke to your brother? I know that must upset you since you're so in love with him."

"You never know when to shut up, do you?" He asked that as he lifted his other hand and punched me in the back, right in my kidney.

"You son of a bitch!" I growled the words as I tried not to cough from the pain again.

"Come now, no more fighting. Remember Jacy, he is going to be your brother-in-law. I shuddered involuntarily at those words. I didn't really want to show my disgust, however, I was unable to stop it from showing either.

"Won't that be fun?" Matthew smirked at me.

"Come on now. We need to get out of here." Victor, who had done nothing but threaten me and order them around, was looking at me as if he had been at the head of the fight. "We need to be out of here soon. We don't want to have to kill this baby's only remaining parent, do we?"

"Don't you fucking hurt him." I snapped at him.

"My, my, my. Jacy, you're so protective of the two of them. Dare I think that you love them that much? You? The woman who once said that she was never going to love anyone just because she didn't want to be with me?"

"I still don't want to be with you, but I don't want them to be hurt either. Don't hurt them and I will come with you." This was a vow, a resolution really, that I was making so that I could keep the ones that love safe.

"That's good." Victor walked up to me while wearing an evil grin. "I am very happy to hear you say that. Still, you can't blame me for wanting a little bit more insurance than just your word."

Right then, I saw a glint in the light as Victor raised his hand. There was a metal pipe in his hand, and I just knew that he was going to bring it down on top of my head. I wasn't going to close my eyes against the sight of it though. I would watch it come.

I sat there, looking at the pipe in his hand and listening to the sound of Maya crying. Her screams were getting worse and worse as the time went on. As I watched the metal arc through the air toward me, I said the one thing that my heart wanted me to at that moment.

"I love you, Maya."

I felt the pain sear through my head the moment that the pipe hit me. The burning pain was almost more than I could handle. I instantly felt the swelling begin and the skin split open. The blood started to pour down my cheeks and forehead as the light around my eyes darkened.

Victor brought his hand back almost immediately, the backward arc of the pipe led to blood being flung up onto his face. I wasn't unconscious yet and he knew it. He was going to hit me again and I knew it.

"You're sturdy, I'll give you that." Victor was looking at me like a serial killer, or that was what I thought when I saw that maniacal look on his blood flecked face.

"I have to be, if I wasn't I would be dead already." I wasn't going to fight him right now. There was no point. If I did, Maya and I would end up dying.

"Good night, Jacy."

With that Victor swung the pipe back down on top of my head. This time the pain was ten times worse. My vision went instantly black and the sounds around me were quickly beginning to fade.

"Grab her and let's go." I heard Victor's fading voice. "I want to be out of here in less than a minute."

"What about the baby?" I heard Matthew's voice as he hauled me up and over his shoulder.

"Leave her. Hopefully she dies because her dad can't get home.." Those were the last words that I heard before everything faded into nothingness.