Bobbi kept one eye on the door as their captor searched through the computer records of each child enrolled at the school. Between the 4 preschool classes and over 100 kids that came for before- or after-school daycare, there were a lot of files and he’d been going through them for at least 20 minutes. Sara had fallen asleep but Sam was fidgeting restlessly, starting to whine because she was hungry. Bobbi did her best to soothe her but they were all tired and scared, so she didn’t blame her.

She heard the police outside, using bullhorns to try to lure their captor out, but he’d ignored them. He was solely focused on the information on the computer monitor while holding a gun to poor Barb’s head as she scrolled through records.

“Stop!” he shouted. “There he is; that’s my Vinnie. Write down his address.”

Barb hesitated and he pressed the barrel of the gun against her temple. “Now.”

She swallowed hard but did as he asked, handing him a Post-it note with shaking fingers.

“Now I have to get there before you can warn my wife.” He looked around, his eyes settling on Bobbi and Sam. “You. Give me the kid.”

Bobbi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I said, ‘give me the kid.’ Do it or Barb here dies.” He pressed the gun against her temple again.

“If you need a hostage, take me,” Bobbi said, pushing Sam into Jessyka’s arms.

“Give. Me. The. Kid.” He enunciated each word carefully, his dark eyes burning into hers.

“She’s just a baby,” Bobbi whispered. “Please. I can get you out of here.”

“Last time I say it.”

The gun was still pressed against Barb’s temple and Bobbi blinked away tears.

Ronnie, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do.

The thought was fleeting, but tears leaked down her cheeks as she reached for Sam. She lifted her and hugged her tightly, staring at the man angrily.

“Would you want Vinnie to be someone’s hostage?” she asked angrily. “Would you want your son used as a pawn in someone else’s game?”

“You think this is a game?” he roared. “That bitch took my son from me!”

“But I didn’t,” Bobbi shot back. “And Sam is just a baby—what are you going to do with her? She’s going to slow you down because you’ll have to carry her and if you don’t feed her soon, she’s going to start throwing a fit. An adult would make a much better hostage.”

He growled, his face reddening as he stared back at her. “Fine. Leave the kid. You’re coming with me.”

“Bobbi…” Jessyka’s voice was a strangled whisper as Bobbi put Sam back in her arms.

“I’ll be fine,” Bobbi said, though her heart was pounding and she’d begun to feel a little nauseated. “Just, you know, tell Julian I love him.”

Jessyka nodded, though she appeared too choked up to speak.

“If my wife isn’t there when we get there,” the man growled to Barb, “blondie here dies. You understand me? You tell the cops or call my wife, and she’s dead.” He pressed the gun into Bobbi’s side. “Now move.”

Bobbi swallowed and walked towards the front doors.

“Open them slowly.”

She did as she was told, holding up her hands as they walked outside. There were sirens in the distance, lights flashing, and people huddled around the perimeter, but she didn’t see or hear much of anything. The hard metal pressed into her side was the only thing she was aware of, and she walked woodenly down the driveway, the fear roaring in her brain much louder than anything going on around her.

“Anyone comes near me, she’s dead!” the man was yelling out.

“What do you want?” someone yelled back.

“I’m going to get my son. Anyone tries to stop me…”

Bobbi tuned them out, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Julian was safe. Sam was safe. That’s all she cared about. Ron would come home to find his little girl safe and sound, and that had been her priority, though she wished someone could tell her where Julian was.

“Mommy!” The shrill scream snapped her back to the present and she froze as Julian struggled against the police officer holding him.

A sob escaped her as she tried to breathe. Watching Julian cry and scream for her was almost more than she could bear and she turned to her captor angrily. “Let’s go! What are you waiting for? Don’t you see how upset my son is?”

“Shut up!” he grunted, gripping her roughly by the arm. “Be glad I don’t take him instead.”

“Mommy!” Julian’s voice was louder now.

“Get your hands off her.” A deep voice came from behind them and relief surged through Bobbi when she recognized Ron’s voice.

“I’ll kill her!” The man grabbed her, one arm around her neck while the other held the gun to her stomach. “Stay back.”

Ron raised his hands, walking slowly towards them. “I’m not armed. I just want to talk to you. Tell me what you want and let her go.”

“She’s coming with me to get my son. As long as I get my boy, I’ll let her go. Any of you call and warn my wife, blondie here dies.”

“How about you take me?” Ron suggested mildly. “Let her go.”

“Not happening, buddy. Guy like you could give me trouble. Her, she’s too little to be much of a nuisance.”

Bobbi thought she’d scowled but was shaking too hard to know for sure.

“I’m not letting you take her,” Ron said evenly, his steely eyes focused squarely on the other man.

“You don’t have a choice. Come one more step and I’ll end her.”

“You end her and you’re dead too,” Ron said calmly. “Then you definitely don’t get to see your son.”

“If I can’t see my boy, I’m dead anyway. Death doesn’t scare me.”

“You’re not getting out of here today,” Ron continued. “So you decide how this goes. Right now, you’re in a little bit of trouble, but as far as I know, no one’s been hurt. You’ll do a couple of years and get out. You hurt her and you go away for life. That what you want for your boy?”

The man clicked his jaw in annoyance, his grip around Bobbi’s throat growing stronger. Bobbi yelped, clutching at his forearm as she struggled to breathe.

“I’m telling you to let her go.” Ron’s voice dropped to a low but menacing growl.

“If you’re takin’ me out, she dies too.”

“Ron.” Her voice was a gravelly whisper. “It’s okay. He’ll get his son and then you’ll come get me.”

Ron turned to look at her, his face softening. “You think I’ll let this punk take my girl right out from under my nose?”

She blinked away tears. “It’s okay…really.”

“I waited 15 years to find you, Roberta Santino. There isn’t a chance in hell I’m letting you go.”

“Ronnie…”

“This is all real romantic, but we’re outta here.” The man yanked her to the right and froze. Wolf stood there, leaning against the far wall of the building, a bored look on his face.

“Goin’ somewhere, asshole?”

“What the fuck?” Bobbi’s captor pulled her even tighter, making her gasp. “You people need to get the fuck out of my way.”

Bobbi was vaguely aware of some kind of police negotiator calling out to them, but Ron and Wolf didn’t move and the man holding her was starting to panic. She felt it in the way he was holding her, the way his breath had gotten choppy and the sweat that now poured off his forehead.

“You don’t want to do this.” Wolf folded his arms. “Beanpole’s been deployed for weeks and was looking forward to spending the night with his girl… You’re really fucking up his plans.”

“His plans? What about my plans? You know what it’s like for a woman to take your kid away from you? Do you?!” He was shaking angrily, tiny drops of spittle coming out of his mouth as he yelled. “That whore sold me out to the Feds and then disappeared with my son, but tonight she’s going to find out you don’t take a boy away from a Marinelli.”

Marinelli. Now that it had some sort of context, she thought the name belonged to some famous mafia family, didn’t it? Bobbi was struggling to concentrate but the name sounded familiar even in her foggy state. She was having trouble taking a breath because this idiot’s arm was pulled so tightly across her throat, but she fought against the looming darkness, trying to suck in as much air as possible. Part of her wondered if she was hallucinating, if Ronnie was really here having a casual conversation with this guy as if she wasn’t slowly suffocating.

They were still talking but everything was getting fuzzy and it was suddenly too much work to claw at his arm anymore. She dropped her hands, her eyes fixed on Ronnie. Her sweet, sexy Ronnie. She would have given anything to have him touch her just once more, but blackness threatened to take him from her sight. He was talking and his voice soothed her as she slowly began to give in to the sleepiness creeping in.

“Bobbi!”

Ron’s shout made her jump and her eyes popped open.

“Stay with me, babe. It’s almost over… Let her breathe, man. If she suffocates, I’ll choke you with my bare hands and then neither of us gets what we want.”

Bobbi gasped as the man let go of her neck but gripped her by the hair instead. “Happy?” he snarled at Ron.

A muscle in Ron’s cheek twitched but Wolf merely chuckled.

“Aw, man, I’m telling you…you do not want to piss off my man Beanpole. He looks skinny, but he will fuck you up. Trust me, you don’t want to tangle with him.”

“I’m done with all the talking,” the man hissed. “Get the fuck outta my way or I swear to god I’ll shoot her in the leg and you can watch her bleed out while we’re standing here!”

Wolf sighed. “Now that would definitely piss him off…”

Ron took a tentative step forward. “Let her go.”

“Are you crazy?” The man was starting to pant. “I told you I’ll fucking shoot her!”

“This is your last warning.”

“Ronnie…” Bobbi started to panic too.

“Close your eyes, babe.”

Bobbi did as instructed just as a soft thump made her jump and Marinelli suddenly slumped to the ground. She stumbled, the unexpectedness leaving her off-balance, but Ron was there, catching her in his arms. People were yelling. Police had swarmed them, and paramedics were hovering over the man, who wasn’t moving. There was chaos but Bobbi wasn’t aware of any of it. Nestled against Ron’s chest, she buried her face and soaked in his scent. Ironically, he smelled of sweat, as if he hadn’t showered lately, but she didn’t care. She was so happy to be safe, and in his arms, nothing else mattered. Lost in a little fantasy cocoon of comfort, it took her a moment to realize Ron was trying to get her attention.

“Honey, I know you’ve been through an ordeal but you’re scaring Julian. Can you just tell him you’re okay?” Ron lifted her chin, forcing her to make eye contact with him.

Everything came rushing into focus and she nearly cringed as the sheer chaos assaulted her senses, but she forced herself to hone in on Julian’s voice, motioning for Ron to put her down.

“Mommy!” Julian all but vaulted into her arms, and her legs gave out. Once again, Ron was there, catching both of them and they all settled on the ground.

“I need to get Sam,” Ron said, reluctantly pulling away.

“Hurry back,” Bobbi whispered, meeting his eyes over Julian’s head as she cradled the boy in her arms.

“Two minutes,” he whispered back.