Damien was back.

Of that, I was sure.

When Anthony threw me to the ground and shielded my body with his own, I’d turned my head and glanced out the broken French doors, trying to see where the shots were coming from. I saw him standing there, a gun in his hand. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was him.

“Ma-ma!” Lucca cried, clutching my shirt in his hands. “Toe go buh-bye!’

Feeling tears slide down my face, I held Lucca tight against me. “Tony did go bye bye.. He’ll be back soon though, don’t you worry.”

Please, please, please let him come back.

I glanced at the clock hanging on the office wall. Anthony had been gone a little over eight minutes. I hadn’t heard any more gunshots since he left but that did little to ease the fear strumming through my veins. Just because he hadn’t been shot didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt.

Closing my eyes, all I could picture was him lying downstairs in a pool of his own blood, slowly bleeding to death. The image made bile rise in my throat. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being hurt while I sat idly by, doing nothing to help him.

But what could I do?

I couldn’t leave Lucca alone to go find him, and I sure as hell wasn’t carrying my son downstairs to the place where I’d last seen Damien. If Damien got his hands on Lucca, I didn’t know what he’d do. One thing was for sure though; he’d use my little man as a weapon to hurt me. It didn’t matter if he was biologically his son or not, the bastard wouldn’t hesitate to slit my son’s throat if he thought it would tear me apart.

Even though I wanted to find Anthony, I couldn’t allow—

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, cutting off my thoughts.

Shit.

Holding the gun steady, I pointed it at the office door. Lucca quieted.

The adrenaline surging through my veins had helped sober me right the hell up, but I was still scared my aim would be off. If it was and I missed, Lucca and I would both die at the hands of the monster I’d fought so hard to escape.

The footsteps drew closer. “Come on, you bastard,” I whispered to myself. “Step inside so I can end this once and for all.” Despite that fear coursing through my entire body, at that moment, I felt brave.

I felt strong.

Outside the door, the knob clinked as someone wrapped their hand around it.

Open the door you son of a bitch.

I laid my finger on the trigger, fully prepared to pull it back the moment the door flew open. Once the first bullet found its target, I wouldn’t stop firing until the clip was empty. Just like Anthony told me to do.

Aim for center mass. Shoot to kill, not to injure.

The knob twisted. I took a deep breath. My finger tensed.

Just a little bit longer and—

“Shelby.” I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Baby, it’s me.”

Anthony.

He slowly pushed the door open. “Don’t shoot me, sunshine.” His voice was calm. “I’m only thirty-two. Not quite old enough to die yet.”

He stepped into the office. My eyes roamed every inch of his body, checking for any injury. I didn’t see any cuts or blood. No bullet holes or other obvious injuries.

Thank God.

“Did you…”

Anthony shook his head. “No. He was long gone by the time I got back downstairs. K9 is on the way, but I doubt we’ll get much of a lead. He probably parked on the curb so he could make a quick getaway.”

Lucca reached for Anthony. “Toe,” he whined, opening and shutting his hands frantically. “Toe get U’ka.”

Anthony crossed the room and scooped my son up into his arms.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around my legs. “It was him.” My voice was quiet, barely a whisper. “I saw him.” Digging my nails into the outside of my thighs, I stared down at the floor beside me. “He’s back.”

Pressure built in my chest and my head began to pound. It felt like the world around me was splitting in half. “Shelby,” Anthony said, wrapping his long fingers around my wrist. “Look at me.” My head popped up; my gaze found his. “He’s not going to hurt you, baby.”

Feeling like I was on the brink of losing what remained of my sanity, I shook my head back and forth. “He’s going to try.” My gaze dropped back to the floor. “I just need to figure out a way to stop him. I have to make sure I’m ready. That I’m prepared.” I blew out a breath. “I can’t let my panic flare. If I let it take hold of me…”

“Shelby, stop it.”

Anthony wrapped his hand around my chin, but I smacked it away and looked at up at him.

“Do you have any idea how terrifying this is?” His jaw clenched. “It’s not just the fact that my psychotic ex is after me, most likely dead set on killing me. It’s the fact that knowing no matter how strong I try to be, the darkness always has a way of finding and paralyzing me.” Anthony’s brow furrowed. “It scares the hell out of me. What if when he comes back, then I freeze? What if he goes after Lucca and my mind betrays me? What if I can’t protect him? What if I can’t save him? Anthony, I can’t—”

It was the wrong time to have this conversation, but I couldn’t help it.

My brain was working overtime.

“Do you not remember pointing a gun at my chest? Do you not remember being fully prepared to shoot me because you thought I was him?” Anthony nodded at the gun in my hand. “Did you not just have the gun pointed at the door, ready to shoot to kill?” He had a point. “Trust me, you won’t freeze.” He brushed a thumb over my cheek. “Besides, you don’t have to worry about it.”

Confused, I asked, “What do you mean?”

Anthony stood up and placed Lucca on his hip. Towering over me, he looked down into my eyes. “You don’t have to worry about it anymore because when that son of a bitch comes back, you won’t be the one standing up to him.”

“He won’t allow you to arrest him, Tony.”

Emotions all over the place, my chin began to wobble.

“Listen to me, Shelby.” I bit my bottom lip to hold back the sob threatening to rip free from my throat. “The day I meet Damien Black, I don’t plan on arresting him.” Uncomprehending, I continued to chew on my bottom lip. “Mark my words, sunshine. The day I set eyes on him again, he will cease to exist.” Before I could open my mouth to question what he was saying, he continued. “Because I’m going to fucking kill him.”