Guarding Her Heart 💚

Chapter 17

Delaney laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't heard from Chris or Richard all day. She kept the door to her bedroom locked as she retired to her room after dinner. She laid down in her bed knowing she wasn't going to be able to sleep. Not with a stranger in her house; a stranger she didn't trust. She had her light on as she pulled up the camera feeds on her phone. She got a message from Chris saying he was on his way to the house. She sighed, relieved as she went back to the feeds as the lights in the house shut off. She looked at her phone, the feeds still recording, but it was dark as the sun was going down. She stood up from her bed as she heard the handle on her room being shaken. She looked at her phone to see Jeff outside her room.

"I'm just checking on you Ms. Martin."

She yelled from across the room, "I'm fine. Just go!" She looked down at her phone and messaged Chris to call the police as she heard Jeff laugh from the other side of the door.

"You know I can't do that. We never got to finish last time."

Delaney felt her heart sink to her stomach as she recognized the voice for the first time. "Oh god." She went to reach for the nightstand when she heard the door burst open. She shook her head as she backed up against the wall, "please. I didn't do anything. Just go."

Jeff laughed, "I told you I would have you. I never got to finish last time."

She felt the tears stinging her cheeks as he approached her, undoing his pants. She remembered what Richard said about her being stronger that she thought she was. She took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself, "I don't understand the motive for you here. Jeff."

He stopped in front of her and shrugged. "Yes well, you aren't privy to all the information."

She nodded, "okay? Are you related to the girl? Are you the one that took the pictures, or did she?"

He laughed, "she did. Bit of a voyeur she is. But you didn't release all the pictures to Levi, did you? Or was that your guard dog?"

She tilted her head, "now how would you know that?"

He took another step towards her, "you think he actually submitted them as evidence of anything?"

She sighed, "I see." She heard the door downstairs open, distracting Jeff as he looked back at the door. She took the chance to kick him in the knee, making his leg buckle as he fell to the ground before punching him in the face hard, giving her enough time to pull the gun from her nightstand. She pointed it at him as he stood with his hands up and Chris paused in the doorway.

"Now that was rude. Do you even know how to use that little girl?"

Delaney wasted no time turning off the safety before pointing the gun at the floor in front of him, firing a shot just inches from his left foot.

"Laney."

She didn't take her eyes off Jeff as she heard Chris from the doorway. "No Chris."

Chris heard someone come up behind him, seeing Levi as he just barely ducked in time to miss Levi striking him but they both lost their footing, tumbling down the stairs.

"Chris!"

Jeff took the opportunity of Delaney being distracted to lunge for the gun. Delaney panicked, firing the gun as he lunged for her, hitting him in the stomach as he fell to the ground. She tried to step around him, feeling him grab at her ankle, making her fall onto the ground next to him. She grunted, kicking him in the face with her foot twice as he released her ankle, blacking out.

Richard entered the house as he heard the gun shot upstairs. As he turned the corner to the kitchen, he heard another shot as he felt the searing pain in his shoulder, "fuck!" He leaned back against the wall out of sight of Levi in the kitchen.

Delaney came out of the bedroom, standing at the top of the stairs. She saw Chris at the bottom of the stairs, knocked out, or dead but she hoped for the first one. She kept her gun drawn as she heard a gun shot in the kitchen and Richard yell. "Richard?"

He sighed, relieved to hear her voice. "Go Laney! Hide somewhere!" He looked up to see police enter the house in front of him.

Delaney ignored Richard, proceeding down the stairs slowly as she tried to concentrate on something other than the sound of her heart beating out of her chest.

Richard yelled, "Levi, the police are here. You might as well give up now." He stepped out from the doorway as there was another shot and he fell to the floor.

Delaney heard the second shot as rounded the corner of the back of the kitchen just out of sight of Levi. She brought her gun up to shoot him in the arm, making him drop his gun as police entered the kitchen. She went back to Chris to see him waking up, making her sigh with relief. She walked through the kitchen as police detained Levi. "There's another one in my bedroom. Ambulance?"

The police officer nodded, "yes ma'am, on the way." She walked past them to find an officer attending to Richard. She handed over her gun to a police officer as she knelt next to Richard, seeing a gun shot in the shoulder and stomach, "Richard!"

He chuckled, "you don't listen, do you?"

She laughed, leaning over him, "I love you too."

He nodded, "are you okay?"

"Stronger than I know, right?" She saw him smile as she leaned over to kiss him before being shooed out of the way by a paramedic.