Taking One for the Team (The Team #1)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Is he gone?" Renee whisper shouted.

I smiled in the direction of our room. "Yeah, Baby, he's gone. You get them back to sleep?"

Renee descended from the stairs. "Yeah, let's go back to our movie."

About half an hour into our movie, my phone began to ring. The ID read 'Ashley'.

Renee let out a heavy sigh and paused the movie. I hadn't planned on answering the phone but apparently Renee expected me to.

"Hello." I sighed.

" Honey, I need to see you." She purred.

"Ashley, I'm not coming to see you."

"Honey, please!" She whinned.

"Why, Ashley?"

"Matthew isn't the father, we took a DNA test, that means Sarah is yours."

"No, no, Matthew came by and told me the truth. Rick whatshisname is the father. Isn't that right, Ashley?"

"I-I-I-I, um." Ashley broke down. "He took my baby!" She screamed. "He said I wasn't fit to raise his child and he took her away!"

"Look, I'm sorry, Ash, I really am, but if you really want Sarah back, fight for her." Then I hung up the phone.

Ashley

Nothing was how it should be. Savannah's in jail, Mookie won't help unless I work for him as a whore, and Matthew wants nothing to do with me. I've lost the only bargaining chip I had and now I'm on my own.

I stand outside Matthew's house, looking at them cozy up in front of the television.

"It isn't fair." I seethe.

I walk to the side of the house where the power box likes. I take out my wire cutters and cut all the wires inside. When the house goes dar, I make my move.

Let the games begin.

Renee

"Oh my God!" I scream.

"Baby, it's okay. Go upstair and check on the babies." Alex says.

As I move to the stairs I swear I hear cutting, like someone's messing with the window. I run upstairs anyway to protect my babies.

When I get upstairs, I move the babies to the guest room closet. They're still sleeping so thankfully, I tun all the lights upstairs off and go to the closet and sit inside with the babies. As I was shutting off the lights, I could hear Alex rummaging through our room, undoubtedly for his gun. I don't thik he'd ever use it, it's just to scare any would be intruders.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

I hear gun shots coming from downstairs. I start to panic but then remember the kids. I run to the closet and take one of Matthew's baseball bats then I run back to the closet.

Minutes later, I hear foo steps, making the floor creak from the pressure of the person's weight.

I remain silent, listening, whoever it is, they're going from room to room, obviously looking. I pray it's Alex but I stay hidden, knowing it might be the intruder.

Their footsteps become louder until I know for a fact they're inside my bedroom. My heart is racing. I can physically feel every heartbeat, the pumping of blood flling my ears.

I look through the crack of the closet door and see the person, alost shadow-like, walking around. Whoever it is, it isn't Alex. This person is too short. I make a decision. I either attack them or let them find and kill me and my babies.

When the intruder checks under the bed, I make my move, I silently remove myself from the closet and creep up behind them. When the intruder makes a move to turn around, I swing and hit the initruder in the head. Swing after swing and they stop moving.

I grab my kids from the closet and race to the stairs in search of Alex. As I search, I almost trip over something, a leg.

I scream, then the front door opens and I scream again.

"Renee, it's me, Andre!" He shouts.

I scream again, and this time I crumple to the floor, a sobbing mess.

The lights comoe back on and I see I almost tripped over Alex's leg.

"Oh my God!" I place the babies on the couch and check to see if Alex is still breathing. "Oh thank God." I let out when I find a pulse. I look to Nathan and Trevor when they walk in. "Call the police, he's been shot in the arm and the leg." I order.

Bang, bang!

I look at Trevor, who fired a gun and then behind me to see what he shot.

Lying face down on the stairs is the blonde mess, Ashley.