~Dee's POV~
Me and Jack are walking along the street with LJ asleep in his pushchair. Life seems perfect.
Jack had proposed to me a week ago, and this week, his father gave him a loan to buy me a proper diamond engagement ring.
That's what we're doing today. He's gonna let me choose my own.
"I just need to loo," he says as we reach a bench. "Stay here and I'll be right back."
He hurries up the road to the pub while I stop at the bench and check on LJ. He's awake and smiles at me.
"Hey, little prince," I smile. "You're so cute!"
"He gives me a look as if to say 'of course I am' which makes me smile.
Suddenly a car screeches to a halt beside me and I turn in shock.
"Hey, babe, miss me?" Deacon says through the window before somebody grabs me.
"What the hell?"
I turn but don't recognise him. I try and struggle but the car door gets opened from the inside and I'm bundled inside before the car speeds away. I look out the back window in horror as I am driven away from my baby.
"Deacon, please, you can't just leave him there alone."
I'm ignored and I continue looking at the pram with my son in it until we turn a corner.
~Jack's POV~
As I walk back to Dee and LJ, there's a hobo holding my son and Dee is nowhere in sight so I run over and snatch LJ from the man who recoils in fear.
"What the hell are you doing with my son? Where's Dee?"
He turns and points up the road but says nothing.
"Answer me dammit."
He recoils again. A woman hurries over.
"Sir, I'm sorry but I saw what happened and was just on the phone to police. Buzz here is harmless but is deaf and dumb. When I saw him with your child, I knew it was okay.
"What happened?" I ask.
"You girl was just talking to the child when a car pulled up, snatched her inside and sped off."
"What?"
Buzz points in the same direction.
"Thank you," I say. "Did you say the police are on the way?"
"Yes."
"Could you please hold LJ? I need to make a couple of calls."
She takes my son and sits on the bench cooing over him and Buzz just stands there staring at me while I take out my phone.
"Ruth, somebody just took Dee," I say when she answers the phone.
"What do you mean?"
I explain what happened.
"Oh my hell," she says. "Jack, call the police."
"Somebody already did."
"Okay, where are you, I'll be right there."
I tell her where I am and she hangs up so I dial another number.
"Bella, where are you?" I ask.
"At home."
"Has anything unusual happened today?"
"Not really. Why?"
I repeat what happened and say the police have been called and that I'd called Ruth.
"Shit! Jack, please keep me informed. I can't get there right now but I'll be there asap."
"Thank you, Bella. And be vigilant. I have a feeling I know who did this and when I get my hands on him, I'm gonna kill him."
The line goes dead and I take my son back.
"I need to get back to the store," the woman says. "But I'll talk to the police when they arrive."
"Thank you," I say.
I turn to Buzz and ask him in sign language if he knows it and he nods so I sign to him to stay there as the police will want to talk to him. My sister is deaf so I learnt how to sign from a young age.
Soon three officers turn up, and while one gets me into the back of the car with LJ, the second sign questions Buzz, and the third goes to speak to the woman.
"We'll do everything we can to find your girlfriend," the officer who was talking to me says.
"Fiancé," I correct.
He nods and they leave so I sit and wait for Ruth.
~Dee's POV~
I'm crying when we arrive at an apartment in Death Valley and all I can think about is the safety of my little boy.
"Deacon, please let me call Jack and make sure he has LJ."
Deacon hits me round the face so hard I fall to the ground and check my lip when I taste blood. He's cut my lip.
"Why are you doing this? I told you, LJ is your son."
"Now I know you're lying, you little whore. I snuck into your house while you were out and stole one of that brat's pacifiers and had a DNA test done."
I cry even more when I realise I won't know if my son is safe until I can get away from here.