Jade struggled helplessly in Gabriel’s arms while Sapphire took a key from her pocket and opened the door on the far side of the cabin.
“Mama?”
The tiny voice made Jade’s pulse surge, and she strained against her confines. Unfortunately, Gabriel didn’t seem to be exerting any extra effort keeping her immobilized.
“Dez!” Jade shouted. “Dez! Mama’s here!”
Breath and warmth and relief coursed through Jade’s entire body when her daughter ran toward her, throwing her arms around her neck. Laughing, Dez ignored the man who kept Jade’s arms pinned behind her back.
“Mama, Auntie Sapphire says she knows where my daddy is and that I really do have a daddy besides God.”
“Sweetie, we’ll talk about it all later.” Jade nestled her head against her daughter’s cheeks, soaking in her presence, praising the Lord for allowing her to be with her daughter again. “What have you been doing, honey? Did you get hurt?”
Dez shook her head. “No, I’m okay. Auntie Sapphire told me you were coming, but I didn’t think it’d take so long. Why did it take so long, Mama?”
“Mama had a few things to take care of first.” She tried hard not to choke on her words. Her heart swelled with love for her daughter, with gratitude for her safety and a simultaneous primal instinct to do everything in her power to keep her safe.
Even kill.
Gabriel was so close behind her she could feel the gun in his pocket. If she could only find the right opportunity …
But that was all secondary. Dez was safe. Keeping her that way was the only thing that mattered. She breathed out a silent prayer of thanks, drinking in the sight of her precious child.
Dez put her hands on her hips and jutted out her lip. “Hey, what happened to the top of your head? It’s all bumpy.”
“Mama got a little owie. It’s all right.”
“Let me give it a kiss.” Dez leaned in and got close enough to Jade’s ear to whisper, “I know she’s not my real auntie.”
Jade’s whole body swelled with relief. Of course Dez was smart enough not to be fooled, but she was putting on the perfect act. Jade didn’t trust herself to reply to her daughter’s words and hoped Gabriel hadn’t heard.
“Well, have you been good for Auntie Sapphire?” Jade figured that if her daughter could put on a show, so could she.
Dez’s eyes widened in apparent understanding. “Oh, yeah. I had a bit of a hard time falling asleep last night, but then Auntie Sapphire gave me a little pill, and I’m just now waking up.”
Jade held back the choke that threatened to well up in her throat. “Well, I’m really proud of you. You’ve been a big, brave girl, haven’t you? Come here and give me one more kiss.”
Dez leaned in and whispered, “Don’t be scared. I prayed, and Jesus is going to help us.”
Jade didn’t know what she’d ever done to raise such a perfect, precious, intelligent child. She found herself making God every promise imaginable, all the ways she’d be a better mom if he would only get them both out of this situation. She knew where Gabriel’s gun was, but she had to wait for the right time. After her father’s murder, Jade had taken several handgun classes, vowing to never let herself meet the same kind of fate as her father had. Other women in her class wondered if they’d have the fortitude to actually take a life if necessary, but with her daughter’s freedom and safety at stake, Jade had no qualms.
“I love you so much, baby,” she told her daughter. “And Mama’s so, so proud of you.”