As McKenzie exited the warehouse, he emerged from his hiding spot. Swiftly, he grabbed her and yanked her into the shadows catching her off guard. His hand clamped over her mouth, stifling any chance of a scream. But, she retaliated with a sharp headbutt, splitting his lip.
"The fuck, McKenzie!" he hissed as he felt the cut ooze blood.
"How was I supposed to know it was you, Richard?" McKenzie shrieked, spinning around, surprise flickering in her eyes.
"Did you set this up? Is Dwayne just another pawn in your game? I find it strange that you'd hug the person who held your daughter captive!" he blurted out, his words laced with accusation.
McKenzie met Richard's eyes squarely as she clutched Jazzy closer to her.
"You think I'd put my child in danger to pull Dwayne into some stupid game?" McKenzie's voice was filled with disgust. "You men always think it's about you! This happened because Olivia decided to take Jasmine away from me!" she spat. "As far as I'm concerned, if Olivia didn't try to play the hero none of this would've happened!"
She shrugged. "And, if Dwayne didn't come to check me at work, after I told him I no longer wanted to see him, he wouldn't be tied up in all of this! So he has nobody to blame but himself!"
"Dwayne loves you!"
"And what does that have to do with me? And besides I'm engaged to Yellows."
This was the first time Richard noticed the engagement ring sitting on McKenzie's finger.
Oh great! Another fucking thing to worry about!
Richard quickly composed himself and snarled, "Are you fucking serious? After everything Dwayne did for you?"
McKenzie laughed coldly. "And what did Dwayne do for me that he didn't pay for? If he got his feelings involved that's on him."
"Well, some fiancé you've got there! Where the fuck is he? And you never answered me about who the fuck was in the warehouse with you."
"I don't owe you shit!"
"I think you do, after all, I did risk my job coming here to save you!"
"Save me from what? The only thing that's in my way right now is you! Move!"
His eyes narrowed as McKenzie pushed past him, but before he could press further, a chilling sound cut through the air. A low, guttural growl echoed from the shadows which made McKenzie freeze in her tracks.
"What the hell is that?" Richard whispered, instinctively raising his gun to the noise.
Before either of them could react, two pairs of gleaming golden eyes emerged from the darkness, followed by two menacing silhouettes of pit bulls. Each pit bull looked to be unnaturally bred and about two hundred and fifty pounds each. Suddenly, they moved with speed, closing the distance between them.
His eyes locked on the targets as he fired, bullets hit both targets, but it only slowed them down. They kept coming. McKenzie screamed and Jasmine cried in her arms.
With no more bullets in his gun, they only had one other option.
"McKenzie, run!" he shouted.
They sprinted towards the maze of wooden crates stacked in the yard of the warehouse. Richard's breath quickened as the menacing growls of the pit bulls echoed through the wooden corridors. He fumbled with the bullets he had retrieved from his pocket, cursing under his breath as he loaded them into his gun.
The pit bulls were gaining ground, their snarls becoming louder with every passing moment. He knew he had to put them down, or slow them down more to buy them some time.
Stopping abruptly, he turned to face the oncoming threat. The pit bulls emerged from the shadows, and he raised his gun.
"Find a place to hide!" Richard yelled to McKenzie.
She veered off, disappearing into the network of crates.
The first pit bull lunged, teeth bared, but Richard sidestepped narrowly avoiding its deadly jaws. He squeezed the trigger, and the bullets hit its mark. The wounded pit bull yelped and fell back, but its relentless companion pressed on.
Richard's heart pounded in his chest as he retreated, pushing crates as he passed creating a makeshift barricade of obstacles to slow the pursuit.
He saw McKenzie emerge from the wooden maze ahead of him, Jasmine clutched protectively in her arms.
As he came to the last stack of crates ahead of him, he pushed with all his strength. He knew that if the last pit bull made it to open ground he'd be torn to bits. The crates tumbled onto the path behind him catching the snarling pit bull below.
Panting heavily, relieved that he had stopped the danger, at least for now. Now, he needed to find McKenzie. With the noise from the crates he had no idea who could've been alerted.
"McKenzie? McKenzie?" he called out.
Fuck! He lost them!
As he went in search of McKenzie and Jasmine he wondered who had set the dogs on them. Was it someone who was after McKenzie or him? And now that they were seen together does it mean that the other has now become a target?
Richard sighed heavily. With enemies becoming intertwined, nobody was safe, nobody.