Free Embattled Home by J.M. Madden

did.
    Derek’s visits and calls had become more frequent recently. Trying to reconnect on their anniversary was a total crock, but he’d had to try to exert his dominance over her again. When the judge had granted her divorce, she’d chosen not to pursue child support, just so that she would have no strings tying her to the bastard.
    Too bad he didn’t recognize anything from the courts.
    Lora heard a thump from the front of the house and her stomach clenched. Creeping down the hallway, she leaned her head into the living room to see if she could identify what had made the noise.
    The front door was standing wide open and she heard feet running outside. Plastering herself to the wall, she eased toward the door to see what she could. The front porch light was on, but it only reached about ten feet out. Vaguely, she could see two figures wrestling in the grass.
    Sliding back into the hallway she rushed to Mercy’s room. When she heard another thud, she sped up and swung the door open to her daughter’s room. From the light of the security pole outside, she could see the hunched figure of a man trying to force open the window.
    Icy fear shot through her but she lunged for the bed, ripping back the covers. Mercy wasn’t there. “Mercy,” she hissed.
    “Here, Mommy.”
    Lora looked to the left and found her daughter coming out of the closet, bear clutched by one ear. Her eyes were wide with fright but she was calm as she came to her. Lora looked at the man at the window. He had stopped trying to pry into the room and just stood watching her, black mask over his face. Suddenly, he raised his gloved fist and shattered the glass with the big flashlight he had in his hand.
    Lora jerked Mercy by the hand and slammed the door as they ran out of the room. Once out though, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go toward the front of the house. At least, not until she heard from the big guard.
    As if she’d conjured him from her thoughts, the man came running around the corner from the living room. His rough face was flushed with exertion. Blood ran down his chin from a busted lip and he was panting heavily. “Are you okay?”
    Lora nodded, holding Mercy against her legs. “Another was trying to get into Mercy’s room. He broke the glass.”
    “Is he still there?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Zeke slid past her and into Mercy’s bedroom, but returned seconds later shaking his head. Reaching into his hip pocket, he pulled out his cell phone, thumbing in a number. With the other hand he guided them into her bedroom. Lora could hear the phone ringing on the other end of the line, then Chad’s drawl pick up.
    “We’ve got visitors. You better g-get over here.”
    Short and sweet. Zeke was a man of few words. He shoved the phone back in his pocket.
    Guiding them around the bed, he nudged them toward the closet. “Wait ‘til I come back.”
    And he disappeared.
    Lora huddled into the corner of the closet, her arms wrapped around Mercy, and counted off the minutes. Fumbling on the floor, she found a tall heel and held it like a hammer, ready for anything that came through the door. Her heart thudded heavily and she wondered what was going on. She didn’t want Zeke to be hurt. Or the other guard. Or anybody for that matter. But she refused to let them have Mercy.
    Though they hadn’t announced their names, she had no doubt who the men worked for. She was only a little surprised Derek hadn’t shown up to supervise the attack himself. Seemed like the narcissistic thing to do.
    Within a surprisingly short amount of time, Zeke was knocking on the closet door. “You c-can come out now.”
    Lora walked out, keeping Mercy behind her. For some reason, she’d expected there to be another mess for her to clean up, but everything was as she’d left it. When they went down the hall to the living room, Chad was at the front door. “Are you okay? Both of you?”
    He stepped close enough that she could have walked into his arms if she’d