Free Redemption by Kaye Draper Page B

what
she thought was the baby she had lost, and his insides squeezed painfully. 
This just wasn’t fair.
    He took a deep
breath and let it out.  Then, as gently as he could, he said, “Rebecca, look at
me sweetheart.”
    She reluctantly
pulled her attention away from the baby.  Her big brown eyes met his, but they
were hazy.  “Good girl,” he breathed.  He held out a hand to her.  “I need you
to put the baby down, just for a minute.”
    Her arms
tightened around the bundle, and she gave him a panicked look.  “I’m not
leaving her.”
    He forced a
soothing smile on his face, as if leaving the little monster would be absurd. 
“Of course not.  I just need you to put her down for a few seconds.”  Maybe if
she wasn’t holding the thing, she would be able to see it. 
    But the thing
moved, fussing and squirming.  He watched in horror as it opened its mouth,
revealing a set of long, wicked fangs.  It reared back and sank its teeth into
the swell of her left breast, near her heart.  Isaac gasped and reached
forward, but Rebecca only chuckled and cradled the thing closer to her breast. 
“Oops!  I guess she’s hungry.”
    Blood was
staining her t-shirt where the thing clung to her.  Isaac stared at her for one
desperate moment, thinking he had finally lost her.  This thing was going to
suck the life out of her right before his eyes. 
    Rebecca looked
at Isaac in surprise.  His blue eyes were snapping with anger and he crouched
low like a dangerous animal.  She clutched the defenseless baby while she
nursed.  Was he so mad about her betrayal that he would harm her?  The
insidious thought worked its way into her head and wouldn’t leave.  How well
did she really know this stranger?  He was a drug user, admittedly a liar and
an untrustworthy person.  Why should she trust him?
    At that precise
moment, he sprang at her.  She tried to shelter the baby with her body, to
protect her from this madman.  He crouched over her, straddling her legs,
pinning her down as his big hands pushed hers aside, tearing at the baby. 
Rebecca kicked and struggled.  “No!  Let her go!”
    He got a firm
grip on the tiny little body and pulled.  Rebecca screamed, then sank her teeth
into his hand.  She felt the soft flesh give, and blood filled her mouth.  He
grunted in pain, but wouldn’t let go. 
    He shifted his
weight to get a better grip on Cloe, and Rebecca was finally able to get a leg
free.  She used what leverage she could to twist her hips.  Isaac was
unbalanced and fell forward onto them.  His forehead smashed into hers and she
saw stars, but she managed to use her weight to send them rolling across the
ground.  She had hoped to fling him off, but he wrapped his long arms around
her and hung on.
    Rebecca felt a
searing pain in her right shoulder as they rolled.  It lanced up her neck and
made her head pound.  She was on top of Isaac now, clutched to him, and she
struggled to push herself up and away.  He wrapped a leg around her to keep her
from escaping, one big hand still grasping at the baby, who had begun to emit
little shrieks of fear.
    The sound raised
a feeling of complete desperation in Rebecca.  He was going to take her baby
away.  She was going to lose her, again.  The thought was jarring.  Had she
ever lost her before?  Isaac nearly succeeded in prizing the bundle from her
arms.  Rebecca shrieked and kneed him hard in the crotch. 
    He twisted at
the last minute, taking a bruising blow to the thigh, but saving his more
important parts.  He’d let go of her for a minute though, and Rebecca surged to
her feet, headed for the shelter of the forest. 
    She hadn’t made
it more than a few steps when he hit her from behind, tackling her and knocking
her to the ground.  She struggled, but she was tiring.  Isaac might look all
lean and graceful, but he was whipcord strong and she was no match for his long
arms and strong hands.  It was as if he had sprouted more appendages.