Colton Baby Homecoming. Lara Lacombe

the little one, but how? A frontal attack wouldn’t work—he was too big for her to stand a chance. She would have to come in from the side and gain the upper hand by attacking from his blind spot. But that meant leaving the baby undefended.

      Where is Ridge? She screamed out again, hoping he would hear her this time. She couldn’t hold him off forever, and unless Ridge got here soon, the intruder was going to overpower her and take the baby.

      It was now or never. Moving as stealthily as she could Darcy crept up alongside the intruder, trying to stay out of his line of sight as she approached. One step, two, and then she was there, within striking distance.

      She lifted her makeshift weapon above her head and started to swing, but before she could make contact, the man turned. She saw the glint of satisfaction in his eyes and realized her mistake—he’d known what she was doing all along!

      He kicked out, his foot smashing into her left shin bone. Pain exploded at the site, a viscous, black thing composed of tendrils of agony that wrapped around her leg and threatened to take over her whole consciousness. She sucked in a deep breath and pushed back against the darkness. If she fell down, it was all over.

      She swung wildly with the dog bone but missed him. To make matters worse, the gesture put her off balance and she listed dangerously to the side. Gravity took hold and she felt herself going down. Desperate to stay on her feet, she scrabbled for some kind of support. Her hand made contact with the back of a chair and she pulled herself up, but her leg wasn’t going to hold her weight much longer.