Southern Heart (Southern #5) - Natasha Madison Page 0,2

being home, but watching these two grow up is what I missed the most.

Even though I saw them during our regular FaceTime sessions, it’s not the same. I hear the rain start, and I look outside the window and see that the dark clouds have taken over. "It’s raining cats and dogs," Gabriel says, and I laugh at him, knowing Grandma taught him that.

"Why don’t we go take a nice bubble bath?" We clean up the room, then I walk back to their bathroom. By the time they’ve finished their bath, I have to put down four towels to clean up our splashing. I tie my hair on top of my head as I dress them both and then walk back into the kitchen to warm a bottle up.

While I wait for the microwave to beep, a huge clap of thunder makes me jump. I laugh, thinking I’m being silly. Rainstorms are my favorite, but I don’t like the thunder and lightning that go along with them. "That was a big one." I look out the kitchen window but can’t see anything since the rain is coming down so hard.

I’m rocking Aubrey to sleep when thunder claps again, and this time, I see the lightning through the windows.

The lights flicker, but the kids are oblivious to the fact a storm is raging outside. I place her in bed and check on Gabriel, who is fast asleep.

I close his door just a touch and walk back to the living room starting to clean up when the lights flicker again. I walk to the kitchen, looking for candles in case the lights go out.

The lightning outside is intense this time. It lights up the whole sky, the rain not letting up, and now it sounds as if little pellets are hitting the windows. I find the candle at the same time I hear a soft ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick.

I look around, walking to the back door to make sure it’s locked as another round of lightning starts, this time with a roaring sound of thunder first. "Someone is getting their asses kicked tonight." I walk toward the front door, where I can still hear the ticking.

A tree branch is swaying from the wind and hitting the front window. I turn off most of the lights and sit down when it sounds like two rocks being crushed together fills the whole house, and the lights go out.

"Great," I say to myself, getting up. I’m ready to send Ethan a text to tell him that we are fine when the thunder starts again, but this time, there is also banging on the door.

I drop the phone as my hands go to my chest. Making my way through the darkness, I slowly head to the front door. The streaks of lightning give me some light as I get to the door and look out the peephole.

All I see is a black lump. My head screams at me not to open the door while my hands reach out my hand going to the lock and turning it.

I start to pull it open, and it’s pushed in by someone bent over. I scream, not sure what to do. The lightning gives me just enough light to see that the man is bloody. His face is bruised and battered, and he has blood everywhere along with dirt. His dirty white shirt is soaked through from the rain, and parts of his shirt are pink from the blood. My heart pounds in my chest, the fear creeping in as I look to turn and grab the kids. I back away from him as he crashes into the table in the hallway, the vase of flowers crashing down now at the same time as the thunder strikes again.

He holds up one hand, and I can see the dripping blood. "Oh my god."

"Help." It’s the only thing he says to me before falling to the floor in front of me.

Chapter 2

Mayson

"Help." It comes out in a whisper as my legs finally give out on me, and I fall to the floor. My knees hitting it with a whack at the same time as another clap of thunder fills the air.

"Oh my god," I hear the woman say, and I try to see her, but everything is blurry. I lift my hand, but it just falls to the floor when the darkness starts to suck me under.

"Ethan," she says his name frantically as I try to place the voice. "Ethan, someone just