Chapter 21

"Frankie!" I was standing in the middle of the living room looking towards the primary entrance, and I was calling Frankie out. Jackson was standing against one of the walls still holding on to that bat.

"Frankie I'm waiting! You wanted me, well now you've got me! I'm waiting but where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are, Dick Cox!" He hated that name.

Frankie came stumbling down the stairs; he hadn't fully recovered from his blow to the head. This could play to my advantage. He looked mad, probably angrier than I'd ever seen him. He hated being called Dick and anyone who made the mistake of doing so regretted it.

"There you are Dick. What kept you? Have a bit of a headache do ya?" I smiled sinisterly. Where was all this bravery coming from?

"Do you wanna die bitch?" Frankie asked as he came towards me. I saw Jackson tighten his grip on the bat. I stood my ground.

"We all die eventually Dick." He winced. "Oh, what's the matter? Not like the name our dear mother bestowed upon you?"

"Shut up woman!" He raised his hand to hit me but Jackson moving in the corner caught his attention and he changed his plan. He quickly maneuvered behind me and grabbed me. He pulled me close and whipped out his knife and pressed the blade against my throat. Jackson froze.

"Thought you'd get in another hit did ya? Drop the bat." Frankie ordered. "Drop it or I kill your little whore right now."

"Do it Jackson." I pleaded. He slowly set the bat on the floor and held up his hands.

"Now roll it over here." Frankie demanded. Jackson did as he was told and the bat rolled to our feet and stopped.

"What was this?" Frankie laughed. "Did ya think you'd distract me while your little friend would attack me from behind? Ah little sis you have so much to learn. Too bad you won't have the chance to now."

"Did I ever tell you about what happened to my father Jackson?" I asked.

"Now, now Amelia did we forget about our little secret."

"If you're going to kill us anyways Frankie, then what does it matter?"

"Well I guess you've got a point there. Hmm, I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell. But allow me.

"I killed him, just like I'm gonna kill you. With this very knife in fact. The stupid bastard got in my way of a drug deal. So I slit his throat and buried his body in the back yard. Little Amelia here saw it all, so I made a little deal with her. If she promised not to tell I promised not to do the same to her. I even gave her a permanent reminder of our deal. His name was Eugene so I carved a 'U' in her side. Get it, U-gene." He laughed at his own apparent genius.

"Brilliant." Jackson said plainly. "But the way I see it, you're breaking your promise now. She never told and yet your about to kill her."

"You see that's the beauty of it all. I only promised not to do the same to her, which means I ain't gonna slit her throat. There's other ways of killin' her."

Frankie removed the blade from my throat and I took advantage of the situation. With all the force I could muster I rammed both elbows into his stomach and stomped on his foot. It was enough to break his hold on me. I grabbed the bat located at our feet, and without skipping a beat I swung it hard against his knee, first one then the other. I heard the crack as the knee caps shattered and Frankie crumbled to the floor, screaming out. He swung at me with the knife but I swung back with the bat and knocked the knife clean out of his hands. He cradled his broken hand to his chest. I positioned the bat for another swing, this time at his head, but I faltered and Frankie saw.

"What is it Amelia?" He taunted. "Are you going to kill me now? Are you going to show your true colors? After all you're only a Cox."

I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face permanently. I wanted to silence jeering laugh forever. I wanted to make him suffer as much as I had. I wanted him to die.

"Amy," Jackson said calmly as Frankie continued to laugh.

I screamed and rammed the bat down. Frankie fell silent as the bat smashed into the floor beside his head. He looked at me in disbelief. I tossed the bat aside.

"Why?" he asked mockingly.

"Because, I am not like you." I turned my back on him and walked into Jackson's waiting arms.

"That wasn't exactly according to plan." He said.

I shrugged. "I improvised."

"Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Yea, yea I am. Are you?"

"As long as you're good, I'm good." He brushed the hair out of my face. I must have looked like a mess, but I don't think he really cared how I looked.

"I'm proud of you." He whispered before he gently pressing his lips against mine in a sweet, love-filled kiss.

JPOV

I pulled out of our kiss, too soon I admit, but I wanted to see her again. I took in her tangled hair and her dirty face. Her fingers were splintered and her clothes were torn and bloody. She looked like hell, and yet she had never looked more beautiful. She had conquered her fears. It was all over now.

I saw Frankie moving out of the corner of my eye. Apparently, it wasn't over for him yet. He had managed to get a hold of the bat and clamor to his feet. He ran straight for us.

"No!" I yelled as I pulled Amy behind me. I would not let him get her. We were trapped against the wall with no way out.

Just as he was about to get within swinging distance a gunshot when off. Frankie stumbled but continued moving forward. The gun went off again, and again. Frankie fell to the floor in a pool of blood. I looked to my left and saw a line of uniformed officers standing in the doorway; their guns were raised and directed at Frankie. I turned back to Amy in time to see her eyes roll to the back of her head. I caught her in my arms as she collapsed.

"Amy?" I called to her but she didn't respond. It was then that I noticed the blood that was still spilling from her side.

"Shit. We need a medic over here!" I called to the officers. "Amy hang in there darlin'. Don't you dare give up on me now! Amy!"

*~*

The medics pushed me aside as they attended to Amy. For the second time in a few short weeks I watched as they loaded my girlfriend onto a stretcher and inside an ambulance. This time I fought my way on board with her. I sat in the back holding her hand as they tried to stop the bleeding.

At the hospital it felt like an eternity before the doctor finally allowed me in the room to see her. She was hooked to another heart monitor and she had IVs in her hands. She was very pale and her hair was dingy looking, but she was alive. And right now, that's all that mattered to me.

I walked to her bed and took her hand in mine as I sat down. I pushed her hair aside and pressed my lips to her forehead.

"Amy, wake up." I whispered. She did as I asked and her eyes fluttered open.

"Jackson," her voice was hoarse.

"Shh, darlin'. I'm here." I rubbed her hand gently.

"Aunt Suzie?"

"She's fine. She's doing very well thanks to you and Kellie. She's resting now, just down the hall. She has a broken nose, a broken leg, and a few fractured ribs. But thankfully, the rape kit they took on her turned up negative."

Amy nodded. "Good. And Frankie?"

"He's dead. Captain Hanks shot him."

"Are you sure he's really dead?"

"Positive. I checked myself. And I gave the tape recorder to the Captain. By now, they've listened to Frankie's confession the authorities in North Carolina are being informed of the situation." She had tears running down her face, so I wiped them away.

"It's over then." It wasn't a question.

I looked over my shoulder as someone walked in. "Amy, there's someone here who would like to see you." I waved him in.

"Benny," she said.

"Hey Aims." Ben walked over and sat on the other side of the bed and took her other hand. "Thank you for getting our mom out in time." I could swear I thought I saw tears in his eyes.

"I'll just give you two a minute alone. You have a lot of catching up to do. I won't go far Amy." She nodded and I kissed her forehead again before leaving.

"Jackson," she called out just as I reached the door. "I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too."

Well, that's it there's just the Epilogue left now, but I thought I would leave my thoughts here and leave you with the happy ending.

Thanks for sticking through to the end. It has been a great pleasure writing and I've really enjoyed signing on everyday to see all the hits I've received.

Thanks to .Vampire. for all her lovly reviews! I've enjoyed reading them so much.

And thanks to all my readers over at JRO. This one is for you.

Thanks so much for choosing my story to read. It thrills me to no end. Please, feel free to continue to let me know what you think.

*~*SweetSunnyRose*~*