My entire body froze when I heard the yell of a man. Looking up, and fighting hard to see against the lashing rain, I just made out the shape of a man, standing on the edge with a wriggling something in his arms.
A scream got lodged in my throat.
“Go away, Ella!” He yelled across the noise, almost making me jump. I had no idea he’d saw me.
With soft steps and my hands holding on to the wall on my right, I cried as I could see my daughter becoming clearer and clearer. “Carter! Please don’t take her away from me.” The rain made every word I screamed sound so flat and empty, the wind whisking them off into oblivion milliseconds after they left my lips.
Carter was just a few feet away now, his body trembling, the girl in his arms crying and clinging to his upper arms with chubby fists.
Two years ago, my baby was taken from me, and now I was seeing her for the first time. Not in some grainy black and white photograph, but in the flesh, and my heart fused, the valves joining once more, each chamber beating with a new kind of purpose.
She was beautiful.
Red hair, dark eyes, rolls of soon-to-be-gone baby fat on her legs. She wore just a white dress, her diaper visible as Carter’s shuffled her into a more comfortable position. His hands held her head, fingers brushing her hair.
The scene was surreal. I couldn’t breathe.
“Ella, I’ll jump, and I’ll take her with me if you take another step.” Carter cried, his anguish obvious on his features. “I know the truth. I know everything.”
“Carter, please, she’s innocent. You know she is, you don’t want to hurt her.”
More thunder. More lightning.
“Why the fuck shouldn’t I take her from him?” He asked, chancing a quick look at me over his shoulder. His blue eyes were pools of grief.
“He doesn’t care about her, Carter! You’d only be killing me.” My voice was high pitched, pleading, shrill against the violent weather and delicate atmosphere.
He shook his head, blond bangs sodden, and sticking to his cheeks. “I don’t fucking care, Ella, just stop talking so I can think!”
“Cart, let the girl go, please.” A deep, familiar, and calming voice boomed from beside me.
Jax placed a wet palm on my forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze, and then he moved forwards, wary of the slippery tiles beneath his bare feet.
Relief flooded through my veins.
“Jax, man, I mean it.” Carter faced the horizon once more, and as he moved, his body slipped a little.
“Jaxon, please stop him!” I cried.
“Come on, Carter, that girl is an innocent child. You want revenge? Fine. You want to kill them all? Well, so do I. But please, don’t do this.” Jax called, his voice crystal clear over the thunderous storm. “Just come back from the edge, man. I can’t talk to you properly when you’re standing there with that girl in your arms.”
Carter laughed, a noise that made my skin crawl. “Nothing will fix what those two have done to me. Nothing. There’s no coming back from this.”
“Yes, there is. Jesus, man, look at everything Ella has gone through. Every breath she took, every time she got up and fought was for that child you’re holding, that sweet little girl who’s crying in your arms, terrified, confused, cold. We’ll give you something to fight for, and you know we will. But please, please step away from the edge.” Jax was so close to his friend now, and he could probably see my daughter better than I’d managed.
I breathed out a long, shaking breath.
Jax.
Ella was holding her breath, I couldn’t blame her, as I held out my hand, rain splashing my palms. “Give me the child, Carter, and then we can talk.”
Time slowed down. The noise became a muffled hum whizzing through my ears; I had no words left to say. Not now. Not up here where we could all plunge to our death at any moment. Ella’s strength from the moment I first saw her, waking up in the arms of her rapist, up until now, was astounding. I looked across at her, her eyes fixed on her daughter, Sarka, and if Carter refused and jumped, I’m not sure I could have ever looked at her again.
Moments passed, the wind tore across us, sending fat drops of water diagonally instead of straight down, and then, my friend was moving. Not forwards, but twisting at the hips. I watched as he placed the child on her feet, only to stand back up, looking down.
“Sarka,” I said to Ella. “Her name’s Sarka.”
The toddler was unsteady on her feet, a lump so goddamn big formed in my throat as I watched Ella crouch down, arms outstretched. “Come here, baby.” She cooed, tears mingling with the rain.
The girl only had to wobble a few steps, and she’d be safe, I knew Ella wouldn’t want to spook her and make any sudden movements. You could see the uncertainty in the little girls’ dark eyes—another tense moment.
Another long, drawn-out moment of praying this scenario wouldn’t end in heartbreak.
“Sarka, baby, come to Mama,” Ella said, wiggling her fingers.
Sarka cried, wiping the hair from her face and then hurried to her mother.
I’m not ashamed to admit I cried.
I cried watching Ella scoop up the child she thought she’d never see again. I cried because Carter had just given Ella what I’d promise.
Turning back to him, I spoke, “Carter, you have any idea what you’ve just done? You’ve just saved that girls life.”
He laughed but didn’t respond.
“Now, please, please come here. I need you, man. We all need you.”
His body sagged, shoulders slumped, but he took my hand and let me lead him to the open hatch where, I assumed, Ella had come through. We sat side by side, looking on as Ella, babe in arms, navigated the wet tiles towards us.
“Thank you, Cart-” Ella’s eyes widened in horror, looking behind me. “Look out!”
Carter and I jumped to our feet and turned quickly, fists ready, as Jozef came climbing on to the roof. The old guy was surprisingly nimble, hoisting himself over the ledge.
“Nice try, gentleman, but I’m going to have to ask you to come back inside now. You’re not getting out of here alive.” His sneer turned towards Ella. “Bring me the child.”
Ella clung to Sarka. “No, this ends here, Jozef.”
He moved quickly, using my distraction to grab me and wrap his arm around my throat, holding me to his chest. Carter didn’t think twice, and he rushed the old man, hands ready to pull him off me, and everything that happened next passed by in a watery blur.
Jozef raised his arm to block Carter’s attack, grabbing his shirt collar. “This ends when Vladimir says it does,” he growled, using all his strength to push Carter away. There was a split second where we were all quiet, and then Carter was rolling down the tiles, plummeting towards the edge.
Rearing my head back, I connected with Jozef’s nose, he released me, and I ran for my friend. “Carter!”
But I was too late. My fingers brushed against his back, and then he was gone. His body was falling, flying, spiraling to the ground.
My head snapped around, a dark, red mist descending upon my eyes. I was like an animal, roaring as I got to my feet and ran. Jozef didn’t move, and a smirk played out on his lips as I tackled him to the floor, legs straddling his skinny chest. I rained down blow after blow on his face. “Ella, go, run!!”