Page 4 (1/2)
Past
A loud crash yanked hi up, he reached for the bat that rested in the corner beside the nightstand
“X?” his hihted her wide brown eyes full of fear, and her tre dark pink lips He cupped her oval-shaped face in his hand and ran a thuh cheekbones
When he placed a hand to her lips, he nodded “Stay here, and lock the door behindfrom the bed in his boxers and a T-shirt Their four-year-old baby girl, Jocelyn, was in the bedroom across from him He strained to hear hter Stepping inside, he breathed a sigh of relief His heavy sleeper hadn’t budged He saw no signs of ta with theabove her bed
The crunch of glass turned his blood cold He lifted the bat, ready to swing if necessary Heroomin ruins A brick wrapped in loose-leaf paper rested on the thick beige carpet He glanced out of the gaping hole and spotted three hoodedA cross blazed on the front of his lawn—Klu Klux Clan
“Son of a bitch,” he barked
“We told you to get your nigga and half breed out of our town Noe’re going to e,” one of them snarled
He wanted to step aside and show theirls unprotected His hands clenched around the sritted his teeth
“You got nothing to say, boy?” one of them drawled
When his father died and passed on the fas, he’d seen it as a chance for a new start They’d been barely scraping by back home in Northern Kentucky, so he’d quickly packed up his small family and moved them deeper into the state The resistance they received had been so he expected to blow over Se, and he knew soainst Janelle Still, they’d s work before they looked into selling the store We should’ve left this shit hole in the rearview mirror
“Well if he doesn’t want to coive him a little motivation”
Xavier watched, stunned, as they set the bushes in front of the house on fire Making a decision, he pivoted and ran for the bedroom
“J, get Joce, and get the hell out of here”
He could hear the crunch of glass, and the sound of boots behind hi Bat met flesh with a loud thud The impact made its way up the bat into his arms The man cried out The door opened behind him, and he blocked the path as his wife ran frohter’s
“Get that bitch,” a cruel voice cried