Page 86 of Craig

He started forward again, and Regina aimed the spray. With a squeak, Mimi managed to drag him out and through the door.

With trembling limbs, Regina ran to secure the lock. Only then, with the adrenaline draining from her body, did she allow herself to slide weakly to the floor.

It took her a minute to realize that she still had the pepper spray and phone clutched in her hands and she was shaking badly.

********************

Craig looked at the readout on his phone screen and touched the screen to respond.

"Hey, I was just about to-"

"Can you come?" Her voice was shaky and tear-filled.

"Please. I need you. I'm-" He heard her draw a shaky breath.

"Please."

Fear spiked his heart and had him running towards his vehicle. He had been in the middle of a discussion with the contractor, and without a word, he simply raced to his car.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He punched the start button and did a three-point turn with dangerous precision.

"Regina, talk to me. What is it?"

"Just come." She hung up.

Swearing profusely, he pressed the gas and wondered if he should call the cops.

The half-hour journey took him fifteen minutes.

Hardly waiting for the vehicle to stop, he jumped out and slammed the door behind him.

Running the rest of the way, he tried the door, and when he found it locked, he pounded on the wood.

She opened it, her eyes drenched, her face a stark mask of shock and pain.

His heart took a dive as he shoved in and clamped his hands on her shoulders, his eyes fierce.

"What is it? Are you hurt? What happened?"

"He-he was here." She was trembling.

She had tried to get it under control, but it wasn't happening.

"Who was here? Regina, talk to me."

"I-I tried to call Dylan, but he's out on assignment. I couldn't get him."

Her lips were trembling.

"You called your brother, before-" It took him several attempts to tamp down the sudden spike of pain and anger roiling inside him. She had called him second, only after she hadn't gotten her brother.

It hurt like hell. But this wasn't about him.

He could not make it about him.

"Who was here?"

Turning away from him, she walked over to the counter and simply sat on the floor, her back braced against it. "My father," she whispered shakily.