Chapter 3 - The Ambush on the Driveway

Deputy Miller didn't look me in the eye when he stepped onto the porch. He had gone to high school with me, but Orson paid for his campaign when he ran for town council two years ago.

"Austin," Miller muttered, resting a heavy thumb on his utility belt. "Got a complaint here. Need you to step off the property."

"Miller, look at my daughter," I said, holding Juniper tightly against my chest. Her inhaler pouch was slung over my shoulder. "Tabitha withheld her rescue meds. I had to resuscitate her ten minutes ago."

"That's not what the dispatch call said," Miller replied flatly. "Mr. Vance reported an unprovoked physical assault inside his private residence. I need you to surrender the child to her legal co-guardian pending the hearing."

"Co-guardian?" I backed down the steps. "There is no co-guardian!"

"Your father filed an emergency petition this morning citing parental endangerment," Miller stated, pulling out a crisp white carbon-copy form. "Judge Higgins signed off on temporary protective placement with Tabitha Vance until the formal hearing tomorrow morning."

"Higgins is my father's golf partner!" I yelled, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Tabitha walked out onto the veranda, holding out her arms with mock gentleness. "Come here, sweetie. Auntie will take good care of you."

Juniper screamed, burying her fingers into my collar so hard the buttons popped. "No! Daddy, don't let her! She hides the red medicine in the freezer!"

In the freezer.

The chemical propellant in rescue inhalers breaks down when frozen. That wasn't just withholding; it was deliberate sabotage.

"Austin," Miller said, unsnapping the retention strap on his holster. "Don't make this ugly. Put the girl down."

"If you touch her, Miller, you better shoot me," I snarled.

I didn't wait for him to draw. I pivoted on my heel, leaped off the side of the porch, and bolted toward my beat-up Ford pickup parked near the tree line.

"Austin! Stop right there!" Miller’s shout was followed by the heavy thump of his boots sprinting across the grass.

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I threw open the truck door, tossed Juniper onto the bench seat, jumped behind the wheel, and slammed the lock down just as Miller’s fist banged against the driver's side window.

I jammed the key into the ignition, dumped the clutch, and sprayed gravel right into the deputy's shins as the truck roared to life.