UNTIL MY SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON REVEALED HER SECRET BEDSIDE CODE, UNMASKING THE MONSTER IN OUR OWN FAMILY.

Hook:

The scarred man roared in pain, his aim jerking upward as his gun discharged harmlessly into the rafters.

Conflict:

That split-second distraction was all I needed.

I closed the thirty-foot distance in a blind sprint, launching my shoulder straight into the man’s chest. We crashed through the rusted aluminum pier doors, tumbling out into the freezing, torrential downpour on the wooden dock over the black ocean water.

Discovery:

The gun skidded across the wet planks, dropping through a gap into the churning sea below.

The man rolled on top of me, his massive hands wrapping around my throat, cutting off my air. His scarred face contorted into a demonic snarl as he drove my head down against the splintered wood.

“You’re going into the water with me, Mercer!” he spat, his thumbs digging into my windpipe.

Twist:

I didn't try to pull his hands off. I reached into my right jacket pocket, pulled out the heavy industrial crowbar I’d tucked into my inner lining, and brought the angled steel hook around with everything I had left.

The heavy iron connected solidly with the side of his skull with a dull, wet crack.

Emotion:

The man’s eyes rolled back. His grip slackened. He slumped sideways, rolling off the edge of the pier and disappearing into the foaming black waves twenty feet below.

I lay on my back in the freezing rain, gasping for air, looking up at the storm clouds.

“Dad!”

A small, warm body threw itself across my chest. Toby buried his face into my soaked jacket, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I bit him, Dad! I remembered! Mom said don't ever let them take you!”

Cliffhanger:

I wrapped my arms around my son, holding him so tight I felt his heartbeat against mine. “You saved us, Toby. You saved all of us.”