“Angelica!” yelled Sam, kicking in the back door with one hard slam after hearing another piercing scream from closer this time, they must be in the kitchen, whatever was going on, the door swung open and Sam put her hands up in the air, the barrel of a gun pointing right at her.  Skidding to an abrupt stop, her grey eyes taking in everything they could in that instant.

            Thinking fast, little Angelica shaking Tina, who was lying on the tiled floor, “I don’t want any trouble dude,” said Sam, taking on a faint accent reminiscent of Rosita.

            “Who the fuck are you?  HUH?  The new girlfriend?” yelled the man, who Sam was sure was Henry Gale, Tina’s ex boyfriend.  A pissed of jilted guy who was holding a gun, not something that she wanted to have to deal with.

                  “Man, I just came here to get paid, I’m a sitter for the kid,” said Sam in a Barrio filled accent, her hands easing down, wanting to call Angelica to her, but knowing the child wouldn’t leave her mother.  Come one, give me a break, what the hell am I going to do?  Thought Sam to herself.

            “Put your hands up!” yelled the dark haired man that was standing in Tina’s kitchen, Angelica still sobbing over her mother’s prone body. 

            The muscles in Sam’s jaw flexed, counting the respirations of the fallen woman, mentally clicking off the amount of blood that had been spilled from the single head wound.  There were other bruises; obviously, Tina had put up a fight, “Just give me the kid, and we’ll call it even,” said Sam with a cold voice.

            “What are you talking about?  All I wanted was to start a family again, but this fucking bitch wouldn’t let me.  No, she had to let that black cunt adopt Angelica!  Then, my fucking bookies came calling and that fucked up woman with the eyes beat the shit out of me, I had to leave, but I’m not going anywhere this time!  No fucking way am I leaving until I have what I want!” yelled Henry, wagging the gun at Sam, but Sam knew she had to move quickly.

            “Ya doing a good job at patching things up,” snorted Sam.

            “You don’t know anything!” yelled Henry again pointing the gun away from Sam and towards Angelica and Tina, as he did, Sam moved towards him.  Grabbing at the gun, Angelica screaming at the top of her lungs, Sam pushed hard with her legs, sending her and Henry crashing into the small kitchen table.  Struggling, swearing, Sam could feel her heart pounding in her chest, she wasn’t going to let anything happen to any child ever again.  She felt the cold gun slipping from her grasps, as Henry fought with her.

            Two shots rang out in quick succession as Sam closed her eyes, feeling the hot splash of blood on her stomach and hands, the adrenaline blunting out the explosion of pain, Henry’s eyes were wide, staring into Sam’s.

            Pushing away from Henry, clutching the gun, stumbling, blood all over the both of them, Sam’s legs weak as she backpedaled away from the table, legs giving out, Sam went crashing to the floor with a hard thud.  Her mouth snapped shut on her tongue, sending a sharp sting through her, the fall vibrating through her. 

            Falling over onto her side, coughing, blood gushing from her mouth, fighting to stay awake, Sam slipped out her cell phone, pulling something out from behind her, the green frog, now covered in blood from her hand.  Sam rolled onto her back, tossing a look at Tina, who was still unconscious, bloody fingers flipped the phone open, dialing 911.  Angelica screaming at the top of her lungs, Sam heard the connection being made before the world disappeared into a black and red haze.