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She screamed as she ripped open the door, burst onto the deck, and leaped down the three steps to land in the grass. Her ankles buckled but she shot forward, tearing across the lawn.
Crack,crack!
Bullets hailed around her, whipping against the trees and sending bark and pine needles flying to pelt her skin as she darted into the woods. Panic tore up and down her back.
She had to hide. She ran her tongue over her dry lips. Had to keep pushing. Had to get to a phone.
Her feet landed on a trail and she glanced behind her.
Nothing.
She’d hit him good. Surely she’d slowed him down. She inhaled deeply, pausing to let her pulse slow before her heart burst from her chest. Questions zinged through her mind, all of them directed at her father.
Why, oh why did he let Jace live?
Anger frothed inside her. Tears blurred her vision. Part of her wanted to sink to her knees and give up. To let Jace come and send her off to be with her daughter. But as much as she’d welcome the joy of finally seeing her baby girl’s face, she didn’t want to die. Three years ago, she might not have fought so hard. But now... now she wanted to live. To find happiness, and maybe, just maybe, have another baby some day, if God granted her the gift.
She wanted to lie in Toth’s arms again. With him, she’d finally understood what being protected by someone truly meant. She’d finally felt valued and cherished. He hadn’t asked for anything, yet he’d given her everything she hadn’t known she needed. Emotion opened up in her chest and she welcomed the sensation. Welcomed the honesty.
She’d given part of herself to Toth and she wasn’t done. She wanted all of him. Needed him to know he’d revived her after three lonely years of despair.
He’d breathed life into her.
A sob racked her soul and she pressed her palm against a nearby tree. Its cool, rough exterior tethered her to reality. Kept her from losing her mind altogether.
She drew back her shoulders and scanned the woods. She’d hiked these parts only a handful of times and not in many years, but if she was on the right path, the neighbors’ house was less than a quarter mile away. All she had to do was make it that far and she’d be free. If she could get to a phone and Toth was alive, she’d be with him in less than an hour. A chill raced over her skin, intensifying the craving for his warmth.
Please, let him be okay.
She lifted her chin and moved quickly along the trail, praying it led to the neighbors’. An engine rumbled. What the—?
The putrid taste of fear coated her tongue as four-wheeler headlights shined through the trees. Terror and disbelief paralyzed her limbs. Then, tearing her feet from the ground, she broke into a run. She sprung into the bushes, but the headlights lit her body before the leaves shrouded her. The engine roared in pursuit.
No. He’d found her.
***
“Right there,” Lachsaid pointing through the windshield.
“Yeah, I see it,” Toth growled. He turned into the driveway and accelerated over the gravel. A hundred yards or so later, a two-story brick house came into view. Pine trees surrounded the lot. The overgrown lawn and flower beds suggested years of neglect.
“Lights are on.”
Toth stomped on the brake and parked behind the sedan he recognized from the surveillance clip. Satisfaction mixed with angst rippled through him. “That’s the car.” He yanked off his seatbelt and bolted from the vehicle.
Withdrawing his weapon, he crossed the raggedy front yard and bounded up the steps with Lach on his heels. He tried the handle. Locked.
“Back up,” he said to Lach. Sav was inside and he wouldn’t let a fucking door stand in his way.
He slammed the bottom of his foot once, twice into the old wood near the handle. The frame shook and on his third stomp, the rickety door bounced open. “Jace!” he bellowed, lifting his gun to eye level as he stormed into the house as if on the combat field.
Lach swept into the living room and Toth skirted the sofa and headed into the kitchen. “Back door’s open!” he called. Part of him wanted to charge outside, but they needed to clear the house first. She could be anywhere.
“Toth,” Lach whispered gravely. “Look.”
Keeping his weapon ready but slightly lowered, Toth made his way back to the living room. Lach stood near the fireplace. Small pools of blood dotted the laminate floor, the brick fireplace, and the nearby area rug.
His gut lurched. “Jesus fuck,” he whispered, dropping the gun to his side. Ice froze the back of his neck, and he locked his knees to stop himself from sinking.