Page 16 of Better Run

I sprint past the bathroom and to the front door. They’ve left it unlocked. I shoot out into the night and run around the house to the garage. There’s a fine layer of frost all over everything.

I need to hide and wait them out. I only have 60 seconds, and they’re both much faster than me.

The garage has two garage doors and one wooden one. It’s unlocked. I bolt inside and slam the door, locking the deadbolt and door knob. I stand in the dark, blind for a second. To my left are a truck and a car. The garage is two stories with what looks like an open balcony and a shop upstairs.

Think Jo! They’ll know this garage better than me. I need something to give me the upper hand.

I spot a cinder block to my right. I grab it and run upstairs, heart pounding, heaving for air. There’s a work bench near the railing, and I crawl up into the bottom shelf. Then I wait.

I try to get my breathing under control, but it feels like I can’t catch my breath.

My time has to be up by now. I picture both of them coming for me, stalking me. It does weird things to my core, and I realize with horror that I’m turned on.

Something is terribly wrong with me.

The door downstairs rattles.

I hunker down more.

There’s a pause, and then the deadbolt slams open, and the door slowly squeaks open. I look through the cracked cabinet doors of the bench. A man stands in the doorway, silhouetted by the icy frost behind him. His breath puffs out the top of his mask.

“Come out, come out wherever you are, pet.”

I shiver. His dark voice snakes right to my center. It sounds like he wants to devour me. He saunters in, and the other steps in behind him. They walk casually to the stairs.

Fuck! I needed them to walk under the balcony.

Their footsteps come in measured scrapes against the stairs. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.

Then nothing. Complete silence.

I hold my breath. My pulse pounds in my ears. I wait. And wait. I close my eyes.

My cabinet doors fling open.

“Hello, kitten.” The voice purrs.

A terrifying white mask with dark holes is face to face with me.

I scream. I scramble past him, and he steps out of the way. I don’t register that that’s a problem before I slam into a hard body.

Arms band around me, pinning me.

“What time you got?”

“Two minutes. Tsk tsk, we gotta work on that time kitten.”

I scream and struggle. The arms clamp harder, restricting my movement and even my breathing.

“Fighting turns me on, little one,” the voice warns. I’m pretty sure it’s Cole, but I can’t tell for sure.

My hands are down at my sides. I pause for a second to breathe.

“What were you going to do with this cinder block, hmmm? Thinking about breaking one of the rules?”

I use my good foot to rake down the shin of the man holding me while I jerk my hand around to grab his junk. I squeeze through the heavy cargo material and twist.

With a pained grunt, he lets me go.