Chapter 11
The sound of heavy footsteps entering the hallway confirmed that the polite conversation at the front door had just ended. Thomas had clearly tried to block the entrance, but the muffled scuffle of boots against the hardwood indicated that the visitors had forced their way past him.
"Sarah, run!" Thomas’s voice roared from the hallway, strained and breathless as if he were fighting off more than one man.
Sarah didn't hesitate any longer. She grabbed Elena’s hand, and the two women sprinted down the short corridor toward Clara’s bedroom at the back of the house. The television in the living room was still blaring cheerful cartoon music as they raced past the doorway, the bright colors flashing across the empty sofa.
They burst into Clara’s room. The little girl was sitting on the pink rug, busy trying to solve a cardboard jigsaw puzzle, her sparkly tiara still perched neatly on her dark curls. She looked up in surprise as her mother and aunt rushed in.
"Mommy? What's happening?" Clara asked, her round eyes wide with sudden fear as she saw the panic etched on Sarah’s face.
"Nothing, sweetie, we're just going to play a game outside," Sarah said, her voice cracking as she knelt down and scooped Clara up into her arms, ignoring the puzzle pieces scattering across the floor. She ran to the open window that led out to the side garden, pushing the white wooden sash up as far as it would go.
Elena was right behind them. She hoisted herself out the window first, landing softly on the damp grass of the garden below, and then reached up to take Clara from Sarah’s arms. Sarah scrambled through the window after them, her floral dress catching briefly on the latch before tearing free with a sharp rip.
As soon as they hit the grass, the sound of a heavy door slamming shut echoed from the front of the house, followed by the heavy, rapid thud of boots running down the hallway toward the back bedrooms.
"They're inside," Elena hissed, grabbing Sarah’s wrist and pulling her toward the dark line of cedar trees that separated their property from the neighboring house.
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"Thomas!" Sarah cried out, looking back toward the brightly lit kitchen windows.
"He's buying us time," Elena said, her breath coming in ragged gasps as they plunged into the dark shadows of the trees. "If we stop now, everything he did tonight was for nothing."
