Never Let You Go(108)

I twist my body, roll up onto my knees, my hands in front of my heart in the prayer position. I’m crying hard now, trying to moan and grunt. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

He looks around the room, takes a deep breath, as though savoring the very scent of the walls, the air. “I’m going to miss this house, but it’s time. I have to start over. It’s the only answer.” In one smooth motion, he lifts the duffel bag over his shoulder and meets my eyes again. “I’m going to burn the house down now. It will go fast—the smoke will kill you first.”

I slide off the edge of the bed, drop to my knees. He’s already walking out of the room in quick strides. I crawl after him, an awkward shimmy on knees and elbows. I have to get out the door, wedge it with my body. But he’s moving too fast, I can’t keep up.

The door is opening. I have a quick glimpse of the dark living room, the table, chairs. He doesn’t look back as he closes the door. I’m a few feet behind, still crawling. Scraping sounds, something being dragged in front of the door. The bookshelf.

He’s trapped me in the bedroom.





CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR


SOPHIE



I don’t hear sirens. Our feet thud on the road in tandem. I’ve lost one of my slippers, but I don’t slow down. We’ve been gone too long. Angus stops suddenly, ears pricked, then he plunges into the darkness beside the road.

“Angus!” I turn and peer through the trees. Should we wait for him? Jared grabs my arm and I start running again. He’ll be okay, I tell myself. He’ll catch up. I keep hoping to hear the jingle of his collar, but there’s nothing, just the sound of the heavy rain and screaming wind and our gasping breaths.

“What are we going to do?” I pant.

“There’s an ax by the woodshed.” Jared’s eyes are squinted against the rain, his hair slicked back, his arms tight to his side. “We’ll jump him.”

We’re going to attack someone with an ax. Not just someone. Marcus.

I look down the road. We’ve started to see some lake houses but I’m not sure how close we are now. The trees all look the same, the curve of the road that never seems to end.

I pick up a familiar scent, growing stronger. “You smell smoke?”

“Probably from the chimney. We’re close.”

Then we round the bend and see the lake house. Thick smoke hovers around it in a hazy cloud. It’s coming from the chimney, the windows, crawling over the roof.

“Mom!” I sprint toward the house, reckless now, my feet and arms wild. Jared’s yelling something behind me, but I can’t hear him. All I see is the smoke.





CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE


LINDSEY



I can hear Marcus moving around the living room, his quick footsteps. He’s not going to come back and check on me now. I can smell smoke already. I have to get out. I swing my body around until my legs are curled under me, then roll onto my hip, and use my core to pull myself up onto my feet. I hop back to the bed, my arms straight out in front for balance. This time when I reach under the pillow, I find the knife where it had slid next to the head board.

I pause, listening. Boot steps, walking away. The front door slams. Now there’s only silence. Sitting on the floor, I use my fingers to carefully slide the knife out of the sheath, then brace it between my knees, and cut the tape. With my hands free, my ankles go faster. It’s only been minutes, but the smoke is stronger now. It hangs in the air, seeps under the door.

I peel the tape from my mouth, cry out as it takes off some skin. I suck in air. The only way out is the window. It won’t open. Something is wrong with the lock. I slam the lamp against the glass. It bounces back, flies out of my hands, shatters at my feet. I take one of the pillowcases and wrap it around my hand, then hit the window, but I’m not strong enough. Maybe there’s something in the bathroom I can use. The shower rod, the back of the ceramic toilet.

A noise. Someone shouting, loud and frantic. Two voices. Sophie and Jared. Coming closer, running footsteps. Yelling for me. They’re in the house.

“I’m in here!” I sprint to the door, pound my fists on it.

“Stand back!” Jared’s voice. Something is hitting against the door, splitting wood. The head of an ax, slicing through. Kicking sounds, and the door flies open.

“Mom! Come on!” Sophie grabs my hand, pulls me out. We run for the front door, but the living room is filling with smoke. The curtains are already in flames, curling higher.

“Stop!” Jared grabs our shoulders from behind. “The back door.”

We follow him down the hall, pressed together. I wrap my fingers around the back of Sophie’s sweatshirt, the cold wet fabric. We have our arms over our faces, coughing. My eyes are watering. I squint through the smoke, follow their shapes. Jared is leading, then Sophie. I grip her shirt harder. Jared opens the back door. I see the dark night, smell the rain.

A sharp cracking sound. I lose my balance as I jerk my body to the side, and bounce hard into the wall. Through the smoke, Marcus, running after us. He’s pointing the gun at me.

Another cracking sound. Loud, close.

Something hits the wall beside my head. I duck, drop to my knees. Sophie’s on the other side of the doorway, her face a white mask as she reaches for me, rain pouring down on her, heavy strands of violet hair splayed across her cheeks. She’s in the open, outlined by light.