Page 34 of Daddy's Little Librarian
“He may be a fast digger,” Scotti puffed. “But he’s not very good at tying knots. Ow!” she whispered, but just as suddenly, her hands were free. She shimmied right out of the single twist of rope that circled their middles, sliding off his stomach and down between his legs, and damn if his cock simply was not getting the message about their being in a life-threatening situation right now.
“Roll,” she said, helping to heave him onto his side despite the pain that lanced his shoulder. She bit the knot to get it loosened, and in two quick yanks of the rope, he was free.
He sat up, hissing and rubbing his wrists as the circulation rushed back into his hands and aching shoulders. She had to help him shrug out of the phone cord because his hands refused to work right away, but the minute he was back on his feet, he hooked his arm around her and whispered, “Grab the rope.”
He patted through his pockets, finding wallet, keys—Gopher hadn’t even bothered to rob him—and, bingo, his cellphone. Scrambling as far as the doorway to the dining room, he peeked through to the kitchen, but he couldn’t see the sliding glass doors much less Gopher from here. He could, however, just make out the metallic chink of a shovel head stabbing into dirt and rocks.
“Where’s Gopher?” Scotti whispered.
“Still digging,” Kurt said, tapping his phone on and flipping open to his most recent contacts. He wasted no time calling. “Hey, mother fucker,” he said, before the DA could even say hello. “You want my ass? You come and get it.” He gave Scotti’s address, rattling it off twice, just in case. “Also, I’d appreciate it if you hurried, because there’s about to be a murder.”
“What?” Emerson Davis said, the only word he was able to get out before Kurt hung up the phone.
His second call was to 911, at which point he didn’t bother saying anything. He just stuck the phone in his pocket and let it run so they could trace it.
He grabbed Scotti’s arm and pulled her down the hallway, away from the dining room toward the living room. “Do you know any of your neighbors?”
“If you think I’m leaving you here, you’re out of your mind,” she said, in anything but her Little voice.
“What makes you think I’m not going to run too?” Which was when he turned and saw the front door. It wasn’t yawning open anymore. Gopher had closed it. He’d also nailed a two-by-four across the threshold, preventing their easy escape. “Son of a—”
Why couldn’t he hear digging anymore?
Holding up a silencing hand when Scotti opened her mouth, he was still listening intently when the sliding glass door slid open again.
Grabbing her arm, he hurried her upstairs as quickly and quietly as he could. They were halfway down the hall, when he heard Gopher sigh.
“You’re only making me wish I’d cut your head off when I had the chance,” he called out. The front closet door opened, then closed. “You’re also pissing me off,” Gopher said. “There’s only so many hiding places in this house.”
Pushing Scotti down the hall ahead of him, Kurt stopped at each door—the spare room, the bathroom and finally, her bedroom—pressing the lock on each one and closing the doors behind him.
“That won’t confuse him for long,” he whispered, as soon as they were locked in her bedroom together. He went to the window next, throwing it open as wide as it would go. He stuck his head out, leaning well out over the eave of the decorative roof that shielded the window directly below them. There was only about two feet of shingle space to stand on, and he didn’t like the slant. Still, beggars could hardly be choosy at times like this. “Out you go,” he said, ducking back inside and reaching for her arm.
She folded them across her chest and shook her head.
“We are in serious trouble,” he told her. “Pick a neighbor you trust, get them to call the cops. They might have your address flagged as a troublemaker, but I guarantee if they get two calls from this street, they will send police.”
She shook her head, but for all that she might not want to leave him, her expression was already waffling.
“I can move faster and make decisions better if you’re not with me,” he said, giving her shoulders a gentle shake, “and if I know you’re safe.”
That convinced her, but reluctantly. He helped her crawl out onto the roof, and held her steady while she leaned out over the edge.
“Do you see him?” he whispered.
She shook her head, and they both jumped when they heard the loud bang of a door being kicked in down the hall. Wood splintered, and Gopher called, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
He was at the spare room. He would be at the bathroom next, and they were running out of time.
“I’m going to lower you as far as I can, then I’m going to drop you and you’re going to run,” he told her. She shook her head again, but stopped when he said, “Yes, you are. Tuck and roll, babygirl.”
Holding onto the windowsill for his own balance, he took firm hold of her wrist while she got down on her belly and slowly lowered herself over the edge. She squeaked and grabbed his hand with both of hers when gravity pulled her down, but Kurt held on and didn’t let her fall. He lowered her as far over the edge as he could reach.
“Ready?” he whispered.
One of her hands let go. Just before he let her drop, down the hall, the bathroom door was kicked in.
“I’ve got you now, motherfucker,” Gopher said, his voice growing louder as he came down the hallway to Scotti’s bedroom.
