Page 95 of Until Tomorrow Comes
“He doesn’t need to know. You’ll be gone for like, thirty minutes, if that. Al will be here shortly after.” I move toward the island, putting a stopper in the bottle of wine and putting it back in the fridge. “I’ll lock the doors and set the alarm, it’ll be fine. Just ring the doorbell when you’re back and I’ll let you in.”
She sighs, about to protest once more but I cross my arms and fully face her.
“Thea, I meant what I said to Jackson. I can’t keep letting Zack impact all our lives like this.”
She drops her head back, staring up at the ceiling, but not shutting me down.
“I’ll be gone for twenty minutes.” She responds after a long moment of silence.
I roll my eyes but smile at her. “Go on then, I’ll get the pizza ordered.”
Five minutes later, after punching in the alarm code on the new security panel, and ordering enough pizza to feed ten of us. I put on some music and head to the kitchen to wash the few dishes that are in the sink.
Getting lost in the beat and motions of cleaning dishes, I don’t think about anything else until I’m shutting off the water and drying my hands. Checking the time, I pause when I see the blank clock on the oven. My heart takes off like a racehorse and I turn to the microwave, finding the same thing.
Forcing in a deep breath, I move to the table and pick up my phone before heading to the wall where the light switch is. Swallowing thickly, I stare at the light fixture above the island and flip it on.
My heart drops to my stomach when nothing happens.
Considering there’s not a cloud in sight and that the heat hasn’t gone above ninety, there’s no way the power is out due to weather.
I unlock my phone, seeing it’s only been fifteen minutes since Thea left. Pulling up her contact, I’m about to hit her name when a blaring alarm sounds through the house. Startled, I drop my phone and cover my ears.
Panic claws at the edges of my mind, momentarily holding me hostage. Sucking in a deep, long breath, I remove my hands and try to focus.
The alarm continues blaring through the house, wrestling with the sound of my heart pounding, and making it hard to think past the fear.
I shouldn’t have let Thea leave.
Now is not the time for those thoughts and they won’t get me anywhere.
Crouching down, I snatch my phone from the ground, cursing at the cracks in the screen. The lock screen displays a missed call from Jackson and a notification from the security app with a reminder to clear the alarm in the next sixty seconds. Knowing the police will be dispatched if I don’t clear it helps me break through the haze.
My phone vibrates in my hand, Jackson’s contact picture taking over the screen and just as I’m about to accept the call, movement from the kitchen doorway catches my attention.
“I’d say it’s well past time to come home, wouldn’t you,wife?” Zack says loudly over the alarm, anger seeping in his every word.
He steps toward me and it’s then that I notice what’s in his hands.
I take a step away from him and he shakes his head. Pointing the gun at me, he tips his head toward the front door.
“Silence the alarm.” He yells, making me jump. “Now, Kat.”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I try to keep my movements slow and tap my thumb, hoping I hit the accept button. When it stops vibrating, I take another step back and reach for the counter to set it down, acting as if I’m using it for support.
“Kat. I’m not going to tell you again. Silence the alarm now.”
I rack my brain, trying to think of a way to stall and let it hit the ninety second alert but Zack moves then. He gathers a fistful of my hair, dragging me down the hall by my hair. He practically throws me at the wall and I’m not able to catch myself in time. My cheek meets the edge of the alarm panel, causing me to cry out in pain.
He doesn’t give me a single second to recover, pressing the gun into my back.
“Turn. It. Off.”
My heart pounds heavily in my chest. I focus on the alarm panel and hold back my cry when I see there’s only twenty seconds left.
With shaky hands, I lift my fingers to the panel, intentionally moving slower in hopes of stalling. Zack doesn’t miss a beat though, grabbing my hair again and pushing into me.
“Now.”
