Page 64 of Run to Ground
No one got out of the truck, and Jules waited, breathing too quickly. She realized she was clutching the edge of the curtain and forced her fingers to slowly release their death grip. The drapery swayed once it was free, and Jules held her breath until it stilled. Had that been visible to the person in the truck?
The pickup door swung open, making her suck in a breath, so roughly that it hurt her throat. She watched, biting the inside of her cheek, as a man climbed out and turned toward the house. When Jules saw his face, her head jerked back like someone had slapped her. It was Norman Rounds.
Although he’d seemed weird and grabby and slightly stalkerish at the diner, showing up at her house made Norman a hundred times scarier. Why was he here? How did he know where she lived? The things Megan had told her about him, about his connection with the local, bomb-loving militia group, echoed in her mind, and she took an involuntary step back.
From her new position, she couldn’t see him through the crack in the curtains. It was so much worse not knowing what Norman was doing, but she couldn’t seem to make herself step closer to the window. Sudden, loud knocking made her jump.
Jules went still, torn. She wasn’t about to answer the door, but should she wait for him to go away? Her SUV was parked behind the house, so he couldn’t be sure she was home, unless he went around back looking for her. The idea of Norman Rounds prowling around by the barn where the kids were hiding was terrifying.
She could call Theo. The idea was so tempting that her hand went to her back jeans pocket where her phone was tucked. What could she tell him, though? That Norman Rounds was at her door? It seemed like an overreaction. Maybe paying friendly visits was just a small-town thing. Maybe he needed to borrow a cup of sugar—or some plastic explosives.
A hysterical giggle wanted to burst out of her, but she clapped her hand over her mouth and swallowed the laugh. When there wasn’t a second knock, she stepped close to the window and peeked through the tiny crack between the curtains.
Norman was standing right outside the window. Lurching back, Jules sucked in a rasping breath. His head had been turned away as he’d scanned the yard, so he hopefully hadn’t seen her. She strained to listen, dying to know whether he was still standing there. If she looked out the window again, and Norman wasn’t looking away this time, he’d see her for sure.
After either seconds or minutes ticked by, Jules forced her feet to take her back to the window. She had to know where he was and what he was doing. It was worse to stand there, blind and clueless, than it was to risk him seeing her if he’d not moved from that spot.
Please don’t be there, she mentally pleaded, and then twitched the curtain aside. Her thundering heartbeat eased, and she took a long, relieved breath. Norman was gone.
Then she realized his truck was still parked in front of the house. Pushing the curtains farther apart, Jules frantically raked her gaze across the entire front yard. There was no sign of Norman. Her breath started fluttering in her throat as she hurried into the library. She ran to the window, not caring at the moment that he could see her through the gauzy curtains if he was there, and looked out over the side yard. It was empty.
If he wasn’t in front or the side, then he was in the back—where the kids were hiding. She ran for the kitchen as she pulled out her cell phone. Her hands shook as she tried to call, her fingers fumbling with too-small buttons on the cheap, prepaid phone. It slipped out of her grip and skittered across the wooden floor.
“Please don’t be broken,” she muttered, grabbing it from where it had come to rest against the hall baseboard. “Please, please, please…” Holding her breath, she pushed thesendbutton and waited. When it rang on the other side of the call, she let out the air in her lungs in awoosh. Darting to the kitchen window, she caught a quick glimpse of someone rounding a corner of the barn before they disappeared behind the leaning structure. “Oh no…”
“Jules.” Theo’s gruff voice was the best sound in the world.
“Theo! Norman Rounds is here, and he knocked, but I didn’t answer, and now he’s roaming around, and the kids are out back, and—” She knew she was talking too fast, that Theo probably couldn’t even understand her, but she couldn’t seem to halt the flow of words.
“On my way,” he clipped, interrupting her. “Stay inside.”
“But—”
“Stay inside. I’ll be there in four.” He ended the call before Jules could argue again. It didn’t matter, though. Norman was out by the barn, and the kids were in the barn, so Jules couldn’t just stay inside and let the kids fend for themselves. Rushing to the back door, she started to push it open when she heard the rumble of an engine coming from the front of the house.
She hesitated for a second, but another glance didn’t show any movement from the barn, so she hurried back into the living room and peaked through the curtains.
The back of Norman’s pickup disappeared around the first bend in her driveway. Relief rushed through her body, leaving her feeling limp and noodley. Leaning against the wall for support, she watched for a couple of minutes, until she was sure he wasn’t coming back.
When the driveway stayed empty, Jules moved toward the back door again. It had taken so long that the kids were probably scared out of their minds, especially if they’d seen or heard Norman snooping around the barn. As she crossed the kitchen, her vision narrowed, growing gray around the edges, and Jules realized she was breathing in quick, short pants. She stopped by the back door, leaned her head against the cool glass, and took several deep breaths. She couldn’t let her siblings see her so obviously shaken up. Once she was breathing somewhat evenly and felt a little more under control, she shoved through the back door and took a step onto the porch.
There was a deepboomthat Jules felt more than she heard, and the barn exploded.
She staggered back, her back bumping against the siding. Blinking, she focused on the barn—on what used to be the barn and was now a burning husk of a building. It didn’t feel real. Jules stared at the burning structure, unable to comprehend that it wasn’t a movie, that it washerbarn that flames were eating, inheryard, withherbrothers and sister inside…her brothers and sister…
Oh, God.
With a scream, Jules ran toward the fire.
She had to get them out. She had to save them. They were in the barn becauseshe’dtold them to go there, because Jules had thought it would be a safe place to hide, and now they were—No!She couldn’t allow herself to believe that. She’d get them out. She would save them. They would be okay. If they weren’t, if she’d torn them out of their previous lives, brought them here only to lose them all… Jules didn’t know how she’d be able to go on.
The heat was incredible. It reached out and pressed against her skin, but she still ran toward it. Every breath she took felt like she was setting her lungs on fire. The smoke was thickening, making her eyes sting and water and blur. As she ran, she blinked rapidly, trying to see, trying to make out any figures in the burning remains of the barn.
She hesitated at the entrance, a huge, uneven hole gaping where the sliding door used to be. The flames roared as the fire eagerly consumed the old wood, so loud that Jules could hear it even over her thundering heart. With the too-bright flames and rolling smoke, it was impossible to see anything—anyone.
Taking a deep breath of roasting, smoky air, Jules held in a cough and stepped into the burning barn.
She barely made it a step before she was falling backward. Something had grabbed her arm, pulling her to the ground. Jules tumbled down, her numb body not feeling any pain as her back and then her head connected with the ground. All she knew was that she needed to get up, to get to the kids, to get them out, but something was still holding onto her arm.
