Page 22 of Survive the Night
“In Otto?” She dropped her gaze to the puppy again. “He’s really sweet.”
“Yeah, he is,” Grace and Jules said in unison, and then laughed.
“And he’s gentle.” Sarah realized that she was smiling. Just the thought of Otto made her happy. “And he’s so beautiful. And big.”
When Grace and Jules started giggling, Sarah couldn’t help but join them.
“Morning.” Theo’s grumbly greeting distracted them as he made his way into the kitchen, followed by his K9 partner, Viggy. Sarah jumped and immediately blushed, wondering how much of the Otto conversation he’d overheard. He seemed like his usual mildly grumpy self, so she hoped they’d been talking quietly enough that he’d missed the juicy parts. Sarah assumed his shift started early like Jules’s, since he was already dressed in uniform. Leaning down, he kissed the top of Jules’s head. “You should’ve woken me.”
Tipping her head up, Jules accepted another kiss, this one on her lips. “How you can sleep through my obnoxiously loud alarm is beyond me. Puppy?”
“Sure.” Settling down on the floor, Theo accepted the last puppy and bottle.
Sarah’s pup had finished eating, so she put him on Grace’s lap with his littermate so she could get some warm, wet paper towels. As she massaged Bruce’s belly, simulating the mother dog’s tongue to get him to go to the bathroom, Sarah made a face. “This is my least favorite part.”
With a snicker, Grace said, “At least human babies don’t need any help with that. They just go freely.”
“Ew!” Jules giggled, scrunching her nose. “There’d be a lot fewer people willing to have babies if we had to lick them.”
At Theo’s disgusted expression, Sarah joined the other two women in laughter. Joy bubbled up inside her. What a difference Mr. Espina and a few days had made. She couldn’t remember the last time, in her old life, when she’d truly belly-laughed. It felt good to be happy.
* * *
Later that morning, the knock on the door made Sarah smile. She hurried into the entry, feeling giddy despite her sleep-deprived state. The previous night had been brutal. By the time she’d fed and cleaned all four puppies and tucked them back into their heating-pad-warmed crate, she’d only managed to get an hour or two of sleep before the alarm went off and she’d had to start the whole process over again. After the four a.m. feeding, when Jules, Grace, and Theo had helped, things had gotten easier. Grace, a visiting Hugh, and the kids had assisted with the next two, but Sarah still hadn’t been able to do more than grab quick naps. The prospect of seeing Otto woke up her clouded, sleepy brain, though. It also created an entire herd of butterflies in her belly.
They’d be pretty much alone, too. Sam had gone to work at his kennel job, Grace was running errands with Hugh, and Jules had dragged the rest of the kids outside for a Saturday home improvement project, despite their complaints. Jules was unsympathetic to their pleas. It was supposed to snow any day, and she was determined to clear away the remains of the old burned-out barn before everything was covered in a blanket of white.
The idea of being alone with Otto was both nerve-racking and glorious. The last time hadn’t gone so smoothly, but Sarah was hopeful that this time would be different. After all, the ice had been broken. Jules and Grace seemed certain he liked her. Maybe he’d even ask her out. The thought made her swallow back an excited sound as she hurried to the front door.
Her fingers fumbled a little with the locks, but she finally managed to get the dead bolts and chain unlatched. Swinging open the door, she felt her smile fall away.
Aaron stood on the porch.
No. No, no, no, no, no! The word echoed over and over in her head. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. She’d just broken free, just started a new life. It couldn’t end already.
“Alice.” Her brother’s mouth curled up in a smile that wasn’t reflected in his flat, cold eyes. “You’ve put me to a lot of troub—”
She slammed the door. Her hands were clumsy on the lock, slipping against metal, as an angry shout from outside made her joints go weak and loose, like a marionette. Finally, though, she managed to turn the dead bolt, giving a quiet sob of relief at the click as it seated itself. The second lock was easier, but she left the chain hanging where it was. She had to get away.
Turning, she sprinted down the hallway, yanking the phone Mr. Espina had given her out of her pocket. Her sweating fingers fumbled on the screen, but Sarah finally managed to hit Send.
“Why are you calling me, you nutball?” Jules laughed as she answered. “I’m in the backyard. You could’ve just yelled out the back door.”
“Jules! My brother’s at the front door.” Fear made her voice thick. Sarah dashed through the kitchen toward the back door. “He found me. Oh God, he’s found me already.”
“Ty, Tio,” Jules said. Her voice was hushed and muffled, as if she’d lowered the phone slightly, but Sarah could still hear her urgent words. “Take Dee into the woods. Sarah, get out here. I’ll wait for you.”
“No!” Despite her protest, Sarah was so tempted to run out and let Jules help her, but that would only put Jules and her family in danger. She locked the single dead bolt on the back door and hoped that would hold—at least for a little while—if Aaron came around back. “Run, Jules! Get the kids away from here. I’ve locked myself inside.”
“That won’t stop him for long.”
Sarah knew that, but hearing it out loud was still terrifying. Her heart thundered in her chest, so hard that her pulse throbbed. “It won’t need to. As soon as you promise to hide in the woods with the kids, I’ll hang up and call the po—”
The sound of breaking glass made her flinch, almost dropping the phone. Sarah sucked in a ragged breath. It had come from the front of the house. Jules had been all too right when she’d said the locked door wouldn’t stop Aaron for long.
He’d broken in.
“Sarah? Sarah!” Even though Sarah knew Jules’s voice couldn’t be heard all the way across the house, she still winced at how loud it sounded in her ear. “I’m calling Theo.”
