Page 111 of To Believe In You
They reached the kitchen, Lina trying to sort conclusions. It didn’t sound as though he cared about protecting—or helping—Dad, which meant Shane only wanted money, likely to feed his gambling habit, maybe pay off some debts to people even scarier than himself. But how could she use that information to get herself out of this?
Shane scanned the counters.
How long until help arrived? She should have heard her phone, but other than their voices and the microwave’s occasional reminder beeps, the house remained silent. “How did you get in?”
He prowled onward, dragging her to the dining room. “You’d think a security company employee would be better trained.”
“How so?”
“Left the front door unlocked while he was installing window sensors.”
Shane had been in the house for hours? Breath left her like she’d been punched in the chest. She’d put all her faith in the security system. A system he’d been past long before she had hit the activation button.
No one was coming.
She had to get out of this on her own. “The stamps must be at Gannon and Adeline’s. I can get them for you.”
“As if I’m going to let you out of my sight. Sit.” He barked the last command and shoved her toward the closest dining room chair.
She caught herself on the table. He stalked into the living room. As he went, he pulled a gun from the back of his waistband and lifted it toward her.
All sound muted. He had a gun, and it wouldn’t take long to scan the living room and see the book wasn’t there.
Exit through the main entrance waited fifteen feet and one deadbolt away. Oh, and the knob. She’d locked both when she’d left after the tour of the system earlier. Could she make it there, release the locks, and get out before Shane fired? Even from the couch, he’d only be a step away from having an angle on the exit.
He advanced farther into the living room, now circling the coffee table to look at the computer screen.
The patio door was beyond him, off the back of the living room, but a hallway behind the kitchen sheltered the door to the garage. If she ran, she’d have seconds before he could turn the corner after her. He bent to pick up her laptop case.
She bolted.
Three steps in, Shane shouted.
No gunshot.
She braced a hand on the corner as she passed the kitchen and flew into the hall.
In her panic, she turned the deadbolt, only to find she’d never secured it. Right. Putting her faith in the new system, she’d left the door between the garage and interior unlocked. She ripped the door open and spilled into the garage, praying that Gannon’s guard would now be executing a U-turn to check on the triggered alarm.
She slammed the button to lift the overhead door, her car useless because she hadn’t grabbed her keys on the way through. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have had time to get behind the wheel and back out, because as she crouched on the far side of the vehicle, waiting for the door to lumber high enough for her to escape, its ascent jerked to a stop. The four-inch gap started to close.
Shane must’ve hit the button again. She stuck her foot out, and the sensor that kept the door from shutting on anything activated. Once again, the door lifted, revealing the autumn evening inch by inch.
If she could make it out, she’d bolt for her closest neighbor, the one across the street. If only both of their homes weren’t set so far back from the road. Could she cover their stretching front lawns before Shane caught up? Before he fired a shot?
She glanced over her shoulder to see Shane closing in on her. She’d have to roll through the small opening. She flattened, but before she could slide under the door, he hooked her around the waist and heaved her up.
Her head banged the concrete—or the car?—and her vision went black. As it returned, she couldn’t catch her breath. Shane’s arm around her middle suppressed her air supply. With each step he carried her, pain jolted her like a punch to the gut.
She kicked, and her legs tangled with his. The band around her stomach released, and he dropped her. The concrete caught her with a smack, stealing the half-inhale she’d managed. She scrambled away, toward the light of the now-open garage door.
Miraculously, he didn’t latch onto her leg. Didn’t catch her foot.
“Help!” Were any neighbors close enough to hear?
Could they help?
She reached the garage door opening. She’d make for the road, weaving through the trees along the property line. Hopefully Gannon’s security team would reach her before Shane caught up.
