AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her daughter sat up, her eyes barely open. “What’s wrong, Mummy?”
“We’ve got a situation.” She pulled her onto the floor and looked at her. Alicia kept her voice as even as she could even though fear danced over every nerve ending. “Now, I told you something like this could happen. We need to get out of the house and we need to do it as quietly as we can.”
Bridget’s eyes widened but she said nothing. She was her mother’s daughter after all. Bridget nodded and slipped out of bed to the floor beside Alicia. She picked her up.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
Bridget did as ordered, and Alicia stood and ran out of the room. She stopped along the way to get the 9mm she had stored inside the hallway linen closet in the safe. She had to give up a minute or two for their escape time, but she didn’t want to go unarmed. The cold metal felt familiar as she wrapped her hand around the weapon.
She crouched down as she ran toward the front door. Then, she stopped, fear lancing her heart leaving her almost breathless. A large, dark figure loomed in the hall doorway.
“Ali, let’s go. Someone’s coming through your backyard.” She knew that voice, would never be able to forget it.
Relief filled her. “Devon?”
“Yes. Come on.”
He came to her and took Bridget from her arms. “Come on.”
“No.”
“I don’t have time to fuck around. There are at least five in the back. We can argue later.”
“I have a bag to take.”
“Get Charles!” Bridget yelled.
“Right.”
She stopped in Bridget’s room, picked up her favorite bear and the go bag she had packed for Bridget. Then, she grabbed her own and was following Devon out of the front door. They ran to his SUV, which was parked in front of her driveway. He put Bridget in the backseat.
“Strap yourself in, Bridget,” Devon said. He popped the trunk and Alicia threw the bags in. Then she slipped in beside him.
“Go.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, he hit the gas and they went raring off into the night. Alicia’s heart was pounding hard against her chest and she couldn’t catch her breath. She made sure the safety was on her gun before setting it down on the floorboard, then strapped herself in.
“You were right, Mummy. He did come back.”
She smiled and looked at Devon, then at her daughter.
“He did, poppet. He really did.”
And thank God he did. She could have gotten them out of trouble, but it was definitely easier with Devon there.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the apartment I rented for us here.”
For a moment she was confused, but then she realized he was talking about his sister and her husband.
“I don’t know if I want to do that.”
“You really don’t have a fu?—”
“Watch it,” she said. He glanced at her, and she motioned with her head toward Bridget.
He sighed.
