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“I waited too long.”
“We’ll leave together.”
“They’ll follow me. But they won’t follow you.” His hands trembled against my face.
“You can’t tell anyone where you’re going, Adriana.”
“I won’t go without you.”
“You must.”
His voice broke.
He lowered his forehead to mine, and for one desperate moment we stood together in the middle of the kitchen, holding on as though the walls had already begun to crumble around us.
“You have always been stronger than you believe,” he said.
“I want you to come with me.”
I felt his breath shudder. Then he kissed my forehead. And my world collapsed around me.
The sound came from the front of the house. A soft click. The sound of metal scraping.
My father went still. His hands dropped from my face. He looked towards the hallway. All the fear disappeared from his expression, because there was no longer any use for it.
He took my arm and pulled me towards the back door.
“Go!”
“What—”
“Go now, Adriana!”
A heavy impact shook the front door. The frame cracked.
I screamed.
Another blow struck the door. Wood splintered.
“Papa—”
“Out the back.”
He dragged the chair away from the handle and turned the lock.
The front door burst inward. Men entered the house. I heard boots. Three sets. Maybe four. Moving quickly, their stride deliberate.
A man appeared in the hallway. He wore a dark coat and black gloves. A gun rested in his hand. The man raised the gun. My father spread his arms, shielding me.
Another man entered behind the first, then a third. They filled the doorway, cutting off the only path through the house. One of them looked at me and smiled.
My father caught my wrist. His fingers tightened. For one heartbeat, he looked at me. Then he looked at the back door.
“Run!” my father shouted.
I turned for the door. A hand closed around my wrist. I twisted, kicked, struck blindly with my free hand. My nails caught skin. Someone cursed. The grip tightened until the bones in my wrist ground together.
My father swung at the man holding me. His fist connected with a jaw. The man reeled. For one impossible second, I thought we might make it. My father caught my hand.
