AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I quickly look around, my heart pounding in my ears and drowning out any possible warning of security running our way. The door doesn’t slam open, and no one is crashing through the windows, so I know we still have some time.
Just not as much as we need if Willow doesn’t stop throwing a tantrum.
Tears well up in her eyes. She’s hugging a stuffed rabbit to her chest and dodging my attempts to grab her so we can run. “No, Mommy! Please! I wanna stay!”
Finally, I manage to grab her around the waist and lift her up so she has to look me in the eyes. “Willow, please!” When shehiccups and looks at me, I set her back down and stroked her hair. “I need you to listen to me. We’re going to go see Auntie Roxy, and we’re going to be very, very quiet so we don’t wake up Miss Bambi, okay?”
Willow sniffles, but nods. “O-okay…”
“And we have to be super-duper fast, okay?”
“Okay.”
“That’s my girl.”
I take a deep breath, then her hand. The one small comfort I have is knowing that everything we’ll need can be paid for; the weight of the money strapped to my bag reminds me of that.
The house is quiet. I was counting on that, now that it’s almost midnight. Bambi must be asleep, and Demyen never returned from his meeting—as far as I know.
The halls are empty. I don’t see any guards, not even when we reach the front door.
I hesitate, hand over the handle.
Is this the right thing to do?
Then: “Mommy?”
Her little voice spurs me on.
I lead us through the front door and grip her hand tighter. The compound is illuminated by dozens of warm golden lights, and under any other circumstances, I would be in awe of how beautiful everything looks.
But I can only focus on one thing: those gates at the end. Climb them, squeeze through, dig a tunnel underneath… I don’t care. Whatever it takes, just as long as I get Willow to safety.
“Run, run, run!” I whisper. I try to sound more excited than panicked. Willow, thankfully, obeys and starts running with me down the long driveway. She’s still clutching the stuffed rabbit, and I worry about the fuss she’ll make if I can’t get it to fit through the gate.
Lights flicker on behind us.
Shouts echo across the compound.
“Run!”
Willow tries to run, but she trips over her bare feet and skids on the pavement. I quickly pick her up and carry her as I run. She’s crying, and I’m trying so hard to hush her and comfort her as I run for our lives to those gates. I don’t hear any engines rev or dogs bark, so I think we might actually have a chance.
I grab the bars.
We made it.
Except I realize, now that we’re at the gate, that the bars are too close together for either of us to squeeze through. That damn rabbit has a better chance, but Willow clings to it as she hiccups and sobs into the soft fur.
There’s nothing to hook my foot on so I can climb over. I move us to the stone wall the gates are connected to, then nearly scream in frustration when I realize it’s not stone, but adobe. Smooth, flawless, gripless, unclimbable adobe.
“Willow, baby, listen to me.” I try to swallow back my own tears as I wipe hers away. “I… I’m going to help you squeeze through.”
She nods. Then eyes the bars with the same wariness I feel. Neither of us are sure if she actually will fit through, but I have to try.
Clicks sound next to my head.
I freeze.
