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“Are you there?”
“Yes,” I panted.
“Go into my closet. All the way in, on the left side. Behind all my suits,” he said, and I turned on the light, then moved inside, cradling my head between my ear and shoulder, then pushing the suits away. “There is a door there. Can you see it?”
I didn’t for an agonizing second before it appeared, hidden so well that I was sure Warren wouldn’t be able to find it. Not if I piled things in front of it.
“It’s a tight fit, but you two can fit inside. Get in there, stay quiet, and wait for me. I’m not far away. We’re speeding as fast as we can over there.”
“Okay,” I said, not telling him that I didn’t plan on crawling in there with my son. That I had to do whatever I could to divert Warren’s attention away from this hiding spot.
There was a little pull lever inside that lit what had to be some kind of storage space. Likely for money or guns. Certainly not to hide people inside of.
“What’s in here, bud?” I asked, putting Judah down, then kind of pushing his butt until he crawled inside.
He was a curious kid.
He would explore for a minute or two before he got upset that he was alone.
I hoped it was enough time for backup to arrive.
Pulse pounding, I closed the door, moved the suits back into place, then slid a pile of shoe boxes in there for good measure before rushing back out of the closet, cutting the light, closing his bedroom door, and taking a shaky breath.
Then I heard it.
The door cracking.
And male voices.
They were inside.
“They’re in,” I whispered to Aurelio, then ended the call, knowing he wasn’t going to want to hear this as I flew across the house and into the nursery.
I dropped the phone on the bed with shaking hands as I looked around the room, trying to figure out what I could grab to use to defend myself.
Below me, footsteps fanned out as his men started scouring the house, looking for us.
Somehow, though, I knew it was Warren who came up the stairs.
I ripped the lamp plug out of the wall, then grabbed it as I moved behind the slightly open door.
My heart was pounding in my ears, muffling the sound of the footsteps as they moved closer.
Bile rose up my throat, knowing this was it.
I wasn’t naive enough to believe I would survive a fight with Warren.
I’d been his punching bag many times before in my life. Even if I tried to stand up for myself, I stood no chance.
This would be far worse than any of those other times.
Because I’d betrayed him.
I’d run to his enemies.
I’d taken and hidden his son from him.
“You can’t hide forever, you stupid bitch,” Warren’s voice called, singsong, like he was enjoying this, like he was feeding off of the fear that was seeping out of my pores.
