Page 15 of Daddy's Oath
Right?
She couldn’t believe she was even thinking about that. This was just like one of the movies she’d worked on. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen in real life.
This was all too real, though, she realized, as a cool night wind swept her hair back.
She was truly standing on her balcony, considering a desperate escape.
A crash reached her ears. She couldn’t see what was going on, but she didn’t need to.
The guys had broken through the door. They were in her apartment now.
“Okay. I’ve got to do this,” she whispered as she dropped the ski pole. It wasn’t much use to her now. Running was a better option than fighting.
Climbing onto the rail, she made the mistake of looking down. Vertigo flooded over her, feeling like a tidal wave about to sweep her away. Lana gritted her teeth and fought through it. A moment later, the world stabilized.
She figured the men probably went into her bedroom first, just to the right of the front door. That bought her a little time. But it was a tiny space. It wouldn’t take them long to check under the bed and inside the closet. A few seconds to determine she wasn’t in there. Which meant they’d arrive in the kitchen and living room quickly. From there, they could easily see her on the balcony.
It was time to act.
Drawing a deep breath, she continued to rise until her bare feet were on the rails. The iron felt cold beneath her. She stayed in a crouch. Standing up was risky and she wouldn’t do it until she was ready to jump.
The men’s voices reached her ears. They were getting closer.
It was time.
With a terrified yelp, Lana leapt off her balcony.
And prayed she’d reach the other. Because if not, it was a long way down.
Chapter Eight
Lana’s right foot caught on the neighboring balcony’s railing.
She tumbled forward and landed hard on her stomach.
Her face came inches away from the concrete.
But she landed. She was alive and not splattered on the pavement three floors below.
She stood quickly and ignored the pain of the fall as she dashed the few feet to the fire escape. Just then, she heard someone angrily call her name.
Not Lana. Herothername. The one she’d been born with.
Shit! This was even worse than she thought. Not just random burglars breaking in.
They’dfound her.
A quick glance over her shoulder revealed two large men on her balcony. One was scrambling to get on the railing, the same way she’d done, but he was a lot bigger, and his balance was wobbly.
She wasn’t about to stick around and see if he ever made the jump. Hitting the fire escape, she hurriedly climbed down the steel ladder. The descent didn’t take long, but she realized she had another problem.
The fire escape ended before it reached the ground. About half a story before, in fact.
That made sense, she realized. It was a safety feature. It kept passerby from climbing up.
But how was she supposed to get down? Surely there was a way to dislodge it!
There wasn’t time to figure it out, though. She had to move fast. That one guy might have made the jump. For all she knew, he was about to be right there with her at the end of the ladder.
