Page 37 of Love Bleeds Red
The knob turns and the door opens just enough for Elise’s wide, terrified eyes to peer out. She looks past me down the hallway before pulling me inside and quickly closing the door behind me.
“What’s wrong?” Lydia sits up from where she was curled on the bed, her dark hair matted against her head. Both of them look like they haven’t slept in days, based on the dark shadows under their eyes.
“We’re getting out,” I whisper, my words spilling over each other in my rush to release them. “Tonight. Cat has a plan and?—”
A car engine roars to life outside the window. All three of us freeze, listening as it grows fainter, then disappears.
“Who just left?” Lydia asks.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs makes me freeze. Hurried, heavy steps. And they’re coming closer.
“No time. Get ready,” I mouth to them, backing toward the door. “Whatever you can wear, put it on. Now.”
The footsteps pause at the top of the stairs. A floorboard creaks.
“I need to go,” I whisper, my shaky hand already on their doorknob.
But as I turn it, the footsteps start moving again. Not back toward the stairs, not away from us.
Coming this way.
Lydia grabs my arm, holding tightly. We all stare at the door as a shadow passes underneath it, blocking out the dim hallway light.
The footsteps stop right outside our door.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BAILEY - BEFORE
I holda finger to my lips and they nod. The only sound is the wind against a loose shutter, rattling outside with each gust. We stand frozen, barely breathing, waiting.
One breath.
Then two.
His shadow shifts, followed by heavy footsteps leading away from us.
Only one thought rushes into my mind. Cat.
“What do we do?” Lydia asks, her voice low. She’s dropped my arm, but hasn’t left my side. I roll my cracked lip between my teeth, channeling confidence I don’t feel.
“First, we help Cat. Then we figure out the rest,” I whisper back. “She’s got a plan to get us all out.”
Elise shakes her head immediately. “I can’t. I’m not—I need my meds, Bailey. Without them, I’ll be sick. I’ll slow you down.”
“And my kids,” Lydia adds, her voice cracking. “If something goes wrong, if we get caught... what happens to them?”
I bite my lip so hard that I hiss. What am I supposed to say to that?
Before I can respond, a dullthumpcomes through the wall. Then another, louder this time.
“Shit,” I breathe. “We have to help her.”
I yank the door open and run to the other bedroom. Cat’s voice is muffled in the hallway, but I hear the strain in it, the plea. Whatever game she was playing with Erik, it’s over now. She needs me.
I reach the door, breathing hard and feeling dizzy. I don’t hear footsteps behind me, but part of me hopes Lydia and Elise will follow. It doesn’t matter. Drawing in a deep breath, I swing the door open.
Erik has her pinned against the wall, her clothes disheveled, and her hair a mess. Her eyes find mine, wide with fear. At the same moment, he notices he has company. Erik’s hand drops from Cat’s throat and she coughs.
