Page 181 of Mad Love

Yeah, because that sounded like a good time.

My feet slipped as I hit the second-floor landing, and I nearly went to my knees as I ran for Cori’s room with everything I had. I hit her door and flew through it before slamming it shut and bracing my back against it. Reaching back, I flipped the lock but had a feeling that wasn’t going to do shit.

Corinne’s eyes were huge as she looked at me from where she’d been drawing at her desk. “Maddie?”

My chest heaved with ragged pants. “Cor, you’ve gotta hide.”

She stood slowly. “Why—”

“You’re dead, bitch!” Beckett shouted.

Corinne let out a plaintive whimper and sank into a crouch, covering her ears with her hands. “No, no, no.”

I wanted to scream, but I forced myself to take a deep breath. “Cori, honey, look at me.”

She continued to rock back and forth.

“Corinne!” I snapped, my voice cracking through the room with desperation.

She lifted her head, tears in her eyes.

I forced myself to settle. “Honey, bring me your chair, okay? Hurry.”

She managed to stand and drag her chair over to me. I snatched it from her grasp and wedged it under the doorknob as Beckett started to turn the knob. When the door didn’t move, he punched it.

“Open the fucking door!”

I pushed Corinne behind me and looked around for something—anything—to defend us with. No way would a chair and a door hold him back for long.

Cori grabbed the back of my shirt. “Maddie.”

I spun and bent to look her in the eye. “I’m not going to let him touch you, Cor, okay?”

She nodded, her eyes big and glassy.

My eyes swept the room, landing on the bathroom. I gently pushed her toward it as Beckett kept hitting the door. “In here, sweetie.”

Once we were inside, I slapped a hand over the switch, bathing the room in light. I turned and locked that door, too.

“Shit, shit,” I whispered.

The bathroom connected to Corinne’s closet, but that was it. We were trapped. I stumbled into the closet area and looked around for where I could hide Cori. Maybe I could shatter the bathroom mirror and use a shard as a weapon?

But I’d still need to hide Cori somewhere.

Behind me, Cori started to sob softly.

I looked up, ready to pray to anyone listening for intervention when I spotted something on the ceiling. “Cor, is that access to the attic?”

She nodded.

“Is it the only one in the house?”

She shook her head. “N-no. There’s one in a g-guest room and M-Mommy’s room.”

My eyes slid shut in relief. I was so parking my ass in a pew this Sunday to give thanks to baby Jesus and all the angels.

Even better, Cori’s room had one of those ostentatious cabinets in the middle for extra shelving. I jumped up on it and stretched up to my tiptoes to push the square to the side. I grunted as I reached, my fingertips managing to knock the access tile aside inch by inch.

---