Page 46 of Fury

“I’m right here,” I finally mutter, acknowledging him. “And I’m the only one who can get it because I am the only one who can disarm the security system. It doesn’t matter what you say, I’m doing this.”

He gives me a hard look, but he doesn’t argue.

“Come on,” Acacia says. “Let’s get this done.”

Nodding, I follow her out and show her around the side of the house where there are no cameras. We slink up to the back door and I get her to give me a leg up to the beam on the roof where I placed a spare key. I’m forever losing my keys, and after locking myself out, I decided to hide one up high where nobody would find it. Acacia holds my foot as I stretch up and shove my hands into the roof beams, patting around until I finally get the key.

Lowering me, she holds the light so I can unlock the door. Once it’s open, I only have so long to enter the code before the alarm will go off. I quickly rush to the keypad and turn off the alarm system. Once it’s disabled, I exhale the breath I was holding, then turn to Acacia. “This way.”

I’m praying Ethan is in a deep sleep, because if he hears me, he’ll probably kill the both of us. He keeps his phone by the bed, so I need to be in and out as quickly as possible. Tiptoeing up the stairs, we pause when we reach the bedroom door. I turn to Acacia and press my fingers to my lips. She nods, and then carefully I take the door handle and twist it. It makes a slightly creaking sound, and I pause, holding my breath.

When I hear nothing, I push it open. The soft snoring sounds tell me Ethan is asleep, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I tiptoe over toward the bed. Luckily for me, I know the room well enough, because if I didn’t, I would surely wake him up. Carefully, I stretch my fingers out and pat around on the bedside table. Something tips over, and I pause, my entire body going stiff as I hear Ethan roll. It’s a long, terrifying few moments, but eventually, his snoring begins again.

Oh, thank god.

Finally, my fingers curl around his phone, and I quickly shove it into my pocket before tiptoeing to my dresser by the door. I pull the drawer open as quietly as I can and take a handful of clothes, then I do the same for the next one. Once I have whatever I can, I leave the room and carefully close the door.

We make our way downstairs, and I quickly look around for my purse with my phone. I find it on the kitchen counter, and I have no doubt he has gone right through it. I pick it up, but then hesitate. He’s probably got trackers on everything that belongs to me. Exhaling, I put it down, it’s not worth the risk. I do take my purse, though.

A creaking sound has Acacia and I freezing.

Footsteps above.

Heart racing, I take Acacia’s arm and pull her into the kitchen. Sickness rises in my stomach as we duck down behind the counter, and I hold my breath. If he looks out the window and notices any sort of light in the backyard, it’s over for us. Closing my eyes, my fingers tremble as I pray that he doesn’t come downstairs.

What feels like the longest moment passes before the sound of a door closing can be heard.

I know Ethan, and I know he’ll probably start looking for his phone. He often wakes up during the night, scrolls, and then puts it away. We have minutes. Tugging Acacia’s arm, I pull her to her feet. “We need to get out of here,” I whisper. “He will figure out his phone is gone and come looking. Let’s go.”

Nodding, she follows me as we rush out of the kitchen as quietly as we can. Shoving the clothes in her hands, I tell her to go while I activate the alarm again. Hesitantly, she takes them and then turns, rushing off into the night. Fingers trembling, I use the light on Ethan’s phone to see the numbers I’m punching in the keypad. The moment the alarm is activated, I rush out the door.

But not before footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs.

Picking up my pace, I rush toward the fence where Acacia is waiting to help me over. “Go!” I whisper hiss.

The back door swings open.

“Hey!”

Ethan’s furious voice fills the cool night and I know we’ve run out of time. Tossing everything over the fence, I turn to Acacia as she leans down to give me a leg up. He’s quick and manages to reach us before Acacia can throw me over the fence. His fingers curl into my hair, jerking me back – a pained yelp escapes my throat. “I fucking knew it was you. Bitch. Where is my phone?”

“Acacia,” I gasp. “Go.”

“Fuck no,” she growls, and then her fist flies out without question and hits Ethan in the jaw.

Barking in pain, he releases me before spinning on her. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Touch her again, you filthy son-of-a-bitch, and I’ll gut you like a fish.”

Jesus.

“Where the fuck is my phone?” Ethan thunders.

“You’ll never find it,” I seethe, the first time I’ve used such a cold, hard tone when speaking to him. “I’m done with your threats. I’m done with you hurting me. It won’t be happening anymore. It’s over for you, Ethan. We found your little safe, it’s gone too. Good luck proving it was us.”

His eyes flash, and I know I’ve got him.

I know that whatever is in that safe, he doesn’t want me to find.

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