Page 111 of Otto: The Hawthornes

“Stay right here,” I ordered, kissing her hard. “Don’t move.”

“I won’t,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“I’ll be right back.”

I crouched, running toward the stairs, and quickly opened the door to the spare room. There was no way I could look out the front window without showing my face to whoever was watching, but there was a good chance I could see them out the upstairs window.

Sure enough, I could see someone messing around in the front seat of a car that was parked just off the driveway near the trees. As he turned, I realized he was talking to someone just out of eyesight. Just two people? I couldn’t be sure but there was no use waiting to find out. We were running out of time.

I found Esther where I’d left her, wide-eyed and rocking a little.

“Hey, we gotta move,” I told her quietly, pulling her to her feet. “Stay low, okay?”

She nodded, and then we were hustling toward the kitchen. There was a big window in there but since they hadn’t sent anything through that one, I figured they were staying at the front of the house for some reason. Probably so they could bail quickly if they needed to.

“We’re goin’ fast,” I whispered to Esther at the back door, brushing the hair out of her face. “Straight to the garage door, yeah?”

“Okay,” she replied shakily. “I’m scared.”

“Remember what I said?” I asked gently. “I’ll kill anyone that tries to hurt you.”

The ten feet between the house and the garage were the longest and most gut-wrenching ten feet of my life. Every second, I was waiting for someone to take a shot at us, but miraculously, I got the door unlocked and Esther inside without incident.

I hurried to the new garage door opener and quickly disconnected it.

“Driver’s side,” I ordered, pushing Esther toward the Mustang. “You can drive a stick, right?”

“Of course,” she said distractedly as she climbed in.

I reached in and moved the seat forward, crouching next to her.

“I’m gonna go over to the door,” I told her, putting the keys in her hand. “The minute I get there, I want you to start the car. The second the door is open, I want you to back out of here like the garage is on fire.”

“No—”

“You drive like hell,” I continued, ignoring the way she shook her head. “Don’t stop for anythin’, Esther.Not a goddamn thing.You go straight to my parents’ house. Someone gets in your way, yourun the motherfucker over.”

“Where should I stop so you can get in?” she asked breathlessly.

“Don’t stop.”

“Otto—”

“I’ll take care of shit here, sugar. You go. Don’t stop.”

“I can’t just leave you here,” she argued.

I leaned forward and kissed her, setting my hand on her belly. We didn’t have time to argue.

“I’ll meet you at my parents’ place,” I told her, getting to my feet.

“Otto.” She scrambled toward me, trying to grab anything she could reach.

“I’ll be there soon,” I assured her, locking the door before I closed it in her face.

Straightening fully, I strode toward the door and made eye contact with her in the side mirror.

The Mustang fired up, and I bent down and threw the sliding door open.

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