There was another jiggle, making my brows pinch.
Had he locked himself out?
I took a step into the hallway.
But then there was a crash that had my heartbeat stammering, had my spine stiffening.
Sure, it could have been Venezio, arms full of food or drinks from the bodega, just trying to balance it all as he tried to put his finger in the scanner.
But my blood felt like it went cold as there was another crash, and I realized the door was jumping in its frame.
Someone was trying to break in.
I didn’t stop to think.
I wasn’t that stupid.
I backtracked into the room, closing the door just as the one in the living room burst open.
Then there he was.
I slammed and locked the bedroom door and ran into the bathroom, slamming and locking that as well.
I could wait.
Venezio wouldn’t be long.
But what if he’d already found Venezio?
What if he was hurt?
Bleeding?
My stomach twisted.
No, I couldn’t wait.
If he wasn’t hurt, I could get to him first, warn him. We still had time to get away.
I slammed my palms into the stuck window jam. When it loosened, I shoved it upward, breathing in the city air for the first time in hours—car exhaust and a hint of burnt coffee.
The fire escape was rickety and rust-bitten.
But it meant freedom.
I hauled myself out of the window, slamming it shut after me as I heard the bedroom door give way to the intruder.
My slipper-clad feet slipped, sending me crashing onto my ass on the icy metal.
“Ow,” I whimpered, forcing myself to get up, using my sleeves for purchase on the slippery sides of the fire escape as I made my way downward, slipping every so often, but managing not to fall again.
The bottom ladder was missing as I got to the end of the platforms, though, and my stomach clenched realizing I was going to have to drop, to risk breaking something.
There was a roar in the room above me.
And with that, I let go.
I landed in a squat, my knees aching, but nothing seemed injured.
