“Lock your doors. Don’t open up for anyone. I’ll call when I’m there.”
My eyes shift between the patio and the front door. The blinds are drawn, but because of the missing strips (due to their poor quality and Max’s roughhousing), there are several spaces where anyone can see through. The broom handle is still, however, wedged in the track, and the entry table is still pressed tight against the front door, but looking at them now, they suddenly feel useless.
“They’re already locked,” I say, though my voice sounds unsure even to me.
“Good,” he replies. “I had to grab a few things from the station, but I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Before I can respond, Max lifts his head from where he’s sprawled on the rug. His ears prick forward, and then he growls—low, deep, rumbling through his chest. The sound freezes me.
“Baby?” Emilio’s voice comes through the line, edged with concern.
“Hold on,” I whisper, rising from the couch. Max follows instantly, his growl growing louder, more urgent. His hackles rise, body rigid, eyes fixed on the sliding glass door.
Tessa sits up, her brow furrowed as her eyes shift between Max and me. “Rae? What’s wrong?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Rae, talk to me,” Emilio demands. “What’s happening?”
“I think—” I swallow hard. “I think someone’s out there.”
“What?” both Tessa and Emilio exclaim, their tones equally alert.
Tessa sits up as I tiptoe across the room to the light switch beside the door. My hand hovers over the light switch, my breath shallow. Max’s growl turns into a low snarl, lips curling back to show his teeth.
The moment I flip on the light, Max explodes into barking, lunging toward the patio. His claws scrape against the glass, the sound sharp and frantic. Just beyond the glass stands a figure—tall, motionless. The porch light flickers over him, and for a heartbeat, the world narrows to the expressionless, white mask.
It’s the same mask I saw at the parking garage.
“Emilio!” I scream into the phone, my voice breaking as I stumble backward. “He’s here!”
The man tilts his head slowly, studying me from behind that blank façade, unfazed by Max’s aggressiveness, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife. The light glints off the silver blade, accenting every groove of the serrations, as he raisesit and waves it tauntingly. My heart slams against my rib cage as he moves—rounding the patio and vanishing from my line of sight. But I know where he is going, and so does Max. He bolts to the other side of the room to the front door just as several loud metallic bangs sound off. The screen door rattles violently. Another hit follows, metal shrieking under the force.
Tessa scrambles to her feet, knocking into the coffee table as Max’s barking fills the room. “Oh my god, Raelynn!” she cries, stumbling backward and crashing to the floor.
The pounding stops. For one dreadful second, there’s silence, the only sounds filling the space are mine and Tessa’s heavy breathing, Max’s low growls, and Emilio’s voice coming through my phone’s speaker.
“Rae!” Emilio’s voice booms from my phone, still clutched in my hand. “Talk to me! What’s happening?”
“I-I don’t know,” I reply softly.
But after the words leave my mouth, I hear it. The slow, creaking sound of the screen door being forced open—metal groans, hinges screech, and my stomach drops.
“He’s trying the door!” I scream into the phone, panic lacing every word. The front door shudders under a heavy kick.THUD.Then another. Each kick rattles the chain and jolts the entry table forward a hair.
“Listen to me, baby,” Emilio orders, his voice firm despite the urgency. “Go hide. Get your room, the closet, somewhere you both can lock yourselves in. I’m almost there, and I’m calling for backup.”
“Please hurry!” I cry into my phone as I rush toward Tessa and pull her up by the arm.
The door shudders again. And then, like a nightmare made real, a knife plunges through the wood, splintering it. One strike. Then another. The sound is deafening.
Tessa’s screams echo mine as I pull her back; she clings to my arms, her nails digging into my skin. Max’s barking becomes wild, frenzied. He lunges at the front door, claws scraping against the hardwood. After the third hit, everything stops. The silence stretches, broken only by my ragged breathing. Max’s barks quiet to low growls as he begins pacing the living room in restless, protective strides.
“Where did he go?” Tessa sobs behind me, her voice breaking the fragile stillness.
I shake my head and step back, tugging her with me toward the hallway “I don’t kn?—”
BANG.
The explosion of sound rips through the air, so loud it feels like the walls shake. The patio door shatters inward in a rain of glass. Shards fly across the room, scattering like glittering knives. I throw my arms up on instinct as screams tear out of both of us.
