She cupped his cheek. “Baby. Breathe. Tell me what you saw.”
Bonnie glanced out the window, but all she saw was the backyard.
“I saw D-dad,” Chett whispered, the words so quiet that Bonnie almost missed them.
Sarah flinched, and for a moment was completely still. Then she shook her head. “No. That’s not possible. He’s in prison.”
“Isawhim!”
As Sarah spoke to her son, Bonnie inched around them, taking slow steps toward the kitchen window. She scanned the yard. The bushes. The trees. The fence that bordered the property.
He couldn’t have seen his father. Even if the guy had somehow gotten out of prison, the gate was coded. He couldn’t get in here.
She was about to turn away when she saw it—a flash of orange from behind a tree.
She stumbled back.
“Get upstairs.” Her words were quiet.
Sarah heard them. She rose, face paling. “What?”
“Get upstairs,” she repeated, louder now, almost yelling as she glanced at the women. “Everyone.Now.”
The last bit of color drained from Sarah’s face. “He…he’s really here?”
Bonnie gripped Sarah’s shoulders. “I’m not sure. Maybe. I need you to take Chett upstairs, and all of you, lock yourselves in the bedrooms. As quickly as you can.”
Another woman stepped forward. “What about you?”
“I’m going to make sure no one gets inside this house. Go.Now.”
Sarah gave her one more scared look before lifting Chett and following the women upstairs.
Bonnie’s heart thundered as she raced to the shelter phone. Shelley had left early today, which meant, for the first time since starting here, it was just her. She was the only staff member in the house.
Her fingers shook as she typed in her cousin’s number.
Jesse took so long to answer, she thought he wasn’t going to. Fear bled into her body, making her knees tremble.
She was about to hang up when—
“Bonnie, now’s not a good time.”
“I need you to get to the shelter as soon as you can.” She raced to the back door and checked the handle. Locked. Good. She put on the safety chain.
“Why?” Jesse’s voice shifted to one of urgency. “What’s wrong?”
“Sarah Parlor, one of the women here, has an ex who’s in jail for murder. Her son thinks he saw him, and I just saw someone wearing orange in the yard.”
She sprinted to the front door and checked the handle. Also locked. Again, she pulled the safety chain across just for that extra bit of protection.
Jesse cursed. “I’m coming now, Bonnie. Lock the doors. Stay safe.”
“I will.”
She hung up and ran to the living room window, where she pulled the blackout curtains across.
Stay calm, Bonnie. You’re trained for this. You’ll be okay.
