“It’s all going to be okay. Now go,” I tell them, pushing them toward the door.
Tanner takes Emily’s hand, and they run across the yard silently as I shut the sliding glass door. Dashing across the yard, I join them.
One step closer to being safe.
I reach for the handle of his back door, and shock fills me when it opens. I never would have guessed that Mac was the type to leave a door unsecured, but tonight I’m thankful for it.
“Inside. Be quiet,” I tell the kids.
They step in, in front of me, and I quickly lock the door behind me. For a second, I lean against the door and take a deep breath.
Safe. We’re safe.
I look down at my kids, and my heart shatters when I see that Tanner is clutching Emily to his side, and her face is buried in his stomach.
“Stay here,” I tell them. As I move through his house, I whisper-yell his name, “Mac!”
As I round the corner to head down the hall, I jerk to a stop when I see him. He’s got a gun pointed right at me.
“Jane?” he rasps, and he drops the gun to his side.
“Someone’s trying to break into my house,” I tell him.
He walks toward me and cups my face. “Are you okay? Where are the kids?”
“In the kitchen. Something woke me up, and when I realized what was happening, I just grabbed the kids and came over here. I’m sorry for barging in,” I mumble.
“Hey, it’s okay. Take a deep breath,” he tells me as he wipes away a tear I didn’t realize had fallen.
My head tips forward and meets his bare chest.
Bare chest.
Shit, he doesn’t have a shirt on.
I look down and realize that he’s only wearing a pair of briefs.
I force myself to step back as I feel my cheeks heat.
Thank God the lights are off.
“Tanner, Emily, come here,” Mac says.
Silently, my kids come to us.
“Mac, I’m scared,” Emily tells him as she grabs onto his leg when she reaches us.
“It’s okay, Em. You have nothing to be scared of, okay? I got you,” he tells her as he runs a hand over her head.
He looks over at my son. “You okay?”
Tanner gives him a jerky nod but doesn’t speak. Even in the dark, I know his face is haunted by the past.
There’s no question in either of our minds about who was breaking in. He found us. The life we’ve built starts to fall down around us. We have to run. We have to get out of here.
“I need you guys to go into my room and wait for me while I check it out,” Mac says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“No, you can’t,” I tell him, shaking my head.
