From the window she heard the sound of boots kicking at the bedroom door. They’d be through in a matter of seconds.
She peered into the darkness. She’d survive the drop if she fell, but Tot? What if they bungled the transfer? She clenched her teeth. “Will the downspout hold?”
Cullen gave her a “hurry up” gesture and tossed the pack and duffel onto the ground, then slung his rifle over his shoulder. “You go first in case I’m too heavy. I’ll lower Tot down to you.”
She eased over the roof and gripped the cold metal. It was gritty against her palms. Her socks reduced her traction, and she quickly shimmied them off. Her toes screamed at the freezing metal, but with the improved friction she was able to slither down. When her feet landed on a slimy spot of grass, she could hardly believe she’d done it.
“Here’s Tot,” Cullen whispered. He held the baby by the back of her outfit, leaned his torso into the gap, and extended his arm to its full length.
Kit stretched until her spine cracked, her hands woefully short of the dangling baby.
Tot’s limbs twitched madly as he eased her down a couple inches more. The baby was ready to scream.
“I can’t reach.”
“Gonna let go. Catch her.”
Catch her?Panic rippled her limbs. “No, don’t.”
But he counted down from three and let go. The baby dropped from his fist and thudded softly into Kit’s arms with a squeal. “Shhhh shhhhh,” she soothed, trying to calm them both. Wood splintered inside as the bedroom door was kicked off its hinges.
“They’re through, Cullen,” she called. “Hurry.”
Cullen scooted onto the downspout. He looked like he was acting in some sort of clip from a bad B movie, his giant frame clinging to the spindly metal conduit. No doubt the guy was athletic, but he wasn’t exactly graceful.
As he fought for a hold, boots sliding, the metal shrieked. The drainpipe sheared away from the cabin. Cullen toppled like a felled pine, landing on his back in a swirl of debris. Immediately he rolled onto all fours and staggered to his feet. “Go. I’m okay. Get to the truck.”
He delayed a moment, but she didn’t stop to find out why. With Tot clamped to her front, she ran to the garage. Every rock and stone found the soles of her bare feet, but she kept on, finally ripping open the driver’s side door of Cullen’s truck and tossing in the duffel before getting in with Tot.
Tot cried as Kit looked anxiously for Cullen. Where was he? One minute and she heard shouts from the house. Had he passed out? Broken his leg and been unable to make it to the garage? She’d have to go back for him.
Hand on the door, she flung it open just as Cullen sprinted up and leapt into the truck. He cranked the engine and slammed it into reverse.
“Down,” he roared a second before bullets sprayed at them from the roof. The SUV guys had discovered theirescape route. She could see their dark shapes dropping from the roof, one, two. The truck lurched. Cullen cleared the garage, and then he pivoted in a U-turn. He floored the gas. They streaked down the drive until he slammed on the brakes.
The SUV was parked in the middle of the cement, blocking their escape.
Tot chose that moment to wail. The sound pierced her eardrums like an arrow. Behind them, flashlights moved along the drive, bobbing as the two men ran to catch up with the truck.
Cullen was still for a moment, then he wrenched the wheel and plunged off the road and into the pasture. She barely maintained her grasp of the baby.
“Can your truck handle this terrain?”
“We’re gonna find out.”
“Is there an exit in this direction?”
He didn’t answer. They surged on, bumping and pitching. In the sideview mirror, the SUV’s headlights activated. Their attackers had reached their vehicle. The pursuit was on again.
She couldn’t talk. They were jostling so much she could barely think. Bare feet braced, she wedged herself in the seat and caged her arms around Tot. As much as Cullen sped up, the SUV managed to make steady progress in closing the gap between them.
Ahead, a sturdy split rail fence barred their way. He turned parallel to the fence until they reached a metal gate. He braked, leapt out, and hurried to open the combination padlock. Like a linebacker, he shoved the gate aside.
“How’s this helping?” she started when he got back in,but he drove through, jumped back out to close the gate, and locked it behind them. In a flash they were moving again, the ground more uneven than before.
“I know my land,” Cullen said. “They don’t. The gate will slow them down long enough for us to get to the bridge.”
“And the bridge leads to ...”
