Then another thought landed like a slap.
Kendra was distracted. This might be Hadley’s only chance to fight back and get away from here.
Hadley pushed herself up from the couch, her legs unsteady beneath her. The lingering effects of the drug still clung to her, dulling her reflexes, making everything feel just slightly out of sync.
She hesitated. If she moved too soon—too recklessly—she could make things worse.
Kendra still had the gun.
Hadley swallowed hard, her mind racing.
Then she made her decision.
She lunged forward.
Her hands slammed into Kendra’s side, knocking her off-balance. The two of them crashed into the wall with a dull thud, the impact sending a jolt of pain through Hadley’s aching body.
Kendra let out a sharp cry of surprise, her grip on the gun faltering for a split second.
Hadley reached for it.
But Kendra recovered fast. Too fast.
She twisted, shoving Hadley backward with more strength than expected. Hadley stumbled, her vision blurring for a moment as her head spun, but she forced herself to stay upright.
Kendra’s expression had changed completely now.
Gone was the eerie calm.
In its place was rage.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she snapped.
Hadley didn’t wait. She turned and ran to the front door.
She threw it open, the cold air hitting her like a wall as she bolted outside. Snow crunched beneath her shoes as she stumbled forward, her breath already coming too fast.
Behind her, footsteps sounded.
Kendra.
Hadley didn’t look back. She couldn’t afford to.
Instead, she veered away from the house, toward the dark stretch of trees beyond it. The forest rose like a wall ahead, shadows thick and impenetrable.
Her lungs burned as she ran, her body protesting every step, still sluggish from whatever Kendra had given her.
But she kept going.
If Kendra followed her, if she pulled Kendra away from the house . . . then Herb and Billie would be safer.
That thought drove her forward, pushing past the weakness, past the fear.
Snow slipped beneath her feet as she reached the edge of the trees and plunged into the forest.
Branches snagged at her clothes. The ground was uneven, hidden beneath layers of snow and leaves. It threatened to trip her with every step.
Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it, feel it.
