Page 61 of Mountain Shadow

“Open up, Sarah,” the man said loudly. His voice was hoarse, like that of a heavy smoker when he first wakes up in the morning.

It’s him. He found me.

Sarah placed her palms on the door in an attempt to steady herself. “I’m not opening this door.”

“Really?” he laughed. “Do you remember what I did to our friend Josh? What do you think I’ll do to Kat? Think the baby in her belly will like it?”

Sarah heard the hatred in his voice.

Oh God, Kat’s babies.

Fear, the likes of which she’d never experienced, gripped her with an iron fist. Her lungs seized up, not letting air in or out. She fought against it, knowing she needed to breathe. She needed to do something. She was safe behind this door, while Kat was outside with a monster.

Sarah’s eyesight started to darken from large of oxygen. She inhaled violently, finally forcing some air into her lungs.

“No answer, Sarah? Would you like me to start cutting?”

Sarah clenched her hands into fists. Her nails dug into her palms, the pain somehow serving to center her.

“No,” she croaked. “Please don’t hurt her.”

I have to find my phone. I have to call Jens and—

“Open the fucking door, then.”

“Don’t open the door!” Kat screamed. There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a swallowed whimper.

Sarah’s mind flashed back to the dinner they’d shared the night before. She’d never seen two people as in love with each other and with their babies, as Kat and Luc were. She wouldn’t—couldn’t endanger that.

“I’m going to enjoy hurting her…”

Sarah’s hand moved to the door handle before she could stop herself. She opened the door and opened it fully.

Her eyes caught sight of Kat first. She was lying on the floor, on her side. Then she looked up and saw a man. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man in his mid-forties. Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. He looked like a sports coach or a physiotherapist. He didn’t look like a monster. Sarah’s breath caught in her throat.

Is this—

His fist slamming into the side of her face was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.

19

Jens

Jens had just walked into his office when his phone pinged. He sighed—he’d spent all morning in a training exercise, and was only just now sitting down to get some work done. He wanted to review the report from the plane crash. Something from that day was nagging at him.

He picked up the phone and froze when he realized the sound was coming from the new home security app Alex had installed on his phone.

He quickly skimmed through the latest notifications, his eyes zeroing on the latest one. One minute earlier, somebody had opened the front door without bothering to disarm the at home mode. He waited a few seconds and refreshed the screen.

Maybe she forgot to turn it off.

Maybe—

He navigated back to the main screen of his phone and dialed Sarah’s number, waiting impatiently while it rang. His heart caught in his throat when the call went straight to the mailbox. He tried again—then a third time.

They’d discussed safety together.

No matter what she was doing, Sarah would pick up.