I stayed as flat to the floor as I could and began to slowly inch my way along the floor. I didn’t want to make too much noise, but at the same time I wanted to get out of there as quickly as I possibly could. Starting slowly, but then growing with a quick intensity that propelled me along the hard floor like some kind of a wounded snake.
I reached the hallway and slithered my way towards the bedroom. It was my only chance of escape. I could jump out the window. It was possible being on the side of the house that I might escape unseen. The back door was tempting, but they no doubt had someone monitoring that.
I would never be able to make it to my car. All I could hope for was to hide behind a neighbor’s house or see if someone was home and could call the police, if they hadn’t already. I wasn’t even sure if any of my neighbors were home right then. And if they were, their lives were probably in danger too. I doubted that the Scarlucci crime family made those kinds of mistakes. No witnesses.
That was the way they did things.
My legs felt like jelly. My heart was pounding in my temples, and my breathing had slowed to the point that I felt lightheaded. It was like my body had given up. The fear had hijacked my mind and began the process of shutting down my body.
And why not? It was so easy to just accept your fate. It would only last for a minute and then it would be over. I wouldn’t have fear or pain anymore. Why not give in?
I tried to shut off the voice in my head telling me to quit. I wanted to give in so badly, but I couldn’t. There was still enough fight in me to keep trying.
I wondered where Chester was, or if my sweet cat was even alive still. My poor baby…
Stop it. Stop worrying about things you can’t change right now. Just think, focus.
I was just starting down the hallway when I heard something at the back door. Shit! They’d found me. I started to stand up, to sprint down the hallway. My foot slipped as my body tried to move faster than my balance would allow and I slammed back down to the floor. It sounded like a bomb going off in my mind.
The back door blasted wide open.
I tried to scream. I was half in the kitchen and half in the hallway. Standing there was a man I did not recognize. He was lowering his foot from his powerful kick, which destroyed my back door. He was a man of about thirty, with sandy blonde hair. He was short, but stocky and well-built.
His face was stone cold without a shred of fear or doubt. And he was staring right at me holding a large semi-automatic weapon.
“Hide,” he said.
I was too shocked to move. This man was telling me to hide? Was it a trick? What did he really want?
“Go!” He hissed at me.
I leapt to my feet and before I could take a single step down the hallway, the front door busted open. Standing there were two men I vaguely recognized from the Scarlucci family. One of them had been Clint, the man who changed my tire the other day.
They seemed very shocked to see the other man there. As they raised their guns, bullets riddled their bodies accompanied by loud blasts of gunfire.
They were both down. I did not see them getting up ever again.
The man standing behind me had just saved my life. Who was he? What was going on?
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Grab your things. We have to get out of here.”
I heard squealing tires out front and then a loud banging sound, like a car bouncing off the curb.
“Libby!”
The scream came from outside. It was a familiar voice…
“Libby!”
Mason. He was there.
“Mason?” I asked.
The other man looked at me cautiously.
A moment later Mason came bounding through the door. He took a good look at the dead men on the floor and then rushed to my side.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
“Um…yeah…” I managed. “Thanks to…um…”
“Ranier,” Mason said. “God, I’m glad you were close. You didn’t tell me.”
“Well, you didn’t give me the chance,” Ranier said as Mason slapped him a hearty handshake.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Mason said. “How did this get so messed up so fast?”
“That’s the nature of the game,” Ranier said. “You should have known this was possible. You’ve been out of the game too long.”
“You’re right,” Mason said. The guilt was stricken across his face. “Libby… this is my fault. I should have known.”
“What is going on?” I asked.
“There is no time,” Ranier said. “You have to get somewhere safe, and now. There will be more soon.”