by Joy Fielding
All at once, Kathy heard a pop and felt the rope snap.
Her hands were free.
Kathy moved quickly to untie her feet. “Jack,” she whispered. “Jack, wake up.”
A sudden noise made her look up. She feared seeing Bobby standing there with his gun pointed at her head. But Bobby was still sound asleep on the sofa, his gun resting in his hand. Can I get that gun out of his hand without waking him up? Kathy wondered.
Just get out of here, she decided. Again she tried to wake up Jack. “Jack, Jack, darling. Please, can you hear me?”
Jack moaned and opened his eyes. “What’s happening?”
“Shh,” Kathy warned as she kissed Jack’s cheek. “Listen to me. The man fell asleep.” She started to untie Jack’s feet. “We have to get out of here before he wakes up. Do you understand?”
“I don’t think I can move,” Jack said. “I think my ribs might be broken.” His voice was so quiet Kathy could barely hear him.
“You have to get up,” Kathy whispered. “If we don’t get out of here, these men will kill us.”
“You go,” Jack said. “Go without me.”
“No way,” Kathy told him. “Can you try to sit up?”
Jack groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position. Kathy reached behind his back and untied the rope at his wrists. Then she grabbed Jack beneath his arms and tried to pull him to his feet. Jack let out a sharp cry of pain.
Kathy’s eyes shot to Bobby. Had he heard Jack’s cry?
Bobby flipped onto his back, as if he might be waking up. But in the next second, he settled back into sleep. Kathy saw that his gun was still in his hand.
Could she get it?
Could she use it?
“I don’t think I can do this,” Jack said.
Kathy looked around. She tried to figure out her next move. Then she remembered her purse. It was on the floor beside the sofa, near Bobby’s head. My cell phone is inside that purse, Kathy thought.
If she could get to it, she might be able to call 9-1-1.
Kathy gently took her arms away from Jack and pushed herself to her feet. She tiptoed across the carpet to where her purse lay. Slowly she reached for it. Just then Bobby let out a loud snore and Kathy jumped. She grabbed her purse and returned quickly to Jack’s side. Then she reached inside the purse and pulled out her cell phone.
Kathy opened the phone and pressed 9-1-1. After several rings, someone answered. “I’m the victim of a home invasion,” Kathy whispered to the voice on the other end. “Please help me.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the woman on the other end said. “I can’t hear you. You’ll have to speak up.”
“I can’t,” Kathy said, as loudly as she could. She gave the woman her home address. “My home has been broken into,” she said, as Bobby stirred on the sofa. “Please, send the police. Hurry.”
“Just leave me here,” Jack urged. “Please. Just go.”
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” Kathy said. Again she tried to lift Jack up. Again she failed. “You have to help me, Jack. I know it’s hard. I know it hurts. But you have to help me.”
Jack took a deep breath, pushed himself to his feet, and grabbed hold of Kathy. His body leaning into hers, they took the smallest of baby steps. The short walk to the hall felt like an endless journey. Would they ever make it?
Kathy pictured Bobby waking up and coming after them. Would Bobby yell at them to stop? Or would he simply shoot them in the back as they tried to flee? Would the police get here in time? Had the woman at 9-1-1 understood the address Kathy gave her? Did she understand that lives were at stake?
“Almost there,” Kathy whispered to Jack. They hurried as best they could across the hall to the front door. “Just a few more steps.”
They were almost at the front door when Bobby’s cell phone rang.
“No, please, no,” Kathy prayed. Her hand stretched toward the doorknob.
Bobby’s phone kept ringing. How long before the sound reached inside his brain and shook him awake? How long before he opened his eyes? How long before he realized that Kathy and Jack were no longer in the room? How long before he came running after them?
Kathy’s fingers wrapped around the doorknob. At the same instant, Bobby’s phone stopped ringing.
“Hello,” Bobby said.
Kathy pictured Bobby sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes. She pictured him looking around the den. She pictured him peering through the darkness. She pictured him trying to make sense of what he saw. She pictured his panic when he realized she and Jack were gone.
“Are you ready?” Kathy asked her husband. Her fingers gripped the doorknob.
Jack nodded.
Kathy pulled open the door, and she and Jack stepped into the night.
And then everything seemed to happen at once.
In the cool night air, Kathy dragged Jack toward the road. The damp grass pricked her toes. Footsteps thumped behind them as sirens wailed down the street. “Stop!” Bobby shouted, as police cars screeched to a halt in front of the house.
Sturdy arms wrapped around Kathy, leading her to safety. Someone yelled at Bobby to drop his gun. A minute later, she watched Bobby stumble toward a police car, his hands helpless behind his back. Just as hers had been only minutes before.
The police took Kathy’s statement, and an ambulance carried her and Jack to the hospital. Finally, tucked between the stiff, clean sheets of her bed, she understood that she and Jack were safe. Only then could she take a long, deep breath.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Kathy phoned Lisa. She felt very thankful that her stepdaughter had slept over at her friend’s house. Kathy told Lisa what had happened. “I’ll be right there,” Lisa said.
In less than twenty minutes, Lisa was at Kathy’s bedside. She was crying, her pretty face swollen with tears. Her long, brown hair hung limp past her shoulders to her waist. “How’s my dad?” Lisa asked Kathy.
“He’s in surgery,” Kathy told her. “His nose was broken. And some of his ribs. The doctors might have to take out his spleen.”
“Oh, God. Will he be okay?”
“Yes,” Kathy said. “He’ll be fine. What about you?”
“Me?” Lisa looked surprised by the question. “Nothing happened to me.”
“What happened is pretty scary for all of us,” Kathy said.
“Were you scared?” Lisa asked.
“Of course.”
“It’s hard to picture you being scared,” Lisa said. “Of anything.”
“Are you kidding?” Kathy said. “I’m scared of everything.”
Lisa smiled. “Me, too.” She reached across the hospital bed and took Kathy’s hand in hers. “The nurse told me that the police caught the other guy.”
“Good,” Kathy said. “I’m glad.”
“So, everything will be okay now?” Lisa asked.
“Yes,” Kathy told her stepdaughter. “Everything is going to be okay.”
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Good Reads Series
If you enjoyed this Good Reads book, you can find more at your local library or bookstore.
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Missing
By Frances Itani
Missing is based on a true story.
Luc Caron lives in northern France during World War I. One day, he sees three airplanes fighting in the sky. Luc watches in horror as a plane flips over and the pilot falls to his death. Luc is the only witness.
The Greenwoods own an apple farm in Canada. Their son, a pilot, has been missing for 11 years. In 1928, they receive a package from England. The package contains a letter and three objects found at the site of a plane crash.
How is the mystery of the missing pilot solved, bringing peace to Luc and to the pilot’s parents?
New Year’s Eve
By Marina Endicott
On New Year’s Eve, Dixie and her husband Grady set off on a car trip. They plan to visit Grady’s family, five hours away. But soon they’re caught in a blizzard. They turn off the highway and go to their friend Ron’s house. Both Grady and Ron are RCMP officers. When Ron must go out on duty, Grady goes with him.
Dixie spends the evening sharing secrets with a couple of other RCMP wives. By midnight, Dixie has learned a thing or two about marriage, and about love.
New Year’s Eve leads to a turning point for Dixie and Grady. And a new road for them both.
Picture This
By Anthony Hyde
Paul Stone is an artist. One day, a beautiful woman named Zena walks into his studio. For Paul, it is love at first sight. Zena offers Paul a simple, but strange, job. When Paul takes the job, he steps into a world of trouble.
Zena is mixed up with a crook. They are planning to steal three paintings. Paul finds himself dragged into an art theft worth $3 million. As time goes on, Paul learns he is being lied to, even by Zena. Will Paul stick to the plan? Who will end up with the money? And who will go to jail?
About the Author
Joy Fielding is an internationally bestselling author. Five of her novels have been made into TV movies. She was named Author of the Year in 2005 by the Canada News Group. Joy worked as an actress before becoming an author. Joy is married and has two daughters and one grandson. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach.
Also by Joy Fielding:
The Other Woman
Life Penalty
The Deep End
Good Intentions
See Jane Run
Tell Me No Secrets
Don’t Cry Now
Missing Pieces
The First Time
Grand Avenue
Whispers and Lies
Lost
Puppet
Mad River Road
Heartstopper
Charley’s Web
Still Life
The Wild Zone
Now You See Her
You can visit Joy’s website at www.joyfielding.com