“I’m so going to kick her ass for ruining that dream.”
I grab my robe and go to shove an arm in when I hear a faint whimper and drop it, rushing to the door instead.
“You fucking bitch!”
I stop dead in my tracks at the sound of that snarl and flail for a few seconds when I hear a crash and then a curse. My bedroom door bursts open, and then Bee’s inside, locking it, shaking, crying.
“Help me with the dresser!” she hisses, and I snap out of it long enough to get my back against it, feet to the wall, and push, shoving the heavy mahogany dresser in front of the door.
“Come on, Sis, we have to get out of here. He has a gun.”
My door rattles and then starts shaking violently, and we both jump back with a scream. Eric has obviously lost his shit and means business tonight, and I’m not sure—
“Fire escape. It goes to the roof, but that should be better than standing around here,” I say, shoving her at the window.
I grab my phone on the way and turn it on, while we crawl out of the window onto the cold landing and the even icier wind. Fall in New York is not kind to a woman wearing sleep shorts and an old sweatshirt that just reaches her knees.
My feet burn with every step up, and I’ve just reached the top, Bee hot on my heels, when we hear the crash of glass and a bellow of rage.
“He’s coming out the window! Jesus, Sis, what the hell are we going to do?”
I grab her hand and pull her onto the roof, wincing when the asphalt and loose gravel dig into the soles of my feet.
“You stupid bitches! There’s nowhere to go up there!”
No, there isn’t, and as we run, searching for a place to hide in the dark, Bee trips and crashes into me, sending us sprawling and my phone skittering. I’m almost hyperventilating as we scramble up and I start searching for the phone.
It’s so dark up here, even with the lights from surrounding buildings, that it takes me precious long seconds to find it. Bee grabs my hand and pulls me along just as my fingers close around it, and I realize why she’s almost vibrating with terror.
Eric is on the roof.
“Come on, Sis,” she hisses, pulling me to the far left corner and shoving me down behind an HVAC unit, her thin body huddling in beside me.
I grab my phone and whimper when I see the smashed screen, but I have to try something. It’s our only hope. I press on where I think the call button would be and hope that the thing calls. Somebody. Anybody.
“I fucking know you’re up here, Bianca! When I get my hands on you—”
His voice is so close that we both tense. Bee whimpers, and I feel her tears when she buries her face in my shoulder and digs her short nails into the skin of my forearm.
“We can’t stay here,” I whisper, gathering enough courage to peek out from behind our hiding spot.
I almost wet myself when I spot him prowling around in the dark, his shadow no more than fifteen feet from where we’re huddling. Our only hope now is to try and skirt this side of the roof and make it to the ladder leading back down. If we can double back without him spotting us.
Thank God it’s so dark up here, or we’d be done for already.
“Hello?”
I hear the faint growl and almost sob my relief when I bring the phone up and realize that I am not hearing things.
“Vincent.”
“Dove, what the hell—”
“Eric. We’re on the roof. He has a gun,” I whisper, breathing in shallow gasps. “Help us.”
I hear him curse and yell something, but I don’t have time to answer his questions right now.
“Come on.”
Bee struggles, trying to slink further back into the corner when I grab her and start pulling her along behind me. I stay crouched and so close to the wall the cold brick scratches at my bare legs.
We make it to the next unit and stop. We’re both breathing heavily, our breaths leaving white clouds in the air, when I know that we don’t stand a chance.
“I fucking see you, bitches.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Run,” I hiss, pushing Bee toward the edge and closer to the ladder leading back down.
She shivers, but clings harder, refusing to leave me alone. Eric hasn’t seen us quite yet, but I know, now that we’ve left cover, he’ll be on us in a heartbeat.
I pull her behind me and scan the roof, squinting in the dark to ensure that we’re moving in the right direction and that when the time comes, I can shove Bee to safety.
“Bianca!”
She pulls me down and huddles into me. We’re halfway to the front left corner and about twenty feet away from the ladder when he sees us. I know that if we stay here like she wants, we’re dead.
“Come on, Bee!” I yell, grabbing her upper arm to push her, stumbling and crying toward salvation.