"I'm going to lower you as far as I can, but then you're going to have to jump."
He nodded, seemingly in shock, and she quickly scooted toward the edge, dragging Josh with her. He moved to the edge and she grabbed his hand. The overhang was shaking now, fire climbing up both support columns. Josh climbed over, legs first, holding on, Katie sliding on her belly toward the edge. Lowering him … God, the agony in her arms … four feet, no more, she told herself. He wouldn't fall far and he would land on his feet.
She let go as the roof shuddered. Kristen crawled toward her, trembling.
"Okay, baby, your turn," Katie urged. "Give me your hand."
She did the same thing with Kristen, holding her breath as she let go. A moment later, both of them were on their feet, staring up at her. They were waiting for her.
"Run!" she screamed. "Move back!"
Her words were swallowed by another coughing spasm, and she knew she had to move. She grabbed the edge of the overhang and swung one leg off, then the other. She dangled for only an instant before her grip weakened.
She hit the ground and felt her knees buckle before she rolled to a stop in front of the store entrance. Her legs screamed with pain, but she had to get the kids to safety. She scrambled toward them, seizing their hands and beginning to drag them away.
Fire was dancing, leaping, spurting toward the sky. Nearby trees caught fire, their upper branches sparking like firecrackers. There was a sharp clap, loud enough to make her ears ring. She chanced a peek over her shoulder, just in time to see the walls of the building collapse inward. Then there was the deafening sound of an explosion, and Katie and the kids were knocked over in the scorching blast of air.
By the time the three of them caught their breath and turned to look, the store was nothing but a gigantic cone of fire.
But they'd made it. She pulled both Josh and Kristen toward her. They were whimpering as she put her arms around them and she kissed the tops of their heads. "You're okay," she murmured. "You're safe now."
It was only when a shadow appeared before her that she realized she was wrong.
It was him, looming over them, a gun at his side.
Kevin.
In the jeep, Alex kept his foot clamped down on the gas pedal, growing more worried with every passing second. Though the fire was still too far away to pinpoint the location with accuracy, his stomach began to seize up. There weren't too many structures in that direction, mostly a few isolated farmhouses. And, of course, the store.
He leaned over the steering wheel, as if to urge the car forward. Faster.
Katie had trouble processing what she was seeing.
"Where is he?" Kevin rasped out. The words came out slurred, but she recognized the voice, even with his face partly in shadow. The inferno blazed behind him and his face was covered in soot and blood. There were smears of what she thought was blood on his shirt as well. In his hand the Glock shone, like it had been dipped in a barrel of oil.
He's here, Jo had said in Katie's dream.
Who?
You know.
Kevin raised the gun, pointing it at her. "I just want to talk to him, Erin."
Katie got to her feet. Kristen and Josh clung to her, fear etched on their faces. Kevin's eyes were feral, his movements jerky. He took a step toward them, almost losing his balance. The gun swung back and forth. Unsteady.
He was ready to kill them all, Katie realized. He'd already tried to kill them with the fire. But drunk, very drunk. Worse than she'd ever seen him. He was out of control, beyond reason.
She had to get the kids away, had to give them a chance to run.
"Hi, Kevin," she purred. She forced herself to smile. "Why are you holding that gun? Did you come to get me? Are you all right, baby?"
Kevin blinked. The voice, soft and sultry, sweet. He liked it when she sounded like that, and he thought it was a dream. But he wasn't dreaming and Erin was standing in front of him. She smiled as she took a step forward. "I love you, Kevin, and I always knew you'd come."
He stared. There were two of her now and then only one. He had told people she was in New Hampshire taking care of a sick friend, but there weren't any footprints in the snow and his calls were forwarded and a little boy had been shot and there was pizza sauce on his forehead and now Erin was here, telling him that she loved him.
Closer, Katie thought. Almost there. She took another step forward, pushing the kids behind her.
"Can you bring me home?" Her voice pleaded with him, begged like Erin used to, but her hair was short and brown and she was moving closer and he wondered why she wasn't scared and he wanted to pull the trigger but he loved her. If only he could stop the hammering inside his head-
Suddenly, Katie lunged forward, pushing the gun away. It fired, the sound like a vicious slap, but she kept moving forward, clinging to his wrist, not letting go. Kristen started to scream.
"RUN!" Katie shouted over her shoulder. "Josh, take Kristen and run! He's got a gun! Get as far away as you can and hide!"
The panic in Katie's voice seemed to galvanize Josh and he grabbed Kristen's hand and took off running. They headed toward the road, racing for Katie's house. Fleeing for their lives.
"Bitch!" Kevin screamed, trying to free his arm. Katie lowered her mouth and bit down as hard as she could and Kevin let out a ferocious cry. Trying to pull the arm free, he slammed his other fist into her temple. Instantly, she saw flashes of white light. She bit down again, finding his thumb this time, and he screamed, letting go of the gun. It clattered to the ground and he punched her again, catching her on her cheekbone, knocking her to the ground.
He kicked her in the back and she arched with pain. But she kept moving, in panic now, fueled by the certainty that he meant to kill her and the kids. She had to give them time to get away. She rose to all fours and started crawling, moving fast, gaining speed. Finally, she surged to her feet, a sprinter coming out of the blocks.
She ran as fast as she could, forcing herself forward, but she felt his body slam into her from behind and she lay breathless on the ground again. He grabbed her by the hair and hit her again. He seized an arm and twisted it, trying to work it behind her back, but he was off balance and she was slippery enough to turn onto her back. Reaching up, she clawed at his eyes, catching one in the corner, tearing hard.
Fighting for her life, adrenaline flooding her limbs. Fighting now, for all the times she hadn't. Fighting to give the kids time to run away and hide. Screaming curses at him, hating him, refusing to let him beat her again.
He snatched at her fingers, tottering off balance, and she used the opportunity to wiggle away. She felt him clawing at her legs, but his grip wasn't good enough and she pulled one leg free. Pulling her knee up toward her chin, she kicked him with all her force, stunning him as she connected with his chin. She did it again, watching this time as he toppled sideways, his arms grabbing at nothing.
She scrambled to her feet and started to run again, but Kevin was up just as quickly. A few feet away, she saw the gun and she lunged for it.
Alex was driving recklessly now, praying for the safety of Kristen and Josh and Katie, whispering their names in panic.
He passed the gravel road and rounded the bend, his stomach dropping as his premonition proved right. Before him the entire tableau spread out beyond his windshield, like a portrait of hell.
He noticed movement on the side of the road, up ahead. Two small figures, dressed in white pajamas. Josh and Kristen. He slammed on the brakes.
He was out of the car and rushing toward them almost before the jeep came to a halt. They cried out for him as they ran, and he bent down to scoop them into his arms.
"You're okay," he murmured over and over, holding them in the tight circle of his arms. "You're okay, you're okay."
Kristen and Josh were both sobbing and hiccuping and at first he didn't understand what they were saying because they weren't talking about the fire. They were crying about a man with a gun, that Miss Katie was fighting him, and then he suddenly knew with chilling clarity what had happened.
He pushed them into the jeep and wheeled it around, racing toward Katie's house as his fingers punched the speed dial on his cell phone. He reached a startled Joyce on the second ring and told her to have her daughter drive her to Katie's house now, that it was an emergency, that she should call the police immediately. Then he hung up.
Gravel sprayed as he came to a skidding halt in front of Katie's house.
He dropped the kids off and told them to run inside, that he would be back for them as quick as he could. He counted off the seconds as he turned around and gunned the engine for the store, praying that he wasn't too late.