Mountain Man's Accidental Surprise - K.C. Crowne Page 0,43

went back into the room. I only had a few moments, and it was clear I wouldn’t be able to get out the front door. Mason was most likely looking for people coming in, however, not people exiting.

I went over to the window and glanced out. I’d had plenty of experience climbing out of windows from growing up under my dad’s roof, and this one wouldn’t be too difficult. The window opened to a lower level roof, and a tree butted up to it that would help me the rest of the way down. I had already looked at it earlier, when I first saw the checks. The windows had bars on them, but they could be opened from the inside - and I’d already figured out how to do that.

“This is it,” I said to myself.

My eyes fell on the desk and I had one final thought - there was a plastic baggie on Graham’s desk with crumbs of what seemed to be a sandwich of some sort. I grabbed it and wrapped my phone in the plastic. Better to keep everything dry. I would eventually need to get a burner phone, but for now, I only had this one, and I needed to stay in contact with Liv.

Liv was waiting for me at the end of the road with a rental car in her name. She used her husband’s credit card so it would be harder to track, or so I hoped. I promised to pay her back one day once my life was back to normal - if it ever got back to normal.

I remember the phone call clearly. “Don’t worry about paying us back, Emmy. You’re family and your safety matters more than money. We’re not hurting financially.”

She was right. And at one time, neither was I. But the tables had turned.

“You are family, Liv, and that’s why I promise to make it up to you. You’re the only person I can count on right now.”

Tears had filled my eyes when I talked to her, but she comforted me. God, I had missed her all these years, and who knows when I’d see her again. If I stayed here and let Graham and the others catch Antonio like they promised... No, they would never be able to take down the Lombardos, I told myself. And who knows what kind of trouble I’d be dragged into in the meantime.

I wouldn’t be tied to another man I didn’t know, and since I couldn’t hide the pregnancy forever, I’d eventually be tied to Graham. And while at one time I’d relished the idea of that - I was scared now. What if he was like my dad? Or other men that had seemed so normal and nice at first?

I had taken a deep breath and opened the window. It took me a few minutes with the bars, and I made a lot of noise, but hopefully Sam was still downstairs with the laundry. I’d given them no reason to suspect I was leaving. They wouldn’t be looking for me, especially not leaving through this back window.

I climbed out of the window, and my foot slipped. The rain wasn’t as heavy as earlier, but the roof was slippery. I held onto the ledge as I got my footing. I slid down to my butt and pushed my way down the roof. I couldn’t risk falling.

It seemed to take forever to reach the edge of the roof, but once there, I let my legs hang off the ledge. I closed my eyes and thought about the layout of the house. I was right above the kitchen. Most likely, no one would be there. Mason would be in the office. Sam was either in the laundry room or by my door. Did he have to pass through the kitchen? I had no idea. I didn’t know where they did laundry. I didn’t know the house that well.

But I decided to take a chance anyway.

I grabbed onto the large branch that overhung the roof and swung myself onto it. From there it was a short, six-foot drop to the ground. I held my breath and let go, landing softly on the muddy ground below.

I sighed deeply, but it was too early to feel relieved. I had to keep going.

The front gate wasn’t only closed but being monitored. I also knew from conversations with the guys that the place was fenced in. I didn’t know how high that fence might be, but I prayed