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.
Praying that Katie was still alive.
Kevin saw the gun in the same instant she did