Run From Fear Read Online Free PDF Page B

that had landed her there.
    He knew firsthand her ability to fuck up. Not just for herself, but for Rosie too. And a guy like Jack, who always tried to do the right thing, no matter the threat to himself, would never be able to forget that.
    By some miracle, he’d actually seen something in her worth saving. Talia wasn’t going to push it by asking for more. In answer to Rosie’s question, she said simply, “It’s complicated. But I don’t want you bugging Jack anymore.”She lifted her hand when Rosie opened her mouth to protest. “I got the sense he came by last night to reassure himself we’re doing well so he can feel okay about cutting us loose. Jack has done more than enough for us—we owe him our lives. He doesn’t need to worry about us anymore.”

    Twelve hours later, Talia shot out of bed at the first screech of the security alarm. Her heart hammered against her rib cage with bruising force as she fumbled for the keypad next to her bed and entered the code that would silence the earsplitting din.
    Ears still ringing, she grabbed her cell phone and started blindly for the bathroom, where she’d spent a week’s worth of tips to install a steel-core door with a bolt lock, the best approximation of a safe room she could put together in her little rental house.
    Rosie.
She stopped herself just as she was about to throw the lock, and her adrenaline-drenched brain came to life and reminded her that her sister was staying down the hall. Alone. Vulnerable.
    Panic propelled her to the hallway, where Rosario stood in the doorway in her pajamas, her own cell phone in one hand, rubbing her eyes with the other. “What’s going on?” she mumbled.
    “Something set the alarm off.” As she reached for Rosario, a loud crash nearly made her heart burst through her chest, and holy Jesus it sounded like it was coming from somewhere in the house. “Come on!” She grabbed her sister by the arm and dragged her into the bathroom, slamming the lock home.
    “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered shakily as Rosario sank to the floor and drew her knees up to her chin while Talia sat on the edge of the tub. “The police will be here soon, alerted by the alarm company,” she said, as much to herself as to her sister. She tried to force her breathing back to normal, tried not to show Rosie the true depth of her terror. She had to be strong, had to make sure Rosie knew everything would be okay.
    The ring of her phone nearly made her jump out of her skin, and she forced herself to take a deep breath as she answered. It was just the alarm company, calling to make sure the alarm hadn’t been tripped accidentally.
    “We’ll make sure a patrol car is sent right out,” the dispatcher said after Talia confirmed the alarm was set off by a possible intruder.
    “Police are on their way,” Talia said, closing her eyes as she prayed that whoever had broken in wasn’t at that moment sneaking up the stairs, prepared to break down the door to get to them.
    Rosario stood and reached for the lock.
    “What are you doing?” Talia said, and batted Rosario’s hand away.
    “I can hear the sirens,” Rosario said, gesturing to the barred bathroom window.
    Sure enough, Talia could hear the sound of a squad car siren getting closer.
    “Shouldn’t we go let them in?” Rosie asked.
    “We stay in here until we see the squad car pull up,” Talia said. But that still meant she’d have to walk through the house to unlock the door or risk having it broken down.
    It was going to be okay. The police—police who were on her side now—would be here soon.
    Clearly her efforts to conceal her panic hadn’t worked, because Rosie pulled her into her arms. “It’s okay, Talia,” she said in a tone suited for soothing a baby as she rubbed her back. “The police are coming. Nothing is going to happen.”
    “You’re right,” Talia said. Yet she couldn’t escape the sensation that she was being sucked back into that dark pit, the terror that