way in, but they’re coming in.”
Those words snapped Lily out of her daze. “How many?”
“Three.” He scanned the room, then strode over to the bags she had waiting by the foot of the bed. He picked up a backpack, unzipped it, and unceremoniously dumped the contents on the floor. “Put the baby in here. We’ll have to wait until they’re in the house, then we’re going out the window.”
“Out the window?” But even as she asked, she was taking the backpack from him. She knew it was the only way out. She grabbed a couple of the towels that had fallen to the ground and shoved them in the bottom with her free hand. Then carefully, past the tears streaming down her face, she placed the baby in the backpack. Tiny as she was, wrapped up tightly in the blanket, she fit right in the bottom. Lily carefully tucked the towel around her head and neck to hold it in place and then zipped it up, leaving a hole in the top. Josie hated it and squealed in anger or maybe fear. Probably fear. Then Lily eased the straps over her shoulders.
“You ready?” Ely asked.
“Almost.” Lily turned back to McKenna and sat gingerly on a clean spot near her shoulder. She reached behind her and yanked out the ponytail holder that held her hair back and snapped it onto her wrist. She smoothed out a section of McKenna’s hair, talking to her as she braided.
“I’ll keep her safe. No matter what.”
“I know.” McKenna’s near-blue lips curled into a wan smile.
“And I’ll tell her everything about you and Joe. She’ll know how much you loved her. How much you both loved her.”
McKenna nodded. Her breathing was shallow now, her gaze losing focus.
“Do you want me to—” Lily couldn’t finish the sentence.
“The pity kill?” McKenna asked softly.
Lily nodded. So, McKenna had been awake for that conversation in the freezer.
From near the window, Ely muttered a curse.
By then, she’d reached the end of McKenna’s hair. She doubled the braid back on itself and snapped the rubber band on near her scalp, so it caught both ends of the braid. She held out her hand. “Ely, your knife.” He slapped it into her palm and she quickly sawed through McKenna’s hair. She took the braid and tucked it into her pocket. Someday, she’d pass McKenna’s braided hair on to the baby. “She’ll always have a part of you.”
“You done yet?” Ely asked.
She could barely hear him over the fussing of Josie nestled in the backpack and the roar of blood in her ears. That was all the excuse she needed to ignore him for a moment longer. “You tell Joe I said hey.”
McKenna smiled, but her breathing came in panicked bursts now.
Then, from downstairs came the sound of crashing glass and splintering wood. They were sounds she couldn’t ignore.
Ely flung open the window. “Get out of here. I’ll handle it.”
With sorrow choking her, Lily climbed out the open window. An icy blast of wind hit her. She was gasping for breath when the gunfire tore through the silence. Three quick bursts. She flinched at the noise, clutching the window frame.
She looked back through the window as Ely climbed out. With the candlelight still dimly lighting the room, Lily could see McKenna sitting in the bed. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, but the angle was all wrong. Like she’d been trying to move them and couldn’t. Like she’d been crushed from the waist down. She’d turned her torso toward the open bedroom door. The dark holes in her forehead almost weren’t visible. She’d faced her death head on. Lily was the only one who wasn’t ready.
She never would be.
Feeling like her heart was as broken as her body, she turned her back on McKenna’s body and looked out into the darkness of the roof. Ely was already a few steps ahead of her. He was crouched down, skittering sideways toward a tree whose branches reached out toward the house. There was something sinister about his furtive movements. She followed him, knowing she must look the same. This was how you crept away when you left a dead comrade. You skulked through the darkness. There was no nobility in it.
She buried her shame and followed, keeping her steps light but careful. She couldn’t trip and fall; that would mean certain death for her and for Josie.
Josie was strangely quiet in the backpack; maybe she was confused. Maybe she liked being jostled.
Lily could hear the Ticks tearing through the house below them, destroying this tiny bit of sanctuary they’d found. They rummaged liked the beasts they were, tearing everything to shreds. It wouldn’t be long before they followed the scent of McKenna’s blood up to the second story.
At the corner of the house, Lily stared out at the branch and felt her stomach drop. Ely had stopped, too. They both just stared at the tree. From the ground by the front of the house, it had looked like the branch reached the house. The tree was a sprawling live oak. It had looked sturdy. But from here, it was obvious there was at least a four-foot gap between the edge of the roof and the branch.
Ely glanced at her. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to jump for the branch and try to shinny down to the ground. Once I’m down, you lower the backpack to me. It’s a couple feet drop. Maybe three or four.”
“So basically you want me to throw you the baby.” His expression twisted and she held up a hand. “I know. Not helpful.”
“You have any better ideas?”
“No.” Damn it!
She was supposed to be the smart one, so why didn’t she have any better ideas?
She wanted to ask what she should do if he jumped for the branch and fell. If he killed or injured himself trying to get across. Carter would have had some backup plan. That was Carter: the guy with five levels of planning to keep her safe.
But Carter was back at Base Camp and she was out of time. Before she could ask Ely for his thoughts, he was leaping through the air.
Ely was short, squat, and immovable. The kind of guy who looked like he could go head to head with a Mack truck and win.
If she’d had to guess, she would have said he didn’t have a graceful bone in his body. Yet somehow when he jumped for the branch, he made it look easy. He landed nimbly on the branch. It swayed beneath his weight, but didn’t break. She watched in awe as he moved across it, his arms stretched out like a tightrope walker.
A moment later he was on the ground, beneath her. She slipped the backpack from her shoulders and unbuckled one shoulder strap to give herself more play. Then she lay down on her belly and scooted right up to the edge of the roof before she lowered the bag down. The gutter bit into her armpits as she held her arms over the edge of the roof, dangling the bag from its extended strap. What had seemed like an impossible distance before seemed like nothing now. Ely reached up; she felt his fingertips grazing the bottom of the bag and she released it. Letting go, trusting that he would catch it. He did.
From inside the house, she heard the high-pitched yip of the Ticks followed by what had to be feet thundering up the stairs. They were out of time.
She did some quick calculations. Ely was about her height. With his arms extended, he’d been able to just graze the bottom of the bag. With the strap extended, the bag was maybe three or four feet long. So if she lowered herself over the edge, the drop would only be three or four feet. She could do that, right?
“What are you waiting for?” he growled. “Get down here.”
“Give me room!” she called, even as she wiggled her legs over to the edge.
She heard him cursing as he stepped back. She was halfway off the roof when she realized her mistake. She’d forgotten about her shoulder. Pain roared through as the weight of her body tore at the stitches. She felt them ripping open. Her fingers slipped on the edge of the gutter. There was a horrible wrenching noise as the screws pulled loose and the gutter pulled away from the roof.
She let go by instinct, dropping the rest of the way to the ground. She landed badly, her ankle crumbling beneath her. She stumbled back a step before falling hard on her ass.
When she opened her eyes, Ely was standing over her, the backpack cradled against his chest. “Jesus, Lily!”
She couldn’t tell if he looked more exasperated or impressed. The fall had knocked the air out of her and she couldn’t catch her breath past the twin pains screaming up her shoulder and ankle. Shit.
