She gripped the rough cotton rope tightly with

xterior of the mansion. She took a shallow breath and began to w

bove her head. One of the knots connecti

ed two feet in

lower lip so hard she tasted copper, forcing herself not t

slightly and slid down faster. The rough fabric tore the ski

r feet from the ground

manicured lawn below. She l

icious twist wrenched her ankle, sending a sear

rambled forward on her hands and one good knee, dragging her

he darkness. A security guard was walking the perimeter, sweeping

p earth. She held her breath. The smell of

the grass. He kept walking, the be

rself up. Using the shadows of the massive oak trees to hide from the

ron decorative fence that separated the estate from the community roads. She hauled her

pair washed over her. She was inside a sprawling, ultra-

, towering trees, and identical sto

e edge of the road, shiverin

adlights swept around the

SUV with the community's private security logo

e, pressing her back against the r

e tree. The driver's side door popped open. A yo

struck his lighter, the brief flash of orange flame illuminated the shadows.

his heavy tactical flashlight from his bel

p out!" Manny shouted, his

face. She squeezed her eyes shut and instinc

shirt. Her hands were covered in dried blood. She was barefoot, and her left

overdrive. She needed him t

he genuine trauma of her past life's death to

h raw terror. "My husband... he's going to kill m

her eyes. His professional suspicion crumbled instantly. He was a wo

ght. He looked nervously u

hissed, waving his hand

he rear door, and threw herself onto the floorboards. She grabbed a thick