Chapter 1: The Click of the Buckle

I didn't think. I reacted.

I grabbed the heavy bronze lamp from the nightstand, ripped the cord from the wall outlet, and hurled it with all my strength straight at Daniel’s head.

The lamp struck him full in the face.

CRACK.

The heavy metal base caught him across the cheekbone, shattering his nose and sending a spray of blood across his t-shirt. Daniel let out a pained roar, staggering backward against the doorframe, dropping the wrench to the floor.

“Lily! RUN!” I screamed.

I grabbed Lily by her waist, kicking Daniel’s shin with all the force in my body as he lunged for us. He groaned, falling to his knees, his blood dripping onto the carpet.

We burst past him into the dark hallway, our socks sliding across the polished hardwood floor.

“Claire!” Daniel bellowed behind us, his voice sounding like a wounded animal as he scrambled back to his feet.

We reached the top of the stairs. I didn't dare try to carry her down—if I slipped, we would both break our necks. I gripped Lily’s hand tightly, dragging her down the carpeted steps two at a time as the heavy, furious thud of Daniel’s boots echoed right behind us.

We hit the foyer. I threw my weight against the heavy front door, dragging the deadbolt back.

It wouldn't budge.

I looked down. Daniel had used a key to engage the secondary child-proof deadbolt at the top of the frame—the one we had installed when Lily first arrived to keep her from wandering at night.

The key was missing from the hook.

“Claire!” Daniel’s hand slammed onto my shoulder from behind, his fingers digging into my collarbone like iron talons.

I spun around, driving my elbow back with every ounce of momentum I had. My elbow struck his broken nose.

Daniel shrieked in agony, his grip loosening as he clutched his bleeding face.

I grabbed the heavy glass vase sitting on the entryway table and swung it violently sideways. The vase shattered against his ear, sending water, lilies, and glass flying across the foyer.

Daniel collapsed onto his side on the rug, stunned, groaning as blood poured down his neck.

I grabbed the brass house keys from his belt, shoved the deadbolt key into the top lock, and turned it.

CLICK.

I pulled the front door open, grabbed Lily into my arms, and plunged out into the freezing midnight air.

We ran down the driveway, our bare feet slapping against the cold asphalt of the suburban street. The neighborhood was pitch black, every house dark, every neighbor asleep behind locked doors.

I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. I ran until my lungs burned, until the taste of copper filled my throat, carrying the thirty-pound girl against my chest as if she weighed nothing at all.