Behind A Closed Door by J.D. Barker

Author:J.D. Barker [Barker, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hampton Creek Press
Published: 2024-05-13T00:00:00+00:00

51

Brendan stumbled and nearly tripped on the steps leading up to Hannah and Stuckey’s front porch. Abby beat him and was frantically digging through the dirt in some long-dead potted plant, looking for their spare key.

“Isn’t Hannah home?”

“She dropped Stuckey at the office and went to the bank,” Abby told him. “She told him she was paying the ransom.”

Brendan admittedly knew very little about how Hannah earned her income, but the idea of paying some stranger ten grand in Bitcoin just to gain access to social media accounts seemed absurd to him.

“A blow like that will leave a man singing soprano!” Romeo shouted out from behind them. He was halfway across the street, taking his time.

Juliet hadn’t followed. Instead, she was back at their house, crouching near the front door. “Bitch forgot her bag! Got some nice stuff in here!”

Abby’s backpack was open, and the girl was busy pulling out Abby’s clothes, throwing everything around the lawn.

“Found it!” Abby got up, brushed the dirt off the key, and fumbled it into the lock. The moment she opened the door, the alarm panel off to the side started to chirp. Abby ignored it and ran for the kitchen.

Brendan shut the door and twisted the dead bolt as Romeo slammed into the other side. His considerable bulk and size shook the entire house, rattled the pictures on the walls.

“I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down,” he sang in a low voice as he struck the door a second, then a third time.

The heavy bangs were bad.

The silence that followed when he stopped was worse. There was only the chirp of the alarm panel, then that stopped too. A moment later, the shrill alarm began to scream.

Brendan backed up slowly, then found Abby in the kitchen.

The pantry door was open, and half the contents were on the floor. Abby appeared to be grabbing boxes at random, dumping them, and throwing them aside. “Where did he say he—”

“Granola Whip-Its!”

“I don’t see any Granola—”

In the living room, a window shattered. Another after that. Then a louder, deeper crash as Romeo kicked open the French doors. A harsh thud. The crack of plastic. The alarm went silent.

Brendan ran to Abby, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her into the pantry. He closed the flimsy louvered door behind them. Abby kept looking as he peered out through the thin slots. He saw Romeo’s shadow first, growing on the kitchen floor like some monster waking in a child’s nightmare.

“Gee, Juliet. Where do you think those two could possibly be hiding?”

He kicked a box of Cheerios, sending cereal skitting across the tile. When he turned toward the pantry door, he made no effort to hide each crunch of his feet. He wanted them to hear.

Brendan didn’t know when Juliet entered the house, but when she spoke, she sounded like she was either in the living room or standing at the kitchen door. “I don’t know, Romeo. Maybe they snuck out the back and they’re long gone.

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