Regions Of Passion novel Chapter 7

Randy kicked the door a fourth time as her hands groped for the latch that would release the screen. Nancy was also in the hallway now, yelling something. Whether her shouts were for Randy to stop or for Ingrid to come out were incomprehensible. A fifth blow, this one breaking the lock and sending the doorknob flying, shook the room.

She got the latch pulled back. The screen fell loose but wouldn't release itself fully from the frame. Ingrid shook it, rattled it, yanked it. Her panicked breathing became more and more high-pitched. Behind her, Randy was trying to push his way through the remains of the door. When he saw her at the window he realized her intention and bellowed again.

"GET OVER HERE!"

"Oh please come on, come ON!" Ingrid shrieked.

But the screen just wouldn't give. Her long nails may as well have been kitten claws, harmlessly as they scratched the scuffed metal.

Behind her, Randy hit the door with his shoulder. It was for the most part open--a normal-sized man would have been able to slip through it. But Randy's bulk, which had done him great service with destroying the lock and breaking the wood, had become a hindrance; he couldn't get his belly in quite far enough to gain passage. He stepped back for a moment, and then gave one final kick.

The remains of the door flew away just as Ingrid got the screen free, and the thought that two barriers in this room had surrendered at the same time--one by violence and the other by tact--did not go unnoticed by her. She looked at Randy as he stormed across the room, but only for a moment. A moment was all there was. In the next, she was diving head-first out the window.

"INGRID!"

Her arms buckled as she hit the roof. There was no time to shake the pain off, however. Randy had already turned from the window, and was without doubt on his way down the stairs to meet her in front of the house. She rolled onto her back, scooted to the edge of the roof, and slid off.

The drop was short. She hit the ground and bounced back up just as the first flash of lightning from the storm lit the sky. Thunder exploded overhead. She ran to the opposite side of the house. Here, a small hill ran into the neighbor's back lawn. A dog--curse it--barked as she ran by. But then no beacon was going to help Randy now. He was big but Ingrid thought she could outrun him for at least long enough to disappear across a vacant lot and onto Seminary Street.

She ran fast as her legs would carry her. On the other side of the lot and a little further down street was an elm tree. Gasping for air, Ingrid hid behind its trunk to get her wind back. Did Randy plan to chase her in the van? Or had he taken himself off in the wrong direction, down West Main Street? She gave the lot a peek. It was empty.

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