Free Code of Silence by Heather Woodhaven Page B

metal hooks slid to the edge of the bed. He hopped up on his knees and gathered the rope, slats and metal supports in his arms.
    He turned and almost hollered as Gabriella stood two inches from his face. “I told you to stay put,” he whispered.
    â€œYou need help,” she hissed back. “I’ll hold this while you open the window. It’ll be faster.” She set the fire extinguisher down on the wood floor at the foot of the bed.
    Gabriella didn’t see him roll his eyes as he acquiesced and handed her the tightly compressed fire ladder. Her knees buckled slightly, and she wore a pinched expression. He should’ve warned her it wasn’t lightweight, close to thirty or forty pounds.
    Even with a different perspective he couldn’t see clear enough to figure out how to unlatch the ropes. For that, he’d need to get it closer to the window.
    Luke flicked the lock between the two window frames and shoved the glass upward. He almost groaned aloud. It hadn’t occurred to him that there’d be a screen. Okay, maybe it was good she came to help. Every second counted.
    He grabbed and pulled on the black tabs located on either side of the screen frame. The frame slipped out of the track. He wrestled with it, trying to turn it diagonally to bring it fully inside the house.
    â€œLuke,” she whispered. “We have to go now.”
    â€œAlmost there,” he muttered. The background noise stopped unless he counted the birds cawing, the crickets singing and the toads croaking. He hadn’t anticipated the sounds that would waft in through the open window. A breeze carried the telltale smell of sulfur from the forest fires in the west. The drilling had stopped. Maybe Rodrigo had sensed the breeze? Maybe he wanted a small break before starting up again?
    Footsteps in the hallway. Luke stiffened. They were so close to escaping. Maybe Rodrigo needed something from downstairs. Another footstep. They couldn’t risk another second.
    He tossed the screen onto the mattress. “Get back into the—”
    The tip of a gun peeked around the hallway door to the room. It was too late.

EIGHT
    G abriella spun around to face the darkened doorway as Rodrigo stepped into the room, a smirk on his face. “Well, what do we have—”
    Instinct propelled her arms up and out, shoving the heavy bundle of metal and rope into the air. The ladder soared directly toward Rodrigo.
    â€œCatch,” she yelled.
    If there was one thing she’d learned from being a public school teacher, it was that distraction could be her ally. The shadows in the room worked to her advantage as Rodrigo’s expression morphed into surprise and confusion. He flinched and opened his arms wide to catch it. The rubber ends on the tips of the metal hooks slammed into Rodrigo’s chest. He howled as the ladder unlatched itself against him.
    Crack! The gun fired into the ceiling as the metal and ropes bounced off his chest and onto the wooden floor.
    She bent down and grabbed the fire extinguisher she’d set down on the ground at the foot of the bed. The weight of the metal container always surprised her. How could foam weigh so much?
    â€œWhat are you doing? Go, go, go,” Luke shouted. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her up and along with him, as if he were a quarterback and she was a football on the way to a touchdown. Her toes dragged against the floor, but she kept her eyes firmly focused on Rodrigo.
    Gabriella yanked the pin from the fire extinguisher and depressed the trigger as Luke carried her the few feet to the barely open safe-room door. The white foam sprayed across the room as she twisted the nozzle from side to side.
    The goo slapped her target right across his face. She didn’t ease up and moved her aim to Rodrigo’s hand, hoping she could spray the gun right out or at least make it hard to hold.
    Rodrigo kicked the ladder across the room and wiped away the foam