Sinner by Ted Dekker Page A

line!
    â€œDarcy . . .”
    His voice came from the direction of her bedroom. Low and long, then again, tasting each syllable.
    â€œDarcy . . .”
    He was inside!
    She ran for the back door, fumbled with the locks, and discovered exactly what she’d expected to find. A door that would not open.Which left only the windows and the attic.
    All that banging from her dreams filled her ears. How long had he been building her house into a prison?
    She tore for the nearest window, yanked the blinds up, and saw nothing but black. Black boards. He’d boarded up the windows too.
    Darcy whispered frantically under her breath. “No, no, no, no, no!”
    â€œDarcy, Darcy . . .Wanna play?”
    She clamped a trembling hand over her mouth.
    â€œThere’s no way out, honey. I know how to fix a house.”
    Access to the attic was in the master bath, and from the sound of it the intruder was between her and the bedroom. She had to let him enter the kitchen area and sneak past him if she hoped to make it.
    The attic had a round vent she might be able to squeeze through if she could dislodge it before he found her. She knew this because she’d been up there with a cable repairman, tracking down a cable that a mouse had chewed through. The vent would put her on the roof, but from there she might stand a chance.
    She eased to her knees and crawled toward the couch.
    â€œYou have to ask yourself if after going to all that trouble . . .”
    He was in the kitchen already and she hadn’t even heard him move.
    â€œ. . . I would be stupid enough to give you a way out. Hmmm?”
    Darcy lay flat, shivering. How had he come in? If there was a way in, there had to be a way out.
    â€œYou’re wondering about the attic?”
    Darcy inched forward on her knees again.
    â€œForget the attic, honey.”
    She went then, while the sound of his voice came from the garage area.
    Sprinting through the doorway that led to the living room with her five-foot media screen. Scanning the walls for a window he’d left open.
    None.
    She spun into the master bedroom and saw the opened miniblind beyond her bed. He’d crawled in through the window and shut it behind him. But he hadn’t had the time to nail it, right?
    â€œYou want out so soon?”His voice was behind her, only feet, it seemed. She’d never make it!
    Darcy dived forward, rolled across her bed, and came up airborne.
    Behind her the lights came on.
    She crashed against the wall next to the open window and fumbled with the latch. Opened it. Pulled the window open.
    â€œShh, shh, shh . . .” A hand grabbed her collar and jerked her back against his body. “Please, I just want to talk.” Hot breath.
    Darcy screamed, but his hand smothered her mouth. She bit into his flesh, felt warm blood rush between her teeth.
    He withdrew his hand and slapped something else in its place. Around her head. Tape.
    Her muffled cry filled her taped mouth, powerless now. She struggled hopelessly against his steel grip. Like a man who’d won his share of hogtying contests, he secured her wrists behind her back, spun her around, and shoved her to the ground.
    The black-clad man strode for the window, shut the blinds, and faced her. His hand was bleeding where she’d bitten him, but he didn’t seem to notice.
    â€œWell, well, well. So you would be Darcy, or, as you are so affectionately referred to back in the group, number thirty-five.”
    Her assailant stood over six feet, dressed in dark brown slacks and a black collared shirt, a day’s stubble lining his jaw. Sweat glistened on his face, but otherwise he looked clean for a man who’d spent the night sealing her in her house.
    â€œNow, just take a deep breath, Thirty-five. I’ve done this more times than I care to remember—gets old after a while. We’ll be here for a while, a day, maybe more, depending on you.”
    He eyed her from head to toe. Grunted.