Read Ice for Free Online

occurred to her, and as quietly as possible she hauled her suitcase out of the closet. She had brought a jar of Vaseline, which she used to remove mascara. She hadn’t bothered with any makeup since she’d been here, so she hadn’t even gotten the Vaseline out of the suitcase. Thank goodness she hadn’t, or it would now be in the bathroom down the hall with her other toiletries.
    Vaseline was waterproof, wasn’t it? It was at least water
resistant
, and might be just the edge she needed. It wouldn’t keep out the cold, but every little bit helped.
    She pulled off her socks and coated her feet with the Vaseline, especially her toes, then put her socks back on, and another pair on top of that. Two pairs of socks was all she could manage and still get her feet in her shoes, so that would have to do.
    Next came her jeans, then a pair of old sweatpants. Once her pants were on, she coated the outside of thesocks with Vaseline, put on her shoes, then smeared the remainder of the stuff on the leather. That was as waterproof as she could make her feet; maybe, just maybe, the multiple layers would do the trick. After pulling on the two sweatshirts, she felt like the Michelin Man, but she was as ready as she could get.
    Lolly tiptoed to the door, pressing her ear to the wood, holding her breath as she listened. The intruders seemed to be right at the foot of the stairs, but from years of living in this house she knew that sounds from both the living room on one side and the dining room on the other carried right up the stairs, because when she was young she’d often listened to the parties downstairs.
    The argument over Darwin’s attack hadn’t lasted long. The voices were lower now, and the occasional bout of laughter sent chills down her spine. She didn’t think for one minute she’d survive until morning. Right now Niki planned to take her to the bank tomorrow morning for a big withdrawal, but that plan wasn’t going to last. One of them would come to their senses and realize it wasn’t going to work, or they’d realize they were iced in. One of them would get carried away, and Lolly would end up dead long before morning.
    The voices and laughter stopped. She strained her ears and after a moment she caught some grunting and the occasional moan. Her stomach heaved, but thank God they were otherwise occupied. Now would be the best time to make her escape.
    She took one quick look around the room, to see if there was anything else she could use. Only the pillowcases were left, but any covering was better than none, so she stripped them from the pillows and tied them over her head. Her pajama shirt doubled as a muffler. Over that she tied the remaining flannel shirt, and she was as ready as she could get.
    Grasping her makeshift rope, once more she tugged on the knot securing it to the bed. Walking backward to the window, she tested the other knots as well. They seemed solid enough; they would have to do.
    It was now or never. She unlocked the window and pulled upward on the handle. Nothing happened. She pulled again, putting more muscle into it. Still nothing. The bottom dropped out of her stomach. The stupid damn window was stuck, and if she couldn’t somehow get it open, then she was stuck, too. Desperately she gripped the handle with both hands, bending her knees and putting her leg muscles into the effort too, and with what sounded like a deafening noise the window rose a scant inch before stopping again.
    She leaned her head against the cold glass, only vaguely noticing how good the chill felt against her forehead. She could do this. She
had
to do this. If necessary, she’d break the glass and take her chances that the noise would be heard. One way or another, she was getting out of this house.
    Something thunked against the side of the house,just below the window, and she almost jumped out of her skin. She didn’t know what had made the sound, but what if Niki and Darwin had heard it, and came to investigate? She