Esther glanced past Malachi. “Come inside. You’ll know if they return, won’t you? So you can be gone before they enter the house.”
“I don’t think you realise how serious this is.”
“Can you?”
He nodded.
She stepped back and gestured for him to enter. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
He came inside. “Are they blackmailing you?”
She closed the door behind him, shaking her head. “It’s nothing like that. It’s a job.” She strode towards her bedroom, stopping at the stairs instead.
“Job?”
She nodded.
“What is more important to you? A job or your life?”
She continued to remain at the base of the stairs, staring up them. She should have a look up there, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk up the stairs. The crackle of fire and smell of smoke filled her mind and she tried to push away o
