The c***k at the stop of the stairs lit.
“Girls,” the cop called out. “I’m back.”
All three froze.
The cop stomped. “I know you’re in here,” the cop lied.
“Sher,” Kris whimpered.
Sher reached for Kris, scraping her boot across something on the landing. She pinched her cousin’s lips. Sher kneeled and felt a rope.
The cop upstairs opened the door to the hall. “Girls, I know you’re here.” Since he’d been called back to the squad to help subdue another suspect, he was no longer sure they were in the building. “Girls,” the cop turned the doorknob leading down to the girls.
Sher squeezed Kris’s arm. The woman went limp. The latch caught the door.
“Dang.” He rattled the door. Convinced they’d run outside when he went back to the squad, he exited the building, turning his attention to wher
