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Her phone alerted her to another text, but she ignored it, praying her rounded for all of eternity Or worse, arrested

She stepped toward the second set of double doors but paused The lock had been busted, dangling like a fallen soldier from the handle of the door

Her hands shook like an earthquake as she reached out and pulled the door open, and Abby gasped

Looks like someone beat her to it

HER HEART SLAMMED INTO a panic as she stepped inside into the reception area She stared wide-eyed and open- on the carpet in front of her, like a sheet of broken ice

The sound of her harsh breathing filled the silence as she stood there, staring Several beats passed before she couldoff her shock, Abby trod carefully over the broken glass, avoiding the giant shards and cringing at the crunch under her sneakers like gravel She cocked her head in front of the opening to Mr Klein’s office, listening for sounds of the intruder

Hearing nothing, she stretched her right leg over the sharp daggers of glass, careful not to cut herself A cold sweat dampened her clothes Her eyes soaked in the files strewn across the room, his desk a virtual tornado of paperwork

The hairs prickled the back of her neck as she any desk and noted the smashed computer screen and the hard drive pummeled into a pile of twisted debris

Abby concentrated on her breathing, trying to kill her rising panic

In Out

“Bright side Bright side Bright side,” she repeated There had to be a dang bright side!

Well, at least she didn’t have to worry about how she’d get in, she mused

Okay, Abby, just breathe, grab your file, and go

She closed the gap between her and the wall of filing cabinets behind Mr Klein’s desk Opening them, she quickly determined they were in alphabetical order by last nah the folders

Galveston, Greg, Griffin, Godden, Gue