Debbie moved into the room at the end of the hall. She seemed to take everything in stride. “I’ve been in this situation before with Dad.” A hand batted at the air. “It’s usually no big deal. He’s gotten threats before, and nothing happened. So I’m not leaving when the children need me. That would just be one more inconsistency in their lives. And we have protection, right?”
Carly stared at her. “Are you sure? This could be a tense few days before the trial starts.” Even the fact that a man had been murdered as a message to her boss only caused a minor hesitation in the young woman.
She bit her lip, eyes darting between Carly and Mason, then back to Nicholas. Her jaw firmed. “No, I’m staying.”
“Great, more people in this house.” Lindsey rolled her eyes.
Nick shot her a look. “Watch it, Linds.”
The girl clenched her jaw and stomped toward the stairs.
Debbie frowned and went after her.
Christopher slipped a small hand into Carly’s and looked up at her with a gap-toothed grin. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She patted his head and knelt down on his level to grin back at him. “I’m glad I’m here, too.” She stood then looked at Nicholas. “It’s my turn to check the grounds.”
“Come on, kiddo.” He motioned for his nephew to transfer his hand from Carly’s to his. “Let’s go see if dinner’s going to be ready soon. I’m starving.”
After a quiet and tense meal, Debbie retired to her room at the end of the hall. Nick saw the children off to bed, and Carly walked the perimeter of the house one more time, her nerves stretched taut. Right now, she could relate to Lindsey’s waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop mentality.
It was too quiet. Yet the silence seemed loud. Filled with expectation, anticipation—waiting.
But for what?
Nothing good, that was for sure.
She shivered even as sweat broke out across her forehead.
The darkness pressed in, although the floodlights illuminated her path. The night smelled of dogwood and honeysuckle. She walked the darkened edge, not wanting to make herself a target should anyone be watching from beyond the fence.
The two dogs, she’d learned, were retired police K-9s the Jeffersons had adopted after Stella Jefferson’s departure from the force. Carly had made friends with them, then turned them loose.
Pushing the earpiece deeper into her ear, she said, “All’s clear out here.”
“We’re settled in here,” Mason’s voice came back to her. “You want first watch?”
“Sure. What about the kids? Do they seem all right?”
“Yeah. Well, Christopher and I are big buds now. The girl…um…not so much.”
“I noticed that, too. They’ve had so much upheaval in their young lives…”
“I know. Just FYI, our judge is armed.”
She stopped just on the edge of the light, her eyes scanning the darkness even as her brain processed the conversation. “Excuse me?”
“He got his gun from a safe and loaded it.”
Carly thought about that for a minute then said slowly, “Well, he’s had the training. He knows how to use it.”
“Yeah, that was my take on it.”
“Then, good. I think.”
The floodlights clicked off. Her heart kicked up a notch as she froze. “Mason, did you do that?”
A quiet beat stretched between them. Then he said in a low voice. “No. The lights went off in here, too. Call for help and get in here.”
The other shoe had just dropped—with a bang.
Nick had just pointedly told Lindsey to get ready for bed. “And could you please lose the attitude? They’re here to help us.” He wouldn’t admit he wished he could throw a temper tantrum himself about the whole situation. But that wasn’t going to help anything.
Another eye roll. “Right.”
Frustration bit at him. Ever since her mother and aunt had been killed, Lindsey’s personality had done a one-eighty. She used to be so sweet, laughing at his silly attempts to bring a smile to her face, offering hugs with guileless spontaneity.
Then her mother and aunt died, and the bottom had dropped out of her world. Her grandmother leaving hadn’t helped the situation, either. Nick understood why his mom felt she had to leave. There simply wasn’t anyone else to take care of his aunt. But tell that to Lindsey.
With a sigh, he studied his niece’s mutinous expression and supposed she was coping the only way she knew how.
Then the lights went out.
Frustration morphed into concern, then outright fear as he realized what was happening.
“Lindsey, get over here.” He pressed the button on his iPhone to illuminate the room. The glow caught her startled, fearful expression.
“Why?” she demanded.
He strode to her and grasped her wrist in a light grip. “The power just went out, and I don’t know why yet. Stay with me and head to Christopher’s room.”
“I’ve got him.” Carly’s voiced reached out to him a few moments later in the dark. “Everyone stay together while we get to the safe area.”
An area she could defend, he thought. Drawing in a calming breath, he said, “The laundry room would be best. No windows and only one way in.”
“Good job. I’d already picked that place myself. We don’t have much time. The alarm wasn’t tripped, and without power it won’t be.”
“Yes, it will. I have a generator that kicks in for the alarm system. And the laundry room is off the kitchen.”
“You and the kids get in there.”
“Get my dog, Uncle Nick,” Christopher cried suddenly. “Pepper. I don’t want the bad people to get him!”
Carly shot him a look. “Dog?”
“A stuffed animal he sleeps with.” He placed a hand on Christopher’s head. “He’s safe and sound, tucked under your bed last time I saw him, okay?” Then he looked at Carly. “What about Debbie and the Jeffersons?” No way was he going to tuck his tail and run when people he cared about were in danger.
“Mason has them.” She spoke into her radio. “Meet us in the kitchen.” To Nicholas, she said, “Follow me and stay away from the windows.”
As they descended the slightly curved staircase, the sound of barking reached his ears. “The dogs aren’t happy. Someone’s on the grounds.”
“Or somewhere around the fence. I wish you had some closer neighbors who’d check out all the racket.”
The barking escalated.
A shadow passed the bay window in the den. “They’re outside the house,” he whispered. Lindsey clutched his hand, the sullen preteen now a scared young girl. Both children remained silent, eyes wide, breaths rasping. She noted Christopher seemed to be wheezing a little. “Do you have his inhaler?”
“In my pocket.” Nicholas fumbled in the front pocket of his jeans.
His heart thudded, not so much in fear for himself as for the kids and his staff. And the marshals. Most specifically, Carly.
God, please don’t let anyone get hurt. I know she’s skilled in her job, but I can’t live with someone else I