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“Sherra?” The little voice and the soft knock at her door had Sherra stiffening in reaction as she recognized Cassie’s voice.
The door opened slowly and the little girl peeked in. Her face was somber, her long dark hair laying in thick curls down her back as she stepped into the bedroom.
“Who’s watching you today, Cassie?” Sherra asked curiously.
“I don’t know, Sherra. ” The little girl was confused. “I woke up and no one was there. Someone is always there when I wake up. ”
Sherra stared at the little girl with a frown. Cassie still wore her gown and robe and clutched her teddy
bear like a lifeline.
“I’m scared, Sherra,” she whispered. “My fairy said to come up here. She seems kinda worried. ” The little girl moved closer as though in need of comfort or protection. Sherra grabbed her communications link from the dresser and pulled it on over her head as she switched it to the main channel. She knew Taber, Callan, Kane and Dawn were with the Lawrences, but they wouldn’t have left the little girl without a guard.
“Who has house duty?” she snapped into the link.
No one answered.
“Cassie, did you see anyone when you came up here?” Sherra asked her quietly, moving to the French doors and peeking past the curtains to the yard outside.
“No. ” Cassie was holding her teddy bear closer now. “I didn’t see anyone, Sherra. ”
“Do you know how to hide, Cassie?” Sherra asked her, feeling the familiar rise of danger edging up her spine.
Cassie’s eyes widened in sudden fear. Her lower lip trembled. “I want my momma,” she suddenly whispered, a breath of sound that showed the little girl knew well the dangers that could be moving outside their room. “Momma doesn’t leave me alone. ”
Shit. No one was moving outside. Where the hell were the guards?
“Okay. ” Sherra turned back to the little girl. “Do you know how to be quiet? No matter what?”
Cassie nodded fiercely.
“I want you to stay right behind me, Cassie. And don’t say a word. Don’t make a sound unless I tell you to. We’re going to go to Merinus’ room. Okay?”
Cassie nodded quickly.
Moving to the door, Sherra pulled the gun free of her holster and peeked out carefully. All the doors were closed, the guard normally on duty at the end of the hall absent. Damn. Damn. She glanced behind her at the kid. She was pale, trembling and moving with damned near every shift of Sherra’s body.
“Okay, nice and quiet,” Sherra whispered as she eased the door open. She stepped out into the hallway, checked it quickly then pulled Cassie from the bedroom and moved stealthily for the second wing of the upstairs bedrooms where Callan and Merinus’ suite was located. Pausing at the turn in the hall, she flattened Cassie against the wall then checked it as well. No one. Fuck. Where the hell were they?
Moving carefully down the carpeted hall, her senses razor-sharp, she moved for Merinus’ room. She was no more than three doors from it when the new scent slammed into her head. Alien. Foreign. Waiting
on them.
She stopped. There were two doors between her and Merinus’ room and one of them could possibly be opened just enough to allow anyone hiding in the room to see her pass by. Sherra moved for the door beside her. Turning the knob she eased it open and pressed Cassie inside before following her. Closing it just as silently, she indicated silence to the little girl as she moved to the wide window on the other side of the room.
Looking out, she breathed a sigh of relief as she caught sight of two guards moving along the perimeters of the house grounds. Opening the curtains wide she slowly lifted the window, praying she wasn’t giving her position away to the enemy two doors down.
She was within a second of gaining their attention when she saw them go down. First one, then the other. Her eyes widened. No sound was made, but within a second they had fallen, dead or unconscious, she wasn’t certain.
Fuck. Fuck. Looking around frantically she dragged Cassie to the closet on the other side of the room.
“You stay here. ” She pushed the tearful child into the small room. “I mean it, Cassie. No one will know but me where you are hidden. You don’t move. Do you hear me?”
She kept her lips at Cassie’s ear, her heart breaking as the little girl shook and shuddered, though she nodded her head quickly.
“Stay,” she ordered her again before backing away and closing the door slowly. Whoever was waiting in the room up the hall had somehow managed to take out the communications link and/or the communications personnel and was quietly waiting. For what?
She moved back to the door and opened it slowly, peering down the hall but seeing nothing that would immediately raise her suspicions. She stepped from the room, flattening herself against the wall, weapon held ready, watching intently.
