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"Look, Harmony, Mason's wife has a kid. He's turned this into a hostage situation, and if he's drinking, he's going to be unpredictable. "
"You made the decision to bring me here. " If there was a child involved, there wasn't a chance in hell she was staying in the Raider.
"And I was wrong," he said quietly, his gaze suddenly softening, turning regretful. "I won't risk you like this. Stay in the Raider. "
"Don't worry, Sheriff, I won't embarrass you. " Her smile, she hoped, was reassuri
ng. She couldn't prick at him when he was doing something so totally unexpected. Hell, he almost made her feel warm without his touch. "You take care of your end and I'll take care of mine. "
The Raider pulled to a stop behind the State Police cruisers. Harmony followed as Lance exited the vehicle, bending to keep low as they moved to the commander.
"He started firing as soon as we pulled in, Lance. " His badge tagged him as Commander Steven Noonan.
Several inches shorter than Lance, he was stooped next to the opened door of his car as he stared back at the house.
"He has her in the front bedroom. Every time we try to move in, he fires. He's threatening to kill the woman. "
"Is Jaime in there?" Lance asked.
"He hasn't mentioned the kid, but the neighbors say the boy was home. " The commander grimaced. "We haven't seen a sign of him though. " With Lance's attention distracted by the commander, Harmony slid slowly back beside the cruiser, heading for the shadowy ditch that ran along the front of the house. Watching the house in full view of the armed man wasn't the wisest course of action as far as she was concerned, and it sure as hell wasn't going to help that kid and his mother.
Harmony had a much better idea, and she wasn't stupid enough to ask for permission. Keeping low, as she reached the back of the cruiser she slid along the ground, intending to crawl to the ditch that began just on the other side of the vehicle.
"Stop!" A strong hand latched around her ankle.
Rolling to her back, she stared at Lance. "I can get them free without anyone dying. I swear it. " She stared back at him calmly. "Why risk lives? You know I can do it, Lance. "
"And if the kid is dead?" he growled, keeping his voice low despite the fury throbbing in it. "What will you do then, Harmony?"
She knew what he was asking. If she killed, Jonas would have her. Especially in this situation.
She inhaled sharply. "Then the bastard will live. For now," she snapped back. "Unless or until your fine justice system decides he might not be guilty. Then we may have to rethink the matter. "
Lance's eyes narrowed.
"I'm fast and I'm quiet. He'll never see me coming. He's a two-bit wife beater, Lance. Not a Coyote on the hunt. I can take him. "
A shot fired from inside and the sound of a woman's cry had him flinching. Slowly, he released her ankle. Reaching into the small utility bag at the side of his belt, he pulled free a set of personal comm links that fit over the ear, the small mic extending out to lie on the cheek.
"Use this. " He handed one to her as he fit the other over his ear. "If I have to use a body bag tonight, I won't be happy, Harmony," he informed her quietly, the sound of his voice coming through the link as she fitted it in place and allowed the wire-thin mic to curve over her cheek.
"No body bags," she promised with a smile, before blowing him a quick kiss. Rolling to her stomach, she pushed herself into the drainage ditch and began scuttling toward the deeper shadows several feet past the house.
The black material of her uniform blended in with the darkness, giving her the additional camouflage needed when she crawled out of the ditch and into the weeds and brush that grew at the edge of the property.
Keeping to her stomach in the long shadows, she crawled over the rough grass and rock-strewn yard, keeping her eyes on the window that gave a view into that side of the house.
"I'm moving in along the side of the house," she whispered into the mic as she finally moved against the outside of the building. Coming to her feet, she flattened herself against the siding. "Is there a back door?"
"It leads into the kitchen," Lance answered. "There's a short hallway that then leads to the living room and, beside it, the bedroom where he's holding her. "
"I'm on it. Beginning radio silence. " She flipped the mic up, leaving only the receiver active as she made her way to the back of the house.
Passing the back door, she moved instead to the window at the far end of the house. It was securely locked, but the small metal lock was easily turned when she slid her knife beneath the frame and began prying upward.
Within minutes she was sliding the window open and moving into the house. She could hear him now. His voice was slurred, enraged as he cursed from the front bedroom.
"Harmony, one of the neighbors who came up has reported that Mason keeps a knife on him. A switchblade. " Lance spoke in her ear. "He's a mean gutter fighter, so be careful. "
