Page 34 of Drowning in Darkness

“Got it. Go toward the scary gunfire,” she replies.

“What?” Stephanie whispers. “Shouldn’t we go down to the basement?”

Bloody hell, no. Never allow yourself to get cornered.

“Just stay behind me,” Camryn instructs.

Inside the house, the lights snap off, and the cameras switch to night vision. Stephanie’s head jerks around, and I can almost feel her rapid heartbeat through the camera. But she still doesn’t scream, because this isn’t the first time men have come hunting for her.

Glass explodes.

The kitchen camera distorts as gunfire erupts through the room. Agent Ivison drops behind the counter and fires back while Stephanie hits the floor beside the island with Camryn backing up to protect her.

One attacker hits the ground. The second disappears from view.

“Front breach,” I bark.

A shadow crashes through the living room window. Thompson fires twice. Muzzle flashes strobe across the feed like lightning trapped inside the house.

A black SUV hurtles down the street and skids to a stop, ready and waiting to steal Stephanie away, but it’s not the same one as before.

“Four more incoming,” I snap.

Camryn swears under her breath.

The men split up, trained and efficient. Two head for the back fence. One cuts down the side passage. Another moves straight for the front door, carrying a battering ram.

These are the retrieval men. The rest are expandable, even if they didn’t realize it until now.

I slam my palm against the wheel and force myself to breathe and stay focused. I’m seven hours away and useless except for my eyes. Stupid. I should have stayed close.

The front door caves in, and Stephanie flinches as the sound tears through the house. Camryn grabs her arm and drags her toward the hallway while Thompson covers their retreat.

“Isn’t this toward the bad guys?” Stephanie asks.

“Every direction is toward the bad guys,” Camryn answers. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”

A masked man appears at the far end of the corridor. I zoom the feed tighter. He raises a weapon. “Right side,” I shout. “Camryn, right side.”

She spins and fires first.

Two shots hit center mass, but the bastard keeps moving under the armor. Stephanie snatches something from the hallway table, a ceramic lamp maybe, and smashes it across his face hard enough to stagger him sideways.

I huff a disbelieving laugh as Camryn puts a bullet through the disoriented man’s eye.

Camryn moves again, Stephanie hot on her heels.

“Garage,” Agent Thompson yells.

“James?” Camryn checks in with me.

The camera flickers as another burst of gunfire tears through the living room. One of the other agents goes down, and my stomach drops. He crawls behind the sofa while another masked figure advances through the shattered window.

I check the cameras. “Garage is clear.”

“Move,” Camryn hisses.

The connecting door bursts open, and Stephanie stumbles inside, breathing hard, eyes wide but alert. The garage door rattles as someone slams against it, and another impact causes the metal to groan.