Her comment hurt, but the fact she wasn’t screaming helped. “I know. I know.” A second set of lights swept the other way a few seconds later. Perhaps they reached the end and turned around.
A car door sounded. The front porch light glowed. Janice had installed lights around the bird feeder, too. Who knew those critters needed to see to find water? She stepped to the window but stood to the side so the driver couldn’t spot her.
At first she thought Dirk or Clay had come back to beg her to return, but they would have parked in the drive. She peeked out. Darkness shrouded the two people, but there was enough moonlight to tell it was two men. Neither was Dirk or Clay. Her heart raced.
“Momma. I have to go. I think those bad men might have come back.” She disconnected, not waiting for her mother to answer.
This can’t be happening. Dear sweet Jesus, they were coming up the path.
Run!
Call 9-1-1. He fingers fumbled with the numbers. There wasn’t time.
Hide!
Horror gripped her, splintering her thought process. She spun and ran. The kitchen had cabinets under the island but they’d be stacked with pots. She dashed down the hall and up the stairs.
Glass shattered. Shit.
She blessed herself as she reached the top of the stairs. Searching the office for somewhere to hide, she discarded one place after another. They’d find her in a closet or under a bed. She glanced upward at the attic door. Perfect. She tugged on the rope and a ladder unfolded. While she’d never been in Janice’s attic, she bet all it contained was insulation and beams. If she stepped on the floor, she’d tumble through the ceiling.
Leaving it open to mislead them, she rushed out the door to the deck above the garage. Voices sounded downstairs. This time they wouldn’t toss her in a crate. They’d kill her.
Chapter Fourteen
Trax’s number flashed on Clay’s cell. He answered immediately. “What do you have?”
“One of the men talked. Seems Hood blames you two for the organization’s downfall.”
That didn’t surprise him or bother him much, except Trax’s tone reflected too much tension. “What aren’t you saying?”
“They might go after Elena.”
“Fuck.” He didn’t need any more information and disconnected. “Dirk!”
His friend rushed out of the bedroom. “What?”
“Elena might be in trouble.”
From under the kitchen counter, Clay withdrew his gun. Dirk kept his in the car. Clay sprinted to the garage and Dirk followed. It might have been after rush hour, but too many cars were still on the road.
“Can’t you go faster?” Clay asked.
Dirk shot him a lethal glare. “Fuck you.”
A faster way had to exist. He searched his phone. “Turn right on Henderson. We’ll cut through the housing development.” His gut churned and his bones ached. Shifting now would fuck things up.
He tapped his foot on the floor. Dirk leaned forward with a tight grip on the wheel. After negotiating more turns than a maze, he reached Janice’s street. In case Hood’s men had cornered her or worse, captured her, letting them know they’d arrived could be devastating. “Stop here.”
Dirk slammed on the brakes and barely jerked the key from the ignition before Clay was out the door. You head around back. I’ll take the front. Fuck. The window’s broken.
Change of plans?
He sensed two Colters. He had no idea if they had her. No.
Dirk raced to the back while he attacked from the front.
#
Out in the open, there was no place to hide.
Please God, guide me.
Elena searched for a way down from the deck. The seconds ticked by. She gauged she had less than fifteen seconds before they burst through the door. Blockading the entrance with the lightweight furniture wouldn’t be a good use of her time. She had to get to the ground and run.
A tree limb hovered close to the roof, but even if she succeeded in grasping the tree, she’d only be able to dangle. That would be no better than jumping from the deck.
She leaned over to judge the distance to the ground. Ten feet was a long way down. Then she saw it. A gutter. It didn’t look very sturdy, but her options were slim.
She dashed to the lattice fencing that rimmed the deck and swung over one leg. Stepping on the gutter, she bounced once to test if it would hold. It bent and creaked but didn’t come off. She swung her other leg over and prayed she had the courage to slide down the drainpipe.
The door onto the deck banged open, and her heart nearly stopped. It was now or never. She clasped onto the pipe and straddled it. Her arms strained and her grunts came out too loud.
“Let go!”
Her brain fried. The whisper sounded like Dirk’s voice. She glanced to the ground, and there he stood like a mirage.