heel,
silent, holding up a hand, straining every muscle to hear the sound outside the
window again. Nothing. Annie met his eyes, questioning.
He smelled gasoline.
“Get out!” he roared. She
stared at him, her eyes wide. He scooped up Jack and shoved her into the
hallway behind him.
The window shattered,
showering them all in broken glass. The Molotov cocktail hit the floor and exploded
in flames.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Annie ducked instinctively
to protect Jack with her body, even though Dash’s bulk blocked both her and
Jack from the glass and flames.
“Move, move, move,” he
shouted. She pulled Jack from Dash’s arms and fled down the hallway, back
toward her room. The boy wailed, no doubt unhappy at being passed around and
carried like a sack of potatoes. Dash took her shoulders and turned her down a
side hallway she hadn’t been down before. It ended in a door. Next to the door
was a keypad, with an LED glowing red.
He reached over her
shoulder and keyed in a code so fast her eyes could barely follow his fingers. The
red LED turned green, and the alarm sounded a friendly double beep.
She grabbed the handle and flung the door
open, revealing a set of stone stairs leading down into the dark.
“Go fast, but cautiously,”
Dash warned. “It can get damp down there. The steps can be slippery.”
She took his advice,
clutching the stair rail—incongruous with the flagstones beneath her feet—as
she descended. Jack clung to her shoulder.
As soon she reached the
bottom she held Jack up, and began checking him all over. Her task was
complicated by the dim light in the basement.
“No, I don’t wanna, leave
me alone,” he said, struggling against her frantic fingers.
“Jackie, baby, I need to
make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m okay,” he said, his little
eyes filling with tears.
Once she was sure, she
pulled him close, her own eyes damp. “Sorry, baby. I’m sorry. Mama wanted to
make sure you weren’t hurt.”
The basement looked older
than the rest of the house, with the damp stone underfoot, flickering lights,
and the sound of dripping in the distance. The doorway they’d come through
represented a threshold between the ordinary house, and the dark cave down
below.
Someone had thrown a bomb
at them. A bomb . Who would do such a
thing? And why? God, how were they going to get out of this?
Dash stood at the bottom of the stairs,
watching the three older women descend, escorted by Gaelan and Bill.
“Where’s Novie?” he
demanded.
“She’s watching our backs,
and putting out the fire.” Gaelan assisted her mom to the lowest level. She
clutched his arm.
“I don’t like this. No one
came in after the bomb?” Dash’s frown deepened.
“Nothing. Total silence.”
“They’re trying to drive
us out. Damn it! We should have left yesterday.”
Annie held Jack close to
her, trying not to tremble at his words. Drive them out. To do what to them,
exactly? She hoped to hell Dash had a plan.
“There’s no point crying
over spilt milk, young man,” Daisy said, leaning heavily on Gaelan. Unnecessarily
heavily. He put his arm around her. Her mom would find a way to wring some pleasure even in the face of disaster.
“The question is,” she
continued, “What are you going to do to protect my daughter and grandson now? And
where are we?”
Good questions.
“The basement is
fortified,” Dash said. “And we have an escape route down here. It’s less than
optimal, but it’s a way out. I’d love to stand and fight, but we don’t have
enough fighters to protect the noncombatants.”
As he spoke, the door at
the top of the stairs opened. The wolves all turned, bristling. Novie slipped
inside, locking the door behind her. “The fire’s out,” she reported. “No one
attempted to enter the house, but it’s being watched. I saw movement in the
trees, and scented strangers.”
“All right,” Dash said. “This
is what we’re going to do.” He had a dark glint
silent, holding up a hand, straining every muscle to hear the sound outside the
window again. Nothing. Annie met his eyes, questioning.
He smelled gasoline.
“Get out!” he roared. She
stared at him, her eyes wide. He scooped up Jack and shoved her into the
hallway behind him.
The window shattered,
showering them all in broken glass. The Molotov cocktail hit the floor and exploded
in flames.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Annie ducked instinctively
to protect Jack with her body, even though Dash’s bulk blocked both her and
Jack from the glass and flames.
“Move, move, move,” he
shouted. She pulled Jack from Dash’s arms and fled down the hallway, back
toward her room. The boy wailed, no doubt unhappy at being passed around and
carried like a sack of potatoes. Dash took her shoulders and turned her down a
side hallway she hadn’t been down before. It ended in a door. Next to the door
was a keypad, with an LED glowing red.
He reached over her
shoulder and keyed in a code so fast her eyes could barely follow his fingers. The
red LED turned green, and the alarm sounded a friendly double beep.
She grabbed the handle and flung the door
open, revealing a set of stone stairs leading down into the dark.
“Go fast, but cautiously,”
Dash warned. “It can get damp down there. The steps can be slippery.”
She took his advice,
clutching the stair rail—incongruous with the flagstones beneath her feet—as
she descended. Jack clung to her shoulder.
As soon she reached the
bottom she held Jack up, and began checking him all over. Her task was
complicated by the dim light in the basement.
“No, I don’t wanna, leave
me alone,” he said, struggling against her frantic fingers.
“Jackie, baby, I need to
make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m okay,” he said, his little
eyes filling with tears.
Once she was sure, she
pulled him close, her own eyes damp. “Sorry, baby. I’m sorry. Mama wanted to
make sure you weren’t hurt.”
The basement looked older
than the rest of the house, with the damp stone underfoot, flickering lights,
and the sound of dripping in the distance. The doorway they’d come through
represented a threshold between the ordinary house, and the dark cave down
below.
Someone had thrown a bomb
at them. A bomb . Who would do such a
thing? And why? God, how were they going to get out of this?
Dash stood at the bottom of the stairs,
watching the three older women descend, escorted by Gaelan and Bill.
“Where’s Novie?” he
demanded.
“She’s watching our backs,
and putting out the fire.” Gaelan assisted her mom to the lowest level. She
clutched his arm.
“I don’t like this. No one
came in after the bomb?” Dash’s frown deepened.
“Nothing. Total silence.”
“They’re trying to drive
us out. Damn it! We should have left yesterday.”
Annie held Jack close to
her, trying not to tremble at his words. Drive them out. To do what to them,
exactly? She hoped to hell Dash had a plan.
“There’s no point crying
over spilt milk, young man,” Daisy said, leaning heavily on Gaelan. Unnecessarily
heavily. He put his arm around her. Her mom would find a way to wring some pleasure even in the face of disaster.
“The question is,” she
continued, “What are you going to do to protect my daughter and grandson now? And
where are we?”
Good questions.
“The basement is
fortified,” Dash said. “And we have an escape route down here. It’s less than
optimal, but it’s a way out. I’d love to stand and fight, but we don’t have
enough fighters to protect the noncombatants.”
As he spoke, the door at
the top of the stairs opened. The wolves all turned, bristling. Novie slipped
inside, locking the door behind her. “The fire’s out,” she reported. “No one
attempted to enter the house, but it’s being watched. I saw movement in the
trees, and scented strangers.”
“All right,” Dash said. “This
is what we’re going to do.” He had a dark glint
Similar Books
