don’t know what’s going on in there. I can do this, but everyone in that house will be safer if I have your help.”
And she was right, too. “The van,” he blurted. “Maybe it’s got an alarm. I can set it off. Or if it doesn’t have an alarm, it must have a horn. Even if they don’t come out to check, it should give you cover.”
“Why, Jeth,” Sam said, and batted her eyelashes at him in the darkness. “How sly you can be when you put your mind to it.” And then, more seriously, “At least one of them will probably come out to check. Don’t hang around.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a tiny gun, an automatic in a tailored holster; she held it out to him.
He took it in disbelief, fingers running over the leather. “Is this real? ”
“It’s real enough. It’s a mousegun. It’s got eight rounds and there’s one already in the chamber. There’s no safety—that’s why the holster.” She tapped the trigger through the holster. “Pull the trigger, and you’re going to get a bang. And if you need it, don’t screw around. Jam it right up close before they even know you have it and empty the damn thing. Don’t expect someone the size of the guy we put down at the last house to take an instant dive—depending how the shots are placed, he’ll still be able to do plenty of damage to you if you stick around and let him.”
He held it back out to her. “Maybe you should just—”
“Take it. You’re going to be out here alone. Once I get inside, I’ll have the house guardian on my side.” She looked at the house, at the van…back at Jethro. “We’ve got to move. You ready?”
“For this? Never.” He shook his head, barely able to believe what he was about to do. “I guess I’ll just fake it.”
“Exactly,” she said with satisfaction, and quite abruptly disappeared. Abruptly and literally. Sam in the bushes…Sam gone. He thought he felt the touch of her hand on his; he definitely heard her murmur that he should give her a moment to reach the house before he started his noise.
Holy freakin’ fakin’ it.
Chapter 6
S am only hoped Jeth could bring himself to join her world long enough to provide the distraction she’d need.
Of course, she also hoped that they hadn’t delayed too long, that Scalpucci was so cocky he hadn’t brought the manpower he’d need once Sam got into the middle of things….
She had no illusions about her ability to tackle these men. She was scrappy in a fight and she knew all the street moves she’d ever need, but she was small and even regular workouts didn’t provide her with the upper body strength to match the steroid-enhanced creatures with whom Scalpucci surrounded himself.
On the other hand, she wasn’t above cheating. Hell, she didn’t think twice about cheating. And the men in that house would find it almost impossible to hit a moving, invisible target. If she took out the lights, they might not even realize she was anything more—or less—than a quick opponent in the dark.
But before that, she wanted the women out of there—both the refugees and the house guardian. And even then…if she got them out cleanly, then she could avoid the whole confrontational thing altogether.
Sam found the back door, a closed and locked half-glass door that she could have picked had she brought her tools but would instead sacrifice to the cause as soon as Jeth made his noise. The backyard spread out behind her, fully landscaped and crammed with the foliage of a mature neighborhood in a city full of green space. Plenty of places for the women to take cover on the way out. Sheers covered the half-glass door, giving her only a fuzzy view of the interior. Lights blazed in the kitchen directly beyond this door, but no one occupied it. Beyond that stood a small dining room—the same room she’d seen from the window beside the house.
There the women had been gathered, though Sam could only see glimpses—the flash of movement, a faint shriek of
And she was right, too. “The van,” he blurted. “Maybe it’s got an alarm. I can set it off. Or if it doesn’t have an alarm, it must have a horn. Even if they don’t come out to check, it should give you cover.”
“Why, Jeth,” Sam said, and batted her eyelashes at him in the darkness. “How sly you can be when you put your mind to it.” And then, more seriously, “At least one of them will probably come out to check. Don’t hang around.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a tiny gun, an automatic in a tailored holster; she held it out to him.
He took it in disbelief, fingers running over the leather. “Is this real? ”
“It’s real enough. It’s a mousegun. It’s got eight rounds and there’s one already in the chamber. There’s no safety—that’s why the holster.” She tapped the trigger through the holster. “Pull the trigger, and you’re going to get a bang. And if you need it, don’t screw around. Jam it right up close before they even know you have it and empty the damn thing. Don’t expect someone the size of the guy we put down at the last house to take an instant dive—depending how the shots are placed, he’ll still be able to do plenty of damage to you if you stick around and let him.”
He held it back out to her. “Maybe you should just—”
“Take it. You’re going to be out here alone. Once I get inside, I’ll have the house guardian on my side.” She looked at the house, at the van…back at Jethro. “We’ve got to move. You ready?”
“For this? Never.” He shook his head, barely able to believe what he was about to do. “I guess I’ll just fake it.”
“Exactly,” she said with satisfaction, and quite abruptly disappeared. Abruptly and literally. Sam in the bushes…Sam gone. He thought he felt the touch of her hand on his; he definitely heard her murmur that he should give her a moment to reach the house before he started his noise.
Holy freakin’ fakin’ it.
Chapter 6
S am only hoped Jeth could bring himself to join her world long enough to provide the distraction she’d need.
Of course, she also hoped that they hadn’t delayed too long, that Scalpucci was so cocky he hadn’t brought the manpower he’d need once Sam got into the middle of things….
She had no illusions about her ability to tackle these men. She was scrappy in a fight and she knew all the street moves she’d ever need, but she was small and even regular workouts didn’t provide her with the upper body strength to match the steroid-enhanced creatures with whom Scalpucci surrounded himself.
On the other hand, she wasn’t above cheating. Hell, she didn’t think twice about cheating. And the men in that house would find it almost impossible to hit a moving, invisible target. If she took out the lights, they might not even realize she was anything more—or less—than a quick opponent in the dark.
But before that, she wanted the women out of there—both the refugees and the house guardian. And even then…if she got them out cleanly, then she could avoid the whole confrontational thing altogether.
Sam found the back door, a closed and locked half-glass door that she could have picked had she brought her tools but would instead sacrifice to the cause as soon as Jeth made his noise. The backyard spread out behind her, fully landscaped and crammed with the foliage of a mature neighborhood in a city full of green space. Plenty of places for the women to take cover on the way out. Sheers covered the half-glass door, giving her only a fuzzy view of the interior. Lights blazed in the kitchen directly beyond this door, but no one occupied it. Beyond that stood a small dining room—the same room she’d seen from the window beside the house.
There the women had been gathered, though Sam could only see glimpses—the flash of movement, a faint shriek of
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