I quietly made my way to the door and opened it wide, immediately seeing a shadow in the darkness.
“Woody,” Casper breathed.
“All set?” I asked. His shadow nodded.
“Cam’s stayin’ up here in case one of ’em gets past us.”
“Won’t happen,” I murmured. Then I shut my mouth and led him to the top of the stairs.
If I knew my team, they were already positioned around the first floor, and I listened for any whisper of noise that would tell me where the intruder had entered the house. For Cecilia’s sake, I hoped that we could end this shit quickly and quietly.
As we reached the bottom of the stairs, a lanky shadow emerged on our left and I lifted my hand to keep Casper from hitting him.
“Rock and roll,” Wilson breathed, his shadow becoming clearer as he stepped closer. Then he started singing, the sound barely audible.
Ignoring him, I took the lead as we made our way toward the entryway. The front door was slightly cracked, and I let out a slow breath as I moved in that direction. The living room was the only place between me and the door, and I really fucking hoped that the motherfucker was in there. If he wasn’t, that meant he was somewhere behind us.
Wilson went low and I went high as we cleared the room.
“Shit,” Casper said under his breath.
We spun back toward the front door and I silently closed it and slid the deadbolt home. Leaving it open had either been sloppy or easy access for whoever he’d left outside, and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to make it easy for them to send in reinforcements.
Just as we’d rounded the corner and hit the dining room, a flash of light came from my right and I swore as the bullet hit my shoulder and knocked me back a step.
“Mine,” Casper said, returning fire. The thud of the body hitting the floor sounded at nearly the same time as his gunshot.
“Kitchen,” Wilson said, taking the lead. We followed him, and found Lu on the floor and Forrest slicing the throat of another man.
“There’s two?” Wilson asked as Forrest dropped the body.
“Four,” Forrest replied.
“Fuck,” I whispered, dropping to a knee to check Lu’s pulse. It was strong and I couldn’t see any blood, but she was completely out.
“I got her,” Forrest said as I stood. “Go.”
The only thing I had ever hated about the house was the sheer number of rooms it had. While it was good for holding larger groups of people, it was also a logistical nightmare. As we cleared room by room, I grew more and more anxious.
They couldn’t have made it past us and up the stairs, but I fucking hated the fact that it was taking so long to find the motherfuckers.
“—in the name of love,” Wilson whisper-sung as we moved. “Pour some sugar—gotcha.” In less than a second, he was reaching into the darkness, moving so fast that I didn’t even have a chance to respond. The third man was a little harder to take down, and as Wilson fought him, still singing, I cleared the rest of the room. Unfortunately, he was the only one in there.
“Double back,” Casper said, tapping me on the shoulder.
I nodded as we moved back toward the front of the house.
The hallway leading to the command room was empty, and I knew without checking that the room itself was empty. Wilson had installed fingerprint locks that were only used in case of a breach, and he would’ve activated them before he left his lair.
How the fuck we’d missed the last man as we’d searched the house was beyond me, but he hadn’t been in the living room when we’d been in there before. As we rounded the couch, we found him lying flat on his back, partially hidden in the shadows. I would’ve liked to question him, but when I saw his pistol pointed in our direction I didn’t hesitate. The first shot hit exactly where I’d aimed. I probably didn’t need to shoot him the second time. I did anyway.
“All clear,” Eli said, strolling into the room.
“Where the fuck have you been?” I asked, letting Casper take the pistol from my hand so I could put pressure on my shoulder.
“Takin’ care of business outside,” Eli replied calmly. “They won’t be reporting back, but I have a feeling they’ll be missed sooner rather than later.”
“We gotta go,” I said, hurrying toward the stairs.
“Need to get a look at that shoulder,” Forrest said as he led Lu out of the kitchen.
“Alright?” I asked her.
“Just pissed,” she replied in disgust. “Must have been in the bathroom when the silent alarm tripped. Asshole knocked me out when I went to get a glass of water.”
“I do not appreciate visitors showing up unannounced,” Wilson said as he joined us. “It’s just poor manners.”
I ignored him as I took the stairs two at a time, Casper on my heels.
“That kid is fuckin’ weird,” he said. “Was he singin’—”
“Def Leppard,” I replied. “Yep.”
We parted ways as we reached our rooms and the lights came back on just as I reached the closet. Kneeling down, I winced as I reached for the carpet with both hands, sliding my fingers across it until I found the seam. I could feel the blood dripping down my arm inside the sweatshirt, but I ignored it and the burn of my shoulder as I found the seam and dragged my finger under it until I found the latch.
I swung open the door and the relief at finding Cecilia and Olive safe warred with the dread that hit me as she tilted her head up at the light.
Her face was completely emotionless. Blank.
“Come here, baby,” I said softly, reaching for her.
Her hand met mine instantly and she let me pull her to her feet.
“It was dark in there,” she said distractedly, laying Olive on the floor so she could crawl out of the hole.
“I’m sorry,” I said, watching her closely as she picked Olive back up.
Cecilia didn’t respond. She just stood there, rocking slightly.
“Jesus,” Farrah said as she came into the room behind me. “I’m getting too old for this shit. Are you okay?”
“She’s fine,” I responded when Cecilia didn’t. Reaching into the space, I grabbed her bag, gritting my teeth as my shoulder protested the movement. “We’re leavin’ now.”
“Cody told me,” Farrah replied with a nod. She looked back and forth between me and Cecilia, her brow furrowed. “CeeCee?”
“Yeah?” Cecilia asked easily, looking over at her mom.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah,” Cecilia replied as I gently walked her out of the closet.
“Chief,” Forrest interrupted, barging into the room. “I need to take a look at that shoulder. Sit.” He pointed to the bed.
“It’s fine,” I argued, urging Cecilia forward with my hand at the small of her back. “You can look at it later.”
“Boy,” he said, half amused and half pissed. “Sit your ass down.”
“Take her out of here?” I said quietly to Farrah.
“Sure thing.” She grabbed the bag from my hand and wrapped her arm around Cecilia’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s find your dad.”
“Mark?” Cecilia asked, looking over her shoulder at me, her face still void of any emotion whatsoever.