Page 21 of Unlikely Guardian

It was difficult to hear him with her heartbeat crashing in her ears. “What does that mean?” Lilly waited, holding her breath. Praying.

“It means whoever tried to kill you is probably on the way here.”

CHAPTER SIX

Jason hadn’t thought this day could possibly get any harder.

But he was obviously wrong.

He glanced at Lilly. She’d gone pale and had flattened her hand over her chest as if to try to steady her heart. Her lips were so tightly pinched together, they were practically white.

“Can you get out of the wheelchair and onto the floor?” he asked.

She gave a choppy nod and, hoping she could do it on her own, he immediately turned his attention back to the window. Or rather, back to the street that fronted the house. There wasn’t a moving car in sight, but he couldn’t count on it staying that way. If this was the latest attempt by the would-be killer and he or she could somehow bypass the security code, then they were all in danger.

Behind him, he heard Lilly maneuver herself out of the chair. He wished like the devil that he’d had time to carry her to the storage closet—aka the panic room—that he’d modified in case of a situation just like this one. But he couldn’t take the risk of leaving the front of the house unguarded. That kind of move could put Megan in too much danger. And he was certain Lilly would agree with his decision. Megan had to come first.

“Will Megan be okay?” Lilly asked.

“Of course.” Jason prayed that was true. He’d considered that the perp would figure out where they were, but he’d honestly believed that the guy wouldn’t make an attempt in broad daylight to come after Lilly. He had also believed his security measures would be enough.

They had to be enough.

Because the alternative was unthinkable.

“What about surveillance cameras?” Lilly asked. Her voice was shaking. “Is there one at the gate?”

“Yes.” But the security company had already told him that the vehicle had heavily tinted windows and that the driver’s face was obscured. In other words, they would send the video to the crime lab for analysis, but they couldn’t rely on the images to make an ID.

Hell.

Without an ID or without a face-to-face confrontation, they might not figure out who was behind this. Of course, Jason wanted to know that so he could arrest the guy. But he didn’t want that info at the expense of further risking the lives of the people inside his house.

Staying by the edge of the window, he fastened his attention to the street. Still no cars. No one, in fact. That was a plus on their side. Maybe this way, no innocent bystanders would be involved.

The spring breeze wasn’t cooperating. It kept stirring the thick shrubs and massive oak trees that dotted the neighborhood. Each flicker of movement, each sway of the branches, every harmless sound spiked his adrenaline and sent his gaze whipping around the visible area. Thankfully, it was only the visible area he had to be concerned with because there was no street to the back of the house. And if the person gave up trying to disarm the gate and simply climbed over it, the security company would alert him.

That thought must have tempted fate.

His phone rang, the sound slicing through the room.

Jason didn’t take his eyes off the street; nor did he lower his gun. Holding his breath, he pulled out his cell phone and took the call.

“It’s over,” he heard the now-familiar voice of the security company employee say. “The person gave up and drove away.”

Jason released his breath. “Are officers in pursuit?”

“Negative. They haven’t arrived yet.”

That was not what he wanted to hear. “Call them now. Give them a description of the vehicle.” Maybe it wouldn’t be too late for them to apprehend and make an arrest.

“He’s gone?” Lilly asked.

“It appears that way.”

Jason pushed the end button on his phone and looked back at her. She was climbing into her wheelchair. Not easily, either. It was obvious the muscles in her legs weren’t anywhere close to being a hundred percent. He considered helping her, but his instincts yelled for him to continue to keep watch.

So that’s what he did.

---