Page 41 of Legends Luke

Lyric sobbed. “I can’t. W-what if they g-get inside before I c-can g-g-et there?”

“Just do what I say, okay? Trust me, Lyric. I’m going to get you through this. I need you to find a new place to hide. Go. Now!”

He heard her scrambling and guessed she was doing what he said. He looked at Melody and squeezed her arm to get her to focus on him.

“Does Lyric have a video doorbell like you do?” At her nod, he continued. “Good. I need a laptop. Quick.”

Melody scurried to her bedroom and returned with a two-in-one laptop which wasn’t as powerful as his own, but Luke could make it work.

“I’m here. In my bathroom. I locked the door and pushed a chair in front of it,” Lyric said. “Where’s Melon?”

Melody swallowed, and Luke could see her getting a hold of her emotions before she responded. “I’m here, Bird. We’re not going anywhere. Are any of your neighbors around?”

“I don’t know, but they’re not coming out if they are. These guys are crazy. I’m scared.”

He had Melody enter her login credentials, and then he went to work, his fingers flying over the keyboard. “You’re doing great, Lyric. No matter what, you stay on the phone with us. If you hear them getting close, stop talking, but stay with us. You can tap the phone to let us know you’re okay without having to say a word. If you lose us, call us back, okay?”

“O-okay.”

He nodded, not thinking about the fact she couldn’t see him. “I need you to talk to me, Lyric. You said you saw them earlier. Tell me about it.”

“I came home after studying at the library. It wasn’t even dark. All I wanted was to take a bath and go to bed. They were in the parking lot. Three of them. I’d never seen them before. They were yelling at me. It was inappropriate. But they didn’t approach me, and I went inside. I don’t know how they knew which apartment is mine. They started pounding on the door, calling me names, and saying they’d teach me a lesson for thinking I was better than them.”

“What did they look like?” Melody asked her sister.

“I didn’t get a good look at them. I thought if I ignored them, they’d leave me alone. I didn’t know they’d come after me.”

The time it took Lyric to fill them in on what happened was all Luke needed to put his hacking skills to work. The 911 dispatch center did have a unit on the way, but there was another unit closer to Lyric’s apartment, based on the address he traced the phone call to. He remotely dispatched the unit, citing an armed and dangerous situation so they would roll up prepared for anything. Then he zeroed in on the signal for the doorbell cam. Pulling the video up felt like it was taking longer than it usually did for him, and he struggled to keep his cool.

When the image finally appeared on the screen, he scowled to note four guys outside Lyric’s door. Even without audio, he could see them shouting and pounding on her apartment door hard enough to shake it within the frame. One drank from a bottle in his hand, but from the way they were acting, he wondered if they were high as well as drunk. One dropped to his haunches and started fiddling with the doorknob — picking the lock, maybe? Luke hoped he was too intoxicated to effectively break in before the authorities arrived.

Then a different guy pulled a Glock from the waistband of his jeans. The others stepped back, so he could fire at the door and bust the lock.

“Shit,” Luke muttered under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” Melody demanded.

“They’re here. Oh, God, they’re inside. I hear them.” Lyric’s voice dipped to a whisper.

“Lyric, listen to me. Is there anything you can use as a weapon? A razor or even the lid to the toilet tank. Anything.”

“The lid is kind of heavy, but I can use it.”

“Heavy’s good. If anyone comes through the bathroom door, you swing it with as much strength as you have. No matter what, you keep swinging until you can get out of there. Help is almost there, so your job is to keep them from getting to you for as long as you can. Do you understand?” Luke waited, his eyes focused on the laptop screen, though once the men were inside, he lost all visual.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Lyric grew quiet, and Luke could only imagine the fear seizing her. The background noises were loud, and Luke pictured the men tearing apart her home looking for her. It was only a matter of time before they realized where she was. Luke held his breath, hating the powerless feeling washing over him.

The air left his lungs in a whoosh when the first two officers appeared on the screen. With their guns drawn, they flanked the opening to the apartment. Through the phone, he could hear shouts as the standoff began. Lyric’s whimper cut through the noise and ripped his heart.

“Lyric, listen to me. You stay put, you understand? No matter what you hear, you don’t come out of there until the police come for you. Melody and I are right here. We’re staying with you until this is over.”

“I’m scared.” Her whisper was barely audible.

“Bird, help is there. All you have to do is stay safe until thepolice come for you. You can do this.” Melody’s voice was thick with emotion, but she held it together as she encouraged her sister.

Luke reached an arm out to draw Melody close to his side as they waited. Time seemed to stand still. He tried to decipher the background noises, but nothing was clear. He was ready to lose his mind when he heard a sharp rap like a fist on a door. Lyric gasped. Luke leaned forward, straining to hear clues as to what was happening.

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