Page 205 of Somebody's Watching Me
But as the emergency vehicles neared, they abruptly turned off the highway before reaching the entrance to Firewater.
Samuel’s entire body went cold. “They’re going to Haven.”
A powerful thud struck the house, and the security system went into overdrive. Every light flashed in time to the bleating chaos of the alarms.
“Turn it off!” Samuel shouted over the noise. “I don’t want the girls scared.”
“This is all in place to disorient intruders.”
“And we don’t need that right now.”
“Yes, we do.”
Switching the image on the screen, Holden returned the feed to the women in time to see one of them running full force at the front door. Even over the alarms, the hard slam of her body against the wood could be heard.
“They’re trying to get in.”
The statement was hardly out of Holden’s mouth when a second woman flung herself at the side beach entrance. Samuel flinched at theimpact, watching as she fell to the ground only to rise again, and return to her original sentry position like a zombie.
“I agree that they’re drugged, but we need to anticipate them going into a frenzied state once they lock on to their target.” Holden continued to try to call for reinforcements but was met with dead air. “And in case you’re wondering, I would say you’re the target, Samuel.”
Zanmi wouldn’t hurt Evie. They would take her, but never harm her. Not when Toby had given them explicit orders.
Then again, the women’s positioning, their drugged state, it was all too coordinated, and more along the lines of something a military man would set into motion.
The lights blinked, and time stopped. They were going for the power.
“Holden?”
Eyes lifted to the lights overhead, Holden shook his head. “The generator will kick on, but the delay…”
“Twenty to thirty seconds. Long enough for them to get in.” Swiping a hand through his hair, Samuel watched a third woman catapult herself at the rear door. “Let’s go while we can and get the girls settled.”
They had practiced. Pretending it was for a hurricane, they had practiced how to hide. It made him sick every single time, but the girls were well versed on what to do so they wouldn’t be scared should it come down to this.
The power flickered, leaving no time to think. No time to figure out his next step. Bolting from the office, Samuel ran through the house with Holden right behind him. They made it to the top of the stairs just as everything plunged into absolute darkness.
Inside the bedroom, Samuel closed the heavy door, engaging the manual security measures to seal all of them in. Installed four years ago thanks to his paranoia, the entry to each of the upstairs rooms functioned as an impenetrable barrier and didn’t require their home’s main power to remainactivated.
With a brave face, Evie sat huddled on the bed with Harper and Theo. “Here he is,” she said cheerfully. “I told you Daddy would be right back.”
“Do we need to go to the closet?” Harper asked. “Is there a storm coming? The lights went out.”
“Not yet, baby.” The power kicked on, and everyone except him and Holden gave a sigh of relief. “But be ready.”
“I be brave.” Theo showed off her muscles. “And strong.”
Dead.
If they entered this room, if they came near his family, those Zanmi women were dead. Drugged and innocent pawns or not, Samuel knew right then he wouldn’t hesitate to end their lives.
“That’s my girl.”
Sensing he was losing it, Josie pulled him across the room so Harper and Theo wouldn’t hear. “Start talking.”
“Four. Armed. Cell service down,” Samuel whispered, holding his wife’s gaze so she could use the connection to stay grounded. Or perhaps it was vice versa at this point. “Alarms to the police are down.”
“I heard sirens.”
