Page 84 of Fatal Intent
A muscle in Grant’s jaw twitched. He glanced over his shoulder. “This way.”
Seth caught up with him. “Your family is outside?”
“Evidently.”
“Not the best plan for security.”
“I’ll try to convince them to move indoors, but I doubt they’ll cooperate.”
Rayne caught glimpses of various rooms and the decor in each as they hurried through the Bowen home. They emerged into a large, lush yard with an enormous patio and an oversized outdoor kitchen, including a large grill. Children ran and playedfurther out in the yard while Grant’s brother and sister and their spouses sat around the patio with his parents. The men manned the grill while the women talked in low tones. All conversation ceased when they noticed Grant and the rest of the Fortress operatives.
A man with salt and pepper hair handed a stainless steel spatula to one of the other men and faced Grant and the others. “It’s about time you made it home, son.” He inclined his head toward the operatives. “Introduce us to your friends.”
“This is my father, John, my mother, Helen, my sister, Isabella and her husband, Tony, and my brother Gabe and his wife Cilla.” Grant introduced the members of their team, leaving Rayne for last. “And this is my girlfriend, Rayne.”
His family murmured polite greetings, then silence fell again.
John motioned to the chairs scattered around the patio. “Please join us. The hamburgers are almost finished, and then we’ll eat. After dinner, when the kids are busy watching a movie, we’ll talk.”
Rayne watched Grant’s father. You had to admire the way he controlled the people in the yard. He hadn’t left them much room to maneuver. John hadn’t wanted the meal interrupted with talk of danger. She agreed with not scaring the children but, like the other members of her team, Rayne was concerned for the safety of Grant’s adult family members.
Seth, Teagan, Iona, Elias, Andre, and Riley moved the chairs so they were spread around the patio in pairs, each couple scanning a different quadrant for danger. That left her and Grant facing the quadrant where the children played.
Rayne scanned and memorized the area beyond the kids. She hoped that if something changed, she would catch it fast enough to sound the warning. But there were so many places to hide,many of them perfect for a sniper to set up a nest. Maybe that’s why her skin crawled.
Rayne glanced at Teagan. Her friend looked grim as she studied the landscape beyond the yard itself. Andre’s attention was on the forested hills at the back of his quadrant. His expression mirrored Teagan’s. Guess the sensation of being watched wasn’t just her. That didn’t make her feel any better.
John rose and checked the burgers, then declared them ready to eat. “Round up the kids. They have to be starving by now.”
“Dad, it would be better for us to eat inside the house,” Grant said, his voice low.
“We’re not running scared. No one may make us afraid to live our lives on this farm the way we see fit.”
“It’s not about rights, Mr. Bowen,” Seth said. “It’s about the safety of your family.”
Gabe snorted. “So we’re supposed to hide like scared kids because Grant brought his work home with him?”
“Do you want to survive?”
“What kind of question is that?” Tony demanded.
“An honest one. You aren’t the only ones in danger.”
John held up his hand as the kids ran onto the patio, begging for food.
Grant said, “Dad, please. Do it for them.”
“Enough.” He looked at his wife. “Go on. Do what we decided.”
Rayne’s stomach tightened into a knot. This was bad on so many levels. Why was John Bowen being so stubborn? What did it matter if he ate one meal inside when the reward was the safety of his family?
With no recourse, Rayne and the rest assumed the role of protectors for the Bowen family. Too many people and toomany places to hide. Would they be able to spot danger before something happened to a person Grant loved?
They spread out, standing back and surveying the area yet again. Rayne’s hands fisted. Something was off. She knew it in her bones but couldn’t pinpoint the location.
As she scanned their quadrant, the fading sunlight glinted off something metal or glass at the farthest edges of the property that she could see. “Grant,” she whispered.
“Where?”
