Page 50 of Critical Alliance (Rocky Mountain Courage 3)

FIFTEEN

Stay close to me.” Alex held his gun, ready for any threat coming at them.

He never should have brought her back here. Alex gritted his teeth and shut the door behind them, then he stood in front of her on the porch. They had both sensed that someone had approached—but that had been when they were outside on the deck. Maybe what they had sensed was someone entering the house.

“Hurry.” He led her quickly down the steps, and they got in the car. He started it, then headed away from the house. “I’m getting a safe distance away.”

He steered along the long drive, then onto the county road, where he turned around and parked at the end of the drive, leaving the engine running. Relief washed through him that they’d made it without incident.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m calling 911.” He made the call and explained that someone had broken into the house. The dispatcher told him a deputy would arrive soon.

Not likely. The county was big. This road long. But he would wait for whoever showed up while he protected Mackenzie.

“I feel kind of silly. Are you sure we didn’t just leave the door open?” she asked. “I mean, I turned the alarm off, then opened the French doors. Maybe a vacuum caused the front door to open too.”

“We were being watched. I could feel it.”

They sat in eerie silence for a few long moments, during which time he searched the darkness with his monocular.

“What about your detective friends? Jack and Nathan?”

“I’m not sure who will show up tonight, but it’s worth sending a text.” Though at the same time, he hated to disturb them at almost midnight.

Alex started a text, but before he could send it, lights flashed in his rearview mirror. Friend or foe? He would remain cautious until he knew who was approaching the house. It seemed too soon for a deputy to arrive, but he thought he recognized the vehicle and the man behind the wheel. Tension eased out of his shoulders.

He decided to head closer to the house, then stopped near the entrance. Nathan Campbell parked his vehicle behind Alex and stepped out. Then a regular county vehicle pulled in behind Nathan, and a deputy Alex didn’t recognize stepped out.

“Wait in the car,” Alex said to Mackenzie. Then he got out and shook hands with Nathan. “What are you doing here?”

“I asked to be informed of anything happening at the Hanson cabin. While Henry . . . er . . . Sheriff Gibson is out of town, I’m in charge. Plus, I was heading away from Stone Wolf Ranch, so I was close enough. You still have an intruder?”

“I’m not sure,” Alex said.

“You wait here with Mackenzie, and Deputy Weeks and I will check out the house.”

“We closed the door behind us, so it could be locked. Let me at least get you inside.”

Alex ran to the car and grabbed the key from Mackenzie, then the three rushed to the house. He unlocked the door. Mackenzie hadn’t reset the security alarm when they fled, so he didn’t need to disarm it. Then he flipped on the lights—he’d never been a fan of the low-light tactics used by some in law enforcement.

“Go back and stay with Mackenzie,” Nathan said.

While Nathan and the deputy cleared the house, Alex decided instead to stay at the door, blocking that exit as he watched the vehicle where Mackenzie waited. The lights flicked on all through the house as the detective and deputy cleared each room, communicating as they did.

Alex took a few glimpses through his monocular at the woods surrounding the front and sides of the house. If the intruder was the same person who shot at them on the trail, then they were definitely armed and dangerous.

His skin prickled again, sensing the danger. He glanced at the French doors down the long hallway from the foyer. Another exit. If someone was still inside, they could go through a window, the front door, the French doors, the exit to the deck, the kitchen exit into the garage...

The lights flicked off.

He tensed and gripped his weapon. Now the intruder had the advantage. And help—if Mackenzie’s cybercriminal had been the reason the lights went off.

Holding his gun ready, he peered through the night with his monocular.

Gunfire rang out from upstairs, shattering the silence.

Adrenaline surged as he took cover and prepared to return fire if needed. A figure bounded down the stairs, hopped over the rail, and ran toward the French doors. Flashlights beamed on the stairs as the deputies followed. Alex dropped the monocular to give chase.