Page 33 of Darkwater Lane (Stillhouse Lake #7)

He doesn’t answer. Instead, his hand rings my biceps, his grip tight enough that it will leave bruises. He drags me through the house toward the shattered front door .

“The alarm,” he shouts, nodding to the keypad on the wall. “What’s the code so we can shut this fucking thing off?”

I hesitate. The alarm is tied to both the Norton police station and directly to Kez’s cell phone.

Both should have already been notified and be on their way.

By now, half the lake is probably awake and wondering what the hell is going on.

That’s really all that matters: Someone out there is watching us.

Probably several folks. They know something’s happening and that we need help.

If these men do anything wrong, there will be witnesses.

I give him the code. He keys it in, and the night falls silent. The sudden quiet is almost dizzying. It doesn’t last long as he shoves me through the broken door.

Outside, the night blazes with lights—not just the red and blue of half a dozen police vehicles but also work lights that have been set up on the lawn, their glare directed at the house. Every now and again, the spotlight from the circling helicopter blazes around us.

Lanny stands by the back of an ambulance, a silver foil blanket draped across her shoulders. A medic is trying to listen to her heart and lungs, but she’s not having any of it. “I’m fine,” she says, batting another medic away.

The minute she sees me, she drops the blanket and runs toward me. “Mom!”

The men detaining me try to stop her, but they underestimate her. She barrels through them, elbowing one in the ribs, until she crashes into me. I feel her solid warmth against me for a heartbeat before they drag her away.

“Hey! Stop that!” She fights, spitting and clawing to get back to me. “Get off me! Let go, you asshole!”

“Lanny,” I say, trying to get her to focus. “Where are Connor and Sam?”

She stops struggling. Her eyes go wide. “What do you mean? They’re not inside?”

In my head, I hear the echoes of those earlier gunshots.

Panic claws at my thoughts, but I can’t let it gain purchase.

We have a plan for situations like this.

We’ve drilled it dozens of times. If there’s any threat at the house, the kids are supposed to lock their bedroom doors, check to make sure the outside is clear, and then run like hell.

I hope to God that’s what Connor did and that he’s halfway to Easy Claremont’s house by now. Kez’s father is a Korean War vet. He’ll keep Connor safe.

Just then, I hear a scuffle around the corner. A trio of armed men appear from the back of the house, dragging a fourth man between them. It’s Sam. His formerly white shirt is torn and bloody, and his plaid pajama pants are caked with mud. His hands are cuffed behind his back.

“Sam!” I shout.

He glances my way, and I suck in a breath. Blood gushes from his nose and is smeared across his cheeks. One eye is already swelling shut. Everything inside me wants to race to him and run my hands over him, checking for damage.

As if sensing this, he catches my eye and shakes his head. Telling me to stay put. “ Connor ?” I mouth the word, not wanting the men around me to overhear.

Sam’s response is one word: “ Safe .”

My knees nearly give out in relief. Whatever shots were fired earlier, none seem to have found their intended target.

A new voice joins the fray, this one female and brimming with authority and outrage. “What the fuck is going on here?” It’s Kezia. She’s out of breath from climbing the driveway at nine months pregnant but she doesn’t show it.

All I can think is thank God.

She storms into the middle of the chaos, hands on her hips and expression formidable, commanding attention. She scans the situation, eyes quickly lighting on both me and Lanny to ensure we’re okay before finally finding Sam .

She curses under her breath as she storms over to him. “Jesus, Sam. You okay?”

He manages to get his feet under him and stands, wincing slightly. “Never better.”

“The guy ran when we told him to stop,” one of the cops holding Sam volunteers.

“Yeah, he was resisting arrest,” the other chimes in, defending their obvious use of force.

Kez narrows her eyes at them, lips pursed to show her disbelief.

She shakes her head, then turns, her attention falling on a tank of a man standing nearby.

She clearly recognizes him. “Jenkins. Care to explain what this is?” She waves a hand around, indicating the half-dozen cop cars, the ambulance, and the helicopter overhead.

“We got a credible call that a young girl’s life was in danger,” he says.

“And what did this call say, exactly?”

“We had a report that a man and woman at this address were trafficking their daughter. Man who reported it said he’d been keeping an eye on the place, gathering up evidence, but then he heard shouting and a cry for help, followed by gunfire.”

She quirks an eyebrow. “And you believed the caller?”

Jenkins shifts. “He’s a credible source.”

“Who?” Kez demands.

He doesn’t answer, saying instead, “We had reason to believe there was ongoing violence occurring, and exigent circumstances dictated we act immediately.”

“Mm-hmm. Don’t you think this is overkill?”

He raises his eyebrows. “You ever been to the range with one of these two?” he asks, indicating Sam and me. “Everyone knows they’re armed to the teeth, and both got reputations for violence.”

Kez blows out a frustrated breath. “You know I’m supposed to be alerted when there’s any activity involving this address. ”

He shrugs defensively. “You’re supposed to be on maternity leave, ain’t ya?”

She runs a hand down her face. “Come on, Jenkins. Haven’t you ever heard of swatting? If you’d called me, I could have told you that’s what this was, and we could have saved a lot of time and taxpayer dollars.”

He glowers at her. “I wasn’t going to take that chance. Not when there are kids’ lives at stake and Sam Cade’s already under suspicion for murder.”

“Well, you’ve got eyes on the girl now, and she’s okay. Aren’t you, Lanny?” She directs that last bit toward my daughter.

“Other than the fact that these assholes scared me shitless and one of these apes manhandled me out of my own fucking house in the middle of the damn night, yeah.”

I notice one of the younger cops near her wincing at her language. I fight the urge to smile. Lanny’s always been feisty, especially when it comes to authority.

Kez nods. “That’s the end of that. Clear the scene. We’re done here.”

“No, ma’am,” Jenkins says, shaking his head. “We’ve got Sam Cade for resisting arrest. We’re not letting that one go.”

“Assaulting an officer too,” one of the cops guarding Sam adds. He holds up his hand. His knuckles look to be split, most likely from punching the shit out of my partner.

“That’s not a good idea, Jenkins,” Kez warns.

He gives her a tight smile. “You ain’t the one calling the shots.” He turns to his men. “Load him up.”

“And this one?” the cop at my arm asks.

Jenkins looks me over. I lift my chin, glaring at him. If he’s hoping I’ll cower at his supposed authority, he has another thing coming. I don’t cower. Not to pricks like him.

He waves a hand. “Let her go.”

The cop by my side seems surprised. “You sure? ”

“I don’t feel like doing the extra paperwork,” Jenkins says dismissively.

The minute the cuffs are off, and my arms are free, Lanny launches herself at me. Kez is next, and as her arms come around me, I find myself leaning against her.

“I got a text from Easy,” she murmurs in my ear. “Says Connor’s up at his place.”

My throat burns with relieved tears. I nod my thanks.

She squeezes tighter. “You okay?”

I don’t trust my voice and nod again, even though I’m not sure it’s entirely true. Already I can feel the aftereffects of the adrenaline dump coursing through me. My limbs feel heavy, and tears prick the backs of my eyes. I swallow several times, trying to regain control before I let her go.

“I can’t believe some dickwad calls the cops with a bullshit story, and we get our door broken down and asses hauled out of bed in the middle of the night,” Lanny spits. She’s mad. Anger is always easier to handle than fear.

“I have a feeling I know who called it in,” Kez says.

“I saw one of the Belldenes’ trucks off the side of the road down the hill from your driveway.

I was in too big a hurry to get here to get a look at who was inside.

But I can’t think of any other reason a Belldene would be out this way in the middle of the night. ”

“Unless they knew what was about to go down and wanted a front-row seat,” I finish for her.

She nods.

I drop my chin to my chest, the tension in my shoulders wound so tight they ache. We’d been trying to keep a low profile, but apparently, it wasn’t low enough. “Didn’t take them long to find out we were here.”

Beside me, Lanny shuffles her feet. “That, uh, may be my fault. I told Florida we were back.” She says it softly, hesitantly, as if afraid I might get mad.

Florida is one of the Belldene kids— around Lanny’s age.

She played a pivotal role in helping us track Connor after he was kidnapped by some religious zealots a few years back.

“But she swore she wasn’t going to tell anyone in her family,” Lanny adds.

I eye my daughter. I’m both fiercely proud of the woman she’s become and terrified about what she still has to learn. Despite everything she’s been through, there’s still a part of her that wants to believe in people. That wants to see good in the world.

She still trusts. It’s a liability, but I can’t bring myself to quash that part of her.

I just have to figure out how to teach her to balance that optimism with reality without becoming too jaded.

“It’s a small community,” I tell her. “It wasn’t going to be long before they learned we were back. I was just hoping they wouldn’t still be carrying such a grudge. Or that they might at least give us a little bit of time before trying to scare us off again.”

“I’ll talk to Jasper,” Kez says.

“Don’t bother,” I tell her, waving my hand. “It’s not going to change anything. They never listened to law enforcement before, why would they start now?”

Kez shakes her head. “The Belldenes swatted you, Gwen. They called in a false report, knowing it would lead to the authorities sending armed men to break down your door. You could have been killed. Your kids could have been shot.”

She’s right. I shiver at how easily tonight could have turned even uglier. The reality is the Belldenes are the violent sort, but they’ve never crossed the line into actual mortal danger. Not with my kids, at least.

Until now.

“We’ll figure out a way to deal with them,” I tell her.

“Anything I can do to help— legally —you let me know.” Kez gestures to her car parked down at the bottom of the driveway. “For now, let me drive you to the station. I can see if I can get Sam’s paperwork expedited.”

“You’re nearly nine months pregnant, Kez. Go home. I can take care of Sam. This isn’t our first rodeo with the police.”

“How about I drop by Easy’s and pick Connor up? He and Lanny can stay in the barn. It will be safer at our place, at least until you get your front door fixed.”

I glance at the house and wince. The front door is nothing but shards of splintered wood, scraps of it still clinging to warped hinges.

“I want to go with you, Mom,” Lanny protests.

I slip an arm across her shoulders and pull her against me. “I need you with Connor,” I tell her. “I’m worried about how tonight might have impacted him.” I don’t have to say more. She nods.

“And, Lanny?” I add. “You did good tonight.”

She shakes her head. “No, I didn’t. I was terrified.”

“Of course you were. So was I. Armed men broke into our house in the middle of the night.”

“So? I should have run like Connor did. That’s what we drilled. But I wasn’t fast enough to get to the window. It was stupid to hide in the closet.” She sounds angry at herself, and it breaks my heart. What is this life doing to my kids?

I take her hand and squeeze. “You kept yourself safe, that’s what matters. You didn’t panic.”

She looks like she wants to argue but ends up mumbling, “Whatever,” and then turns and starts down the driveway to Kez’s car. I want to run after her, grab her, and pull her into a hug. I want to stop the world from turning and forcing my daughter to grow up so fast.

But I can’t. Every second that ticks by brings her closer and closer to independence. To that moment when I won’t be there to shield her against the threats that stalk us.

Like I wasn’t there tonight , I remind myself. I’d been impotent. Thrown on the floor and pinned down and utterly unable to do anything to help her.

I’d failed.

All this time, I’ve seen myself as their protector. I’ve believed that, so long as I’m there, I can keep them safe.

It’s a lie.

And that’s the real reason I need to start trusting my kids and giving them space: not for the day when I’m no longer around, but for times like tonight, when I’m here and it doesn’t matter. When they’re on their own regardless of my presence.

As if sensing my internal struggle, Kez places her hand on my arm. “It’s okay, Gwen.”

I’m still trembling, the aftereffects of shock making their way through me. “I could have lost them all tonight,” I tell her, my throat aching.

“But you didn’t,” she reminds me.

I close my eyes and drop my chin to my chest, trying to quiet the emotions churning inside me. “Thank you for coming.”

She squeezes my arm. “That’s what family’s for.”

I take a deep breath and let it out, struggling to find my center once more. “I guess I need to go wake up our lawyer in the middle of the night and get my partner out of jail. Again.”