Page 16 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

T he shadow hit Jason hard, and he stumbled backward into Olive.

She caught a glimpse of a figure in dark clothing and a ski mask . . . just before a second attacker emerged from behind the couch.

“Get out!” Jason shouted, pushing Olive toward the door.

But a third masked figure had already moved to block their exit.

The living room erupted into chaos.

Jason threw a punch at the man closest to him, but the attacker barely staggered. Olive grabbed a ceramic lamp from an end table and swung it at the second man as he lunged toward her, the base shattering against his shoulder.

The man blocking the door rushed toward Jason, and they crashed into Nancy’s coffee table, sending books and magazines flying.

Jason rolled away just as the attacker’s fist slammed into the hardwood floor where his head had been a second earlier.

Olive ducked as the third man swung at her. The wind from his fist brushed past her ear.

She grabbed a heavy glass picture frame from the mantelpiece and threw it at his masked face.

He grunted as it made contact and shattered.

The fight was brutal and silent except for the sounds of impact, grunting, and furniture being knocked over.

Jason grabbed a wooden walking stick leaning beside Nancy’s recliner. His fingers closed around the polished handle just as one of the attackers rushed him.

Jason swung the stick in a wide arc, catching the man across the shoulder and sending him stumbling backward into the coffee table.

The second attacker tried to flank him, but Jason pivoted and drove the tip of the walking stick into the man’s ribs. The attacker doubled over with a grunt, giving Jason room to swing again, this time connecting with the side of his head.

But while Jason was focused on the two men in front of him, the third attacker circled around behind Olive.

She heard the soft footfall a split second before a muscled arm snaked around her throat from behind.

The man’s forearm pressed against her windpipe, cutting off her air supply as he pulled her back against his chest.

Olive clawed at the arm around her throat, her fingernails scraping against the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. She smelled his sweat and the faint scent of cigarettes as she struggled to breathe.

Her vision started to blur at the edges as the pressure on her throat increased.

She had to get out of this situation . . . before she ended up dead.

Jason spun around, the walking stick raised like a weapon, and saw Olive trapped in the third man’s grip. “Let her go!”

He swung the stick and smashed it into the side of the man’s head.

The attacker released her and stumbled backward, but he didn’t go down.

Then a new sound cut through the air.

Sirens.

Their noise was faint but getting closer.

The three masked men looked at each other.

Without a word, they began retreating.

The first one Jason had hit with the walking stick kicked over a bookshelf as they moved toward what must be the back door. Volumes crashed to the floor and blocked the path between Jason and Olive and their attackers.

The men disappeared through the rear of the house.

She heard a door slam and then the sound of feet running across what sounded like a wooden deck.

Jason was right behind her as they sprinted to the back door. By the time they reached Nancy’s small backyard, their attackers had vanished into the darkness.