Page 58 of Hunted

She glances around at West playing around on his phone, and King sitting with her feet in his lap as he watches the TV. Reece is showering, so it’s just the four of us right now.

Turning back to me, she drops her voice to a whisper as she asks, “Don’t you think it’s time I move around? It’s basically been two weeks.”

“No,” West says firmly, somehow hearing her from across the room.

“But it’s been two weeks! You guys said I could move around!” she complains, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration.

“It’s been twelve days.”

“Technically…” I say, all eyes turning to me, “It’s been twelve days since we got to this house. But thirteen days since she got the stitches.”

Her eyes widen in excitement. “That means tomorrow I can get up!”

We both look at West, who frowns at her, staying silent. I decide to try and get him to concede, knowing how happy it’ll make Zee.

“Look at her wound, if you’re not sure. It’s totally healed over; she’s not even taking any pain medication anymore.”

He pinches his lips tightly before he lets out a deep breath. “Fine. Tomorrow though.” He points a finger at Zee. “Not today, understand?”

She nods her head excitedly and gifts us with a huge smile. West’s face instantly softens, seeing how happy he made her.

Suddenly, the sound of glass smashing surrounds us. I wrap my arm around Zee, pushing her to the floor, and covering her with my body. She surprises me by not screaming and stays quiet as West starts barking commands.

Reece’s voice enters the mix, and I lift my head and see the room filling with smoke. Sniffing, I don’t smell any fire, so where’s the smoke coming from? And what smashed the window?

“Bower?!” Reece yells from somewhere in the room.

“I’ve got her,” I call out from our position on the floor.

“Stay there. King, take this, watch their back.” I hear a scurry of footsteps and then a pained grunt fills our ears.

Someone else is here.

Zee gasps and I kiss the side of her head, trying to reassure her. But without knowing what’s going on or who made that noise, there’s nothing we can do but wait here like sitting ducks.

“Bower,” King whispers from close by.

“Yeah?”

“We need to get her out of this room; they probably saw us through the glass before they broke in. Can you pick her up and follow me?”

“Yeah.” Silently, I move off her and scoop her up, as she wraps her arms around my neck. King grabs my arm and quickly leads me down the hall. As we get to the end, the smoke thins out, and he pushes us into one of the smaller bedrooms at the front of the house, one with just a single window. Glancing out of it, I see nothing out there as King leads us into the closet.

He holds it open and ushers us in. I set Zee down at the back and place myself in front of her. King nods, then points over his shoulder. “I’m going to hide in the room, so if someone comes in…” He looks down at the gun in his hand. “Then I’ll handle it.”

He’s never shot anyone before, but I have no doubt he’ll do what he needs to, to protect his family. I nod, and he shuts the door. I sit on my butt, my feet on the floor in front of me and my knees bent as I stare at the closed closet door.

Zee’s fingers dig into the back of my shirt as she whispers, “What’s happening?”

“Someone broke in. We need to stay quiet.”

“What about Reece and West?”

“They can handle themselves.”

“We should help them,” she says, her fingers digging in more.

“We’re helping them by staying out of their way so they can focus on the threat. You need to stay quiet now, okay?”