“Police, freeze!” Beau yelled.
Collier gave him a sideways glance. “That’s my line.”
“Habit.”
Collier laughed. “Mystic Lake Police Department. You’re surrounded. Drop your weapons. Come out with your hands up.”
“They’re surrounded? Really?” Beau arched a brow.
“They don’t know that they’re not.”
Beau laughed, then grabbed a rock and tossed it at the front porch. It landed with a loud thud.
Silence.
Sierra checked her phone. “Nothing. I think they’re gone.”
“Gone where?” Collier asked. “What did you see in the video?”
“Just a glimpse of the sliders from the foyer,” Beau said. “The ones off the back deck that you said wasn’t scalable. They all headed out but never came back inside.”
“Did they have ropes with them?” Collier asked.
“Not that I saw.” Beau gripped his pistol tighter. “You should both stay here, in case this is a trick and they’re waiting to ambush whoever comes through that door. It’s not like one little camera is going to catch everything they do.” He turned to look at Collier. “You okay with that plan?”
“Um, sure, Chief. But I don’t think Sierra agrees.” He pointed toward the house.
Beau whirled around to see her sprinting toward the porch, shotgun out in front of her.
He bolted after her, catching up just as she flung the front door open. He grabbed her and jerked her to the side as he ducked down and aimed his pistol inside.
She flung his arm off her, swearing at him in a mixture of English and Spanish.
He couldn’t help grinning. “Your accent gets really noticeable when you’re angry.”
Her eyes narrowed, but before she could say anything, Collier jogged up beside Beau, aiming his gun inside the foyer.
“Clear.” He slid in past them and swung his gun toward the right side, the kitchen area. “Clear.”
Beau rushed into the foyer, covering him from his left side. “Clear.” He motioned toward the back doors on either side of the fireplace, indicating Collier should go right while he went left. He held up his fingers, counting down from three. Two. One.
They rushed into the living area, diving and rolling past the sliders and coming up on opposite ends of the large room, guns aimed out at the deck.
Beau leaned forward, peering through the glass, looking left and right. He glanced over at Collier who looked at him and shook his head. Nothing. No sign of the intruders on the deck.
Remaining silent, they cleared all the rooms down the long hall, quickly and efficiently as a well-oiled team used to training and working together for years. The house was definitely empty. Now to see where the men had gone.
Heading up the hallway toward the living room, Beau said, “Let’s head out onto the deck. They must have had some equipment out there already and rappelled down. There’s no other exit. Let’s go.”
They emerged from the hall and Beau started swearing again. The slider on the right side was open and Sierra was stepping into the family room from the deck.
“Clear,” she said, mimicking them. “No sign of the ninjas.”
“I really wish you would stop charging off on your own like that,” Beau told her. “It’s dangerous.” He moved past her along with Collier, and they aimed their guns over the railing.
Beau stopped at the far left side, then shook his head and shoved his pistol in his holster. “I should have thought of that.”
Collier strode to him and looked down. “What is that thing?”
