Page 130 of Sheltering You

Michael and Bryan were quiet, giving her the chance to tell the story.

This wasn’t how she wanted to do this, but it didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered. She’d put these people in danger, these people who’d protected her and given her a home.

Derrick stepped to her side and held her hand, turning to face his family.

“Khalid Qasim is my husband.” Jasmine swallowed and, so they would understand, placed her free hand on her stomach. “He is the father of my child.”

“He’s found her,” Derrick said. “And he’s coming.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

“Start at the beginning.”

They’d all gathered in the living room with the beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows that Derrick had always appreciated. But they left nothing but a half inch of glass between a murderous terrorist and the woman he loved. “We don’t have time for this.” He usually didn’t argue with Grant. And with his brother in warrior mode—arms crossed, expression deadly serious—he was at his most intimidating. But was this really the time to share all the details? “We need to prepare.”

“And to do that, I need to know what we’re up against.”

Derrick pointed to the windows. “We’re not safe here.”

“We are, for now,” Michael said.

They’d pushed the furniture to the perimeter of the room, and most of the family was seated on the floor in front of the fireplace where, if an enemy were to fire a bullet from the ground below, nobody would be hit.

Derrick, Michael, and Grant stood with their backs to the dwindling fire.

Only Jasmine wasn’t seated. She’d refused to settle with the others, instead hovering near the kitchen island. If Derrick guessed correctly, she was debating whether she should stay or bolt out the back door.

The question was, why? Because she was afraid Khalid would catch up with her?

More likely, she was afraid he’d hurt one of the people here in his quest to find her.

Initially, Leila had gone to stand with her, but Michael had insisted—practically dragged her—into the living room and settled her there. “They won’t know you from Jasmine,” Michael had said. “You’re in as much danger as she is.”

Derrick had tried to get Jasmine to join her sister, but she’d absolutely, adamantly refused to budge from her spot, saying something about how she couldn’t sit still, though half the words had been in Arabic, so he’d had to guess at her meaning.

He was considering throwing her over his shoulder and dumping her on the floor.

Daniel stepped up from the basement with two rifles under his arms, two pairs of binoculars, and a couple boxes of ammo. “I only found a few walkie-talkies.” He dropped his finds on a couch and yanked the old communication devices from a jacket pocket, then tossed one to Grant, who snatched it out of the air.

Bryan pushed off the wall and snatched a rifle and ammunition. “I’ll head to the attic. I’ll let you know if I see any boats approaching from the east and south.” Bryan climbed the stairs.

“I’ll cross to the north side of the island.” Grabbing the other rifle, Daniel turned to his father. “That deer blind still there?”

Seated with his back to the end of a sofa, Mom at his side, Dad was all business, like everyone else. Even though he knew very little about what was happening, he asked no questions, trusting his sons. “Reinforced it this summer.”

“That’ll give me a view of the water north and west. If anybody approaches, we’ll see them.” Daniel gave both Camilla and Zoë, his twenty-one-year-old daughter, a quick kiss and mussed Jeremy’s hair. Then, he grabbed the other walkie-talkie and headed toward the door, squeezing Jasmine’s arm on his way, whispering something in her ear before he donned his coat and stepped outside.

“The rest of us need to get into position,” Derrick said. “We need to do something.” He needed to do something.

“We’re working out a plan.” Michael was too calm. “They’ll keep an eye out and tell us⁠—”

“What if Khalid’s already here?” He couldn’t help his demanding tone. “We just sent Daniel out there⁠—”

“They’re not here.” Standing beside him, Grant’s hand clamped on his shoulder. “Dad’s got cameras monitoring the north dock.”

Dad nodded to an iPad on the floor by his feet. “There’s been no activity, son.”

Most of the island sat high above the ocean, steep cliff walls protecting the land. If not for the rain and snow, it was possible enemies could land anywhere and climb. But it was highly unlikely Khalid and his men were prepared to scale slippery cliffs during a snowstorm.