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They’d pulled off the highway to put the top back on the jeep, and just now, the interior of the car was ice cold.
He didn’t think it was him this time.
The longer they waited here, the more he was going to feel like a sitting duck. His father’s lessons were rattling around in his head, telling him he should have parked somewhere else and approached the house under cover.
Kate’s breath was fogging on the window.
Hunter yanked the keys out of the ignition and unlocked the glove box.
Kate’s eyes went wide when she saw the gun. “You’ve been armed this whole time?”
He gave her a look. “Tell me you’re not.”
“I don’t have a gun.”
“What do you have?”
“Maybe you can find out later.” Then she turned and slid out of the jeep.
God, she was killing him.
Nothing was amiss in the yard, but he felt too exposed on the walk to the front door. Especially when they found it unlocked.
No, not just unlocked. Slightly ajar.
Hunter paused there on the front porch and opened his senses, asking the elements for information. The power to the house had been turned off: either someone had thrown the master breaker in the basement, or the power had been cut. He didn’t sense any electricity. Just quiet air that carried no malice.
He had the gun in his hand anyway.
His back was to the house, so he could see as much of the yard as possible. Nothing moved.
But he couldn’t shake this feeling of wrongness, and it seemed foolish to walk straight into a house left this way.
Casper was alert and silent by his side, waiting for a command.
“Go ahead,” said Kate. Her voice was a bare breath of sound. “I’ll cover you.”
Well. Maybe it wasn’t so bad having an ally.
He slipped through the door, all the while hearing his father’s voice in his head.
Shadow shadow shadow shadow.
He wondered what his father would think of his activities in this exact moment.
The main level was unoccupied. Kate was a shadow herself, moving so silently that he could almost forget she was there—hell, Casper’s nails made more sound on the tiled entryway. He’d never worked with someone like this, someone who knew how to move, who could fall back on training and use it to her advantage.
The kitchen was clean, no food left on the counters.
But no sign of struggle or distress, either.
Then again, the cars were gone and the power dead. The Merricks weren’t here, but he had no idea whether they’d left voluntarily.
Kate pointed to the refrigerator.
Hunter eased it open.
Empty. Completely empty.
