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“Grayson’s here,” Norris whispered, yanking Jesse out of those nightmarish images. “He’s in the house.”
A different kind of image came. And it played out right in front of him. The image of Grayson being gunned down.
Jesse heard the sound of Grayson’s footsteps. Obviously, so did the man or woman holding Isabel.
In a quick move, the person turned and fired a shot. Not in Grayson’s direction though.
The shot came directly toward Jesse.
THESOUNDOFthe gunshot was deafening. And Hanna’s first thought was Jesse. Had he been shot?
She forced herself to look and saw Jesse lurch to the side. For a split second, it seemed as if the worst had happened. But Jesse didn’t fall. Deputy Norris did, and Jesse had moved to catch him.
Both of them went to the floor with Jesse pulling the deputy against the wall and away from the door. Even in the darkness, Hanna could see the blood spread across the sleeve of his shirt. He’d been hit in his right arm.
Norris grunted in pain and he clamped his hand over the wound to stop the flow of blood. What he almost certainly wouldn’t be able to do was return fire if it came down to that.
And it did.
Someone fired a second shot, and it tore through a chunk of the doorjamb. Muttering some profanity, Jesse shifted, practically shoving Norris behind him, and he took aim at the shooter. He didn’t fire. Maybe because he didn’t have a clear shot, but the shooter didn’t pull the trigger again either.
Hanna figured that wasn’t going to last.
Grayson was somewhere in the house, but it was possible he couldn’t move closer without getting shot or risking Isabel being killed. Hanna hadn’t actually seen her mother, but she’d heard enough of her conversation with Jesse to know that she was being held at gunpoint. Maybe willingly. Maybe not.
“Get in the tub with the baby,” Hanna told Norris. “Jesse needs backup.”
Jesse was already trying to nix that idea before she finished, but he couldn’t actually argue with her because he had to keep his focus on Isabel and the person who’d fired those shots.
Norris was still bleeding, still clearly in a lot of pain, but he made it to the tub and did as she had asked, acting as a human shield for Evan. Hanna took his gun and scrambled to the other side of the door, across from Jesse.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Jesse snarled. “Do you even remember how to fire a gun?”
She did, though she hadn’t known that until that very second. She’d taken shooting lessons after she’d moved to this current house because she’d wanted to be able to scare off coyotes. The stakes were much higher now, and Hanna knew in her gut that she wouldn’t miss.
“Hanna,” her mother said. It was possible Isabel had gotten a glimpse of her when she’d traded places with Norris.
Hanna made a quick glance around the jamb and saw her mother. And the person behind her. The person wasn’t looking at Jesse or her, though, but rather toward the living room. He or she gave Isabel a hard squeeze before whispering something in her ear.
“Grayson,” Isabel called out a moment later, “if you want Jesse and Hanna to live, then you need to leave.”
She didn’t hear Grayson respond, but Hanna knew he wouldn’t leave. But maybe he’d be able to distract Isabel’s captor. Or maybe Isabel would drop down. Anything to give one of them a shot.
Deputy Norris’s phone was on the floor and the screen lit up with a text. From Grayson. Two words flashed on the screen.
It’s Marlene.
Hanna lifted the phone to show to Jesse, and he shook his head in disgust. Hanna felt the disgust, too, but there was also some relief because maybe this meant her mother hadn’t actually been capable of killing anyone.
“It’s over, Marlene,” Jesse called out.
Silence, but Hanna did see the woman stiffen, and when she cursed and Hanna heard her voice, she knew Grayson had been right.
“You’ve got a choice here, Jesse,” Marlene sniped as she yanked off the gas mask she’d been wearing. “I’ll leave, and you’ll never see or hear from me again. Just let me walk out of here and Hanna and your son stay safe.”
Hanna didn’t believe that for a second, and she was sure Jesse didn’t either. With Marlene’s resources, if she escaped, she’d be back eventually. Or send her hired thugs to finish them off.
“Let you walk out of here with a hostage?” Jesse countered. “I don’t think so.”
