AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fletch, what is it?”
“That wasn’t me or any of my team. Where did you pick up the tail?”
“Not far from here on the A2.”
“Shit. They know who you are and where you live. You need to grab some things. Was Mia staying here with you for the weekend?” She nodded, wondering what had made him so agitated. It wasn’t like where she lived was a big secret. “Get her things, as well. I’ll have a couple of my guys come out and stay at your place to take care of the livestock.”
“I’ve got neighbors who will do that.”
He grabbed her upper arms and gave her a little shake. “Someone is after you. You do not want unarmed civilians who know nothing about what is going on to be anywhere around here. It’s too dangerous.”
She watched as he grabbed his phone and dialed, listening as he coolly and calmly gave orders, before turning her around and boosting her towards the stairs with a little swat. “Move it.”
He took a slice of pizza, biting into it. “Holy shit, that’s good.” He glanced into the kitchen where he could see the pizza stone, mixing bowls, et cetera. “Did you make this?” he called to her as she got to the top of the stairs.
“Yes.”
“Damn, you can cook?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
Note to self: let a guy get laid and get some pizza in him and his disposition takes an upturn for the better.She grabbed both her and Mia’s things, tucking them into the same large weekender bag. She had just reached the foot of the stairs when Fletch broadsided her with the grace and power of a large, predatory cat. He knocked the wind out of her momentarily as he flung her to the ground and a single shot was fired simultaneously through the window, hitting the thick wall panel where only moments before her head had been.
He hit two numbers on his phone and said, “Mayday! Mayday! We’ve been hit. Number of assailants and their positions unknown. I’m taking Claire upstairs. We’ll hold them off until you can get here. Carter, keep going with Mia.”
Claire grabbed his phone. “Belay that, or whatever it is you people say. I’m getting Fletch out of here. We’ll be in my SUV. Mia will be able to answer questions.”
She ended the call and handed him back the phone.
“That was stupid. We can’t possibly get to your garage. The minute we step through one of those doors they’ll cut us down. You can bet there’s more than one of them out there.”
“We’re not going out any of those doors. Stay down and come with me.”
CHAPTER16
FLETCH
Claire crawled on her hands and knees towards the hidden doorway just beside the large kitchen pantry where she had a hutch that concealed her bolt hole and tunnel. She reached up with her hand, disengaged the alarm, and opened the door.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he said with admiration. “That is not on the blueprints for your house.”
She grinned at him. “Yeah, a couple of hefty bribes to my architect and contractor took care of that. Come on, let’s get inside and get this door sealed behind us.”
He followed her inside and watched as she closed the hatch—it was difficult to think of it as a door.
“How the fuck did they get so close? Carter had some trouble getting past your perimeter alarm, and he’s the best.”
She managed to look sheepish. “Uh, I usually only leave the one on at the drive. I know Mia keeps telling me that’s dumb, but everything sets the damn thing off—rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, the horses. I was racking up fines left and right…”
Claire re-engaged the alarm, and then attached a couple of wires to the mechanism.
“Do I want to know?” he asked.
A grin began to split her face and then got bigger. “Probably not, but I’ll tell you anyway. If they find the latch—and that’s a big if—whoever trips it is going to get a nasty shock. It won’t kill the person, but it’s got enough juice to knock them across the room.”
“You’re mean,” he said, returning her grin. “It’s surprisingly hot.”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Come on, Romeo. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
