Another bark of a gun firing, then a second shot. Please, God, don’t let Michael be killed.
She lunged into the bathroom, shoved the door shut with her hip and set Jacob down in the cast-iron tub. “Lie down, honey. Don’t get up until I tell you to.” After whirling back to lock the door, she saw Jacob struggling to stand. “Down! Do you hear me?” She’d never spoken to him so sharply before. She couldn’t let herself care that tears ran down his cheeks.
Shouts. More gunshots.
“Mommy?” he whispered but curled up in a ball in the tub.
“Don’t move,” she snapped. Weapon. Had to find a weapon.
She yanked open the medicine cabinet, but it was nearly empty. She’d brought shampoo and gel in here, but no hairspray. Roll-on deodorant wouldn’t hurt a flea.
Her eye fell on the toilet, and she snatched up the porcelain lid. Then she positioned herself by the door, listening hard. A couple of the stairs squeaked, this being an old house. She’d hear anyone coming.
Unless he’d already gunned down Michael and taken the stairs while she was talking to Jacob.
More scared than she’d been even during the earlier abduction attempt, Robin held her breath and waited.
* * *
SETH WAS WADDING up the wrappings from the sandwich he’d just finished when his radio crackled.
The dispatcher sounded typically calm as she gave the code for shots fired. “The caller can’t see the gunman but thinks he or she must be on the neighbor’s property. Any available units respond.”
The address was Dad’s.
Feeling as if he’d just been gut-punched, Seth accelerated from the curb, lights already flashing. He reported his current location and intention of responding with ETA. Two other officers chimed in, as did one county deputy who seemed to be the nearest of all of them. Then Seth hit the siren, too, and wove his way through the streets toward his father’s house.
He decided not to call either his father or Robin, in case they were hiding. Seth reminded himself that Dad wouldn’t be easy to take by surprise. He was carrying, and hadn’t lost any of his reflexes or skills.
Dad would do anything to protect Robin and Jacob.
Five minutes.
If any of them died, if that bastard took Jacob... Seth’s jaw ached and fear swelled in his chest.
The deputy reported on the radio that he was turning into the driveway. He saw no vehicles, didn’t hear gunshots.
Seth was close, flying down the narrow, two-lane country road. He got on the radio. “I’m two minutes out. Wait for backup.”
The deputy agreed.
Seth took the turn into the driveway at high speed, leaving on his siren and lights as he bumped up the driveway.
He braked right beside the sheriff’s department car. The deputy was crouched behind an open door. Didn’t look young enough to be a rookie, thank God. Seth was glad to see he, too, wore a vest. After Seth had been shot while with Portland PB, he’d never slacked off wearing his on the job, uncomfortable as they sometimes were.
“This is my father’s house,” he explained. “There was an attempt to abduct a toddler in town a few days ago—”
“I heard about it.”
“He and his mother are holed up here with Dad, who is a retired cop.”
They agreed to split up, the deputy going to the front door, Seth slipping around to the side door. He held his Glock in a two-fisted grip, the barrel pointed down. The quiet didn’t reassure him; Dad and Robin would have heard the sirens and come out.
Then he saw the door standing open, glass pane shattered, and he knew real terror.
* * *
ROBIN FINALLY REALIZED she was going to pass out if she didn’t breathe. What was happening?
From the tub came quiet, hiccupping sobs, but Jacob stayed put.
Did she dare open the door and take a look out?
No. If it was safe, Michael would tell her. If he was dead...it wasn’t safe.
Her hands shook. She rested the toilet lid on the vanity top but kept her grip on it.
She had to believe Richard wouldn’t shoot through the door, risking the bullet hitting the son his ego demanded he claim. Because this was an old house, the bathroom door was a solid slab of wood, not flimsy like the one in her rental house.
Wait, she told herself. Wait.