it touched down on solid ground and came to a screeching halt. What was that noise? Was Freddy ready to be put to bed? Had Linc stirred because he was unwell?
Rising as silently as possible, she tiptoed to the doorway to check on her guests. Star was the only one paying attention. Her head was raised, her ears forward, her nostrils twitching, seeking information available only to her keen canine senses.
Zoe was now certain that the sound she’d heard hadn’t come from any of them. So what had disturbed her? She turned. Started back to the table. And spotted a piece of folded paper lying on the floor just inside her back door.
Eyes wide, she froze. How had someone bypassed the guard outside and got this close? Zoe stared at the note as if it were an angry Texas diamondback poised to strike. It may as well have been, given the effect it was having on her.
Trembling, she studied the double-locked door. Everything was intact. No one had tried to get in. But they had made it far enough to shake her world to its foundation.
She took a step closer and started to bend and reach for the piece of paper. But she stopped and made the kind of judgment a prey animal makes. The door was solid enough to deter rapid entry but probably not thick enough to stop a bullet. Maybe whoever had left that paper was still out there, gun aimed and hammer cocked, waiting for her to make a noise that would tell them it was time to act. To fire.
Trying to slow her rapid breathing, Zoe thought about grabbing a broom to retrieve the note by dragging it to her. Instead, she crouched and duckwalked out of the kitchen, not straightening until she was almost to the sofa. A light touch on Linc’s arm brought him instantly awake and ready for battle.
“It’s just me,” she said, hands raised to deflect any instinctive efforts at self-defense.
“What’s the matter?” He was scrubbing one hand over his face while the other palm rested on his sidearm.
“A note,” Zoe whispered. “Somebody just shoved it under the back door and I didn’t know what to do.”
Linc immediately radioed the situation to the guard stationed outside, then commanded Star to watch the boy and made his way to the kitchen with Zoe.
She pointed. “There. See?”
The paper crackled when Linc picked it up. They heard movement on the deck. A board creaked. Something slid across the wood. A boot? A step?
Linc drew his gun. Frozen in place, they waited and listened for more.
A sharp knock and an all-clear call from the other guard came in seconds. It was only then that Zoe realized she’d been holding her breath.
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