happened.
The burglar had disabled her alarm. She hurried down the two steps that led into the garage, every cell in her body screaming for her to go faster, every neuron in her brain urging her to move with more caution. She pulled the door behind her, stopping short of closing it all the way.
With her free hand out to keep from crashing into her car, she crept around to the driver’s side. She opened the door, and the click of the handle ricocheted around the room. Anyone in the house could have heard that. Or not. Maybe it only seemed loud because she was hyperaware of every sound. Her blood pounded and her breath rasped, despite her best efforts to make no noise. Opening the door activated the car’s dome light, and she hit three wrong buttons before she managed to extinguish it. She settled into the seat, sweet Henry still resting on her shoulder.
She couldn’t risk opening the back door to strap him into his seat. What if he woke up and started crying? As soon as she was sure they were safe, she’d stop and secure him.
She eased the door closed and fumbled with the diaper bag, digging in the pockets for the keys.
Come on, come on. They had to be here.
Where were they?
Her hand closed over her cell phone, and she grabbed it and punched 911 as she continued to search for her stupid keys. Why, oh why, hadn’t she purchased the car with the keyless ignition? It had seemed like such a pointless feature at the time. She’d give anything for it now.
“911, what’s your emergency?” The operator’s voice echoed through the car.
“My name is Caroline Harrison,” she whispered. “I live at 2200 Mountain View Drive. My home has been broken into. I think the person is still in the house.”
“Where are you now?”
“In my car in the garage, but I can’t find my keys.”
“I’m sending someone now. We have a unit not far from you.”
“Tell them to hurry!”
“Stay on the line with me, Ms. Harrison.”
“I’ll try.”
“Are you alone?”
“No. I have my...my...son.” She didn’t have time to explain the complicated relationship she had with this sweet child. And he was her son. It would be official in two weeks.
“How old is he?”
“Sixteen months.”
Finally!
Her fingers wrapped around the keys. She shoved the diaper bag into the passenger seat and rested the keys on her leg, tracing each one in the dark to find the car key.
Her hands shook and she pulled in a triumphant breath when she slid the right one in the ignition. She didn’t turn it yet—didn’t want the noise of the engine to alert her intruder. She’d make sure she was ready to exit first.
She reached for the button on her visor that would activate the garage door opener, but the door into the house opened. She bit back a scream as a man’s silhouette appeared and stalked toward her.
“There’s someone here.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Harrison, I didn’t quite catch that. Did you say there was someone—”
“He’s coming—”
She was out of time. No sense in hiding now. She reached for the garage door opener again. She wasn’t going to sit here and wait for him to do whatever he planned to do.
She pressed the button. Again. And again. Why wasn’t it opening?
The horrible truth overwhelmed her. He must have known she was in here. While she’d thought she was getting away undetected, he’d managed to disable her garage door. Probably flipped the breaker in the laundry room. There was no way her little Camry could drive through the garage door, but she had to try.
She turned the key. In the light filtering in from the house, she saw the gun in his hand.
He aimed it at her window.
* * *
Detective Jason Drake pulled his Ford Explorer into the restaurant parking lot and answered his cell phone. “Hey, Michael. I’m here,” he said. He and Michael Ellis had met for dinner almost every Thursday night since he’d come to work for the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office six months ago.
“Sorry, man. I’m not going to make it. Dispatch called.”
“Like that’s a surprise,” Jason said. It had taken him all of two days on the job to realize his old friend had a soft spot for the dispatcher.
“It’s not like that,” Michael said. “We got a call from the Harrisons.”
The Harrisons. He fought the memories pounding on the door of his heart. “Is something wrong at the plant?”
“No. The call came from Caroline Harrison.”
The mention of her name opened the floodgates, and memories engulfed him. Big blue eyes flashing in laughter at a private joke. Full lips curved into a smile that was only for him. The many times he’d held her hand. The one time he’d held her in his arms.
“She said there was an armed intruder at her house.”
Jason floored it. “I’m on my way.”
His phone rang one minute later. The sheriff.
“Drake, we have a situation at Caroline Harri—”
Despite his respect for his boss, Jason cut the man off. “Yes, sir, I heard.”
“I want you to take the lead on this.”
Good. Now he had an excuse to be there. Not that it would have mattered. He had to make sure Caroline was all right.
“Of course, sir. I’m on my way.”
“Jason, I want this case solved fast, you hear me? And I want you to do whatever you have to do to keep Caroline Harrison safe.”
“Yes, sir.”
It took five agonizing minutes to reach the Harrisons’ gated driveway. One uniformed officer stood there, blocking the path up the mountain.
Jason rolled down his window and the young man—Dan? Dave? He’d figure it out later—approached his window.
“Hey, Jason. You here for the excitement, too, huh? It’s a madhouse up there.”
Jason could sense the kid’s disappointment about not being more directly involved, but he didn’t have time to play nice with... Dalton. That was it. “What’s the status?”
“The house is secure. Caroline and the baby are fine, just shook up.
