25. Parker
PARKER
Blake stumbled out of Rosie’s room, exhausted and looking even worse than right after she had her.
“You okay?”
“Fine,” she sighed, flopping down on the couch. “Rosie’s being stubborn.”
I grinned, already knowing what she was going to say. “Ten Little Pirates tonight?”
“Over and over again. Why that book? How many times can you read about pirates?”
“You should have made Wes read it to her.”
“Trust me, he’s had plenty of turns. The other night, she made him read it ten times. One for each pirate.”
Sitting down beside her, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her temple, finally relaxing for the night. “I have the weekend off. Maybe we should get away.”
“And go where? We’re supposed to get a snowstorm.”
Glancing outside, I could already see the snow starting. We’d have to leave within the hour to make it out of here without any problems. And that was assuming the southern part of the state wasn’t already being hit hard.
“We should really fly south for the winter,” I mumbled.
“Then you wouldn’t have a job, and Rob would be pissed at me for leaving him alone in the frigid weather.”
“He’s not alone. He has Krista.”
Blake snorted. “I highly doubt that’s any consolation when he’s snowed in for days on end with nothing to do and no internet.”
“Yeah, someone really should have warned him,” I grinned.
“Dinner’s on the stove,” she mumbled against my chest, snuggling in deeper. “If you want it, I’ll allow you to get it and let me stay here.”
“That’s so sweet of you. What would I do without you?” I teased.
“Probably be bored.”
“That’s for sure.”
My work phone buzzed in my pocket, alerting me to an accident in town.
“What is it?”
I scrolled through the message, frowning at what I saw. “A woman was held at knife-point right before a hit and run.”
“What? Who was it?”
I shook my head, but the phone rang at the next second. “Mav, what happened?”
“Alyssa’s boyfriend returned and took her hostage. Sam intervened, but then—”
The line cut out, probably from the interference from the incoming storm. “Mav, I didn’t get that last part.”
“Parker, you there?”
“Yeah, I didn’t catch all that.”
“Cassidy was hit by a car.”
“Cassidy? But—”
“The car took off. I’m pulling all camera feed now. With any luck, we’ll get a plate number.”
“Alright, I’ll be right in.”
“Get—”
But I never heard what he was going to say. Alarms shattered the quiet of the house. I didn’t need to see it to know that the locks were slamming into place and the countdown for getting to the panic room had already started.
“Grab Rosie!” I shouted, but Blake was already on her feet, running toward our daughter’s room.
“Wes!” I shouted, but he was already storming down the stairs.
I bolted for the bedroom, quickly scanning my hand to unlock the walk-in safe.
Snatching a rifle and ammo, I strode out just as Blake ran for the panic room with Rosie.
I tossed Wes a rifle, which he expertly checked, having gone hunting with me a number of times.
Just as Blake flung the door open, glass shattered, and our house lit up like the Fourth of July as gunfire rained down on us.
I barely made it inside, slamming my fist down on the button to quickly shut the doors while Blake carried a screaming Rosie over to the corner.
Knight was already calling as I brought up the outdoor cameras that were quickly being taken out by bullets.
Wes did as I taught him, locating the targets.
“Knight, where the fuck are you?”
“On my way. What the hell did you do?”
“Nothing!” I grabbed the controllers and swiveled the guns in the eaves of the house toward the targets. I never once thought that when Knight installed these, I would ever need them, but as I fired at the targets on my property, I was never so thankful to have them.
“There are alarms going off all over the ranch,” Knight snapped.
“Head to the main house. Rob can take care of Krista. Lizzy should be working late.”
“Already on the way.”
“Where’s Kate?”
“She’s secure. Stay there until I give you the all clear.”
The last camera was shot out, leaving me blind. “My eyes are gone, Knight. We’re pinned down. Call me when you’ve got something.”
“If you don’t hear from me in ten, use the underground tunnel and get the hell out of there.”
“Stay frosty.”
The line went dead, and I turned to my wife. Someone was attacking us, and now we were in one of the worst situations of our lives.
I could handle anything that came at us, but now they involved our kids. Someone was going to die tonight.