His eyes adjusted to the darker interior but saw nothing. It was empty. He frowned but then a slight breeze touched his skin. His gaze lifted and he stepped closer, staring up at the ceiling in the closet. A square hole was open. The attic beyond was pitch dark. He was certain he would have noticed the missing attic access panel when he’d done the earlier walk-through inspection. The artificial tree scent was stronger in that area.
What the hell?
A very slight noise startled him. It sounded as if someone inhaled deeply. He turned his head as a dark shape rose from behind the couch. It appeared human, though somewhat rounded, dressed in all black, and it wore strange glasses. He’d seen those before at task force headquarters. It sank in that the night-vision goggles gave the human the ability to see as well, if not better, than he could. A howl of rage tore from his lips as he lunged, going for the threat.
Four sharp jabs of pain struck his chest as he reached the couch, prepared to dive over it to tackle the human. His body failed to do his bidding, going limp instead, and he slammed into the piece of furniture. His momentum carried him forward as he crashed into the couch when he fell, tipping it over. He rolled onto the floor and stayed there.
His body felt heavy and he couldn’t move his arms or legs. He howled inside his mind as he fought the drugs. Jeanie was in danger. His mate needed him. Somehow he found the strength to push up from the floor.
“Fucking tough bastard, aren’t you?” The voice belonged to a male.
Two more sharp darts embedded in his flesh, sinking into his back near his shoulder blades. He collapsed but managed to suck in one more lungful of air.
“RUN!” He roared that word before his face smashed into the carpet.
He tried to lift up again, fighting hard to stay conscious. His mate was unprotected. The drug in his system made him really lightheaded. He tried to shake it off but couldn’t get his arms to move again. He did manage to open his eyes and watched from where he lay sprawled on the carpet as the human in dark clothing rushed across the room to the front door and unlocked it. Another figure entered.
“Goddamn it, is that what you call quiet? You dumb fuck,” another male complained in a soft tone. “They probably heard that all the way to the gatehouse.”
“Those animals have great hearing but not that good. We’re inside and it’s too far away. Besides we’ll be long gone before anyone knows we were here.”
“What about the damn neighbors? They might have heard. If one of them lives next door, he might hear something. Let’s go. We don’t have time to argue. I knew I should have been the one to breach the house.”
“Like you could wiggle through the attic vent. Just calm your ass down. You heard our boss. Nobody knows about those tunnels. They’d never expect anyone to be able to get this far inside Homeland.”
“Let’s move. Where is the woman?”
“I don’t know. The animal must have heard me crawling around up there. He came out and caught me right after I dropped down. I shot him with six darts. Tough motherfucker.”
“Move and stop yammering. We have to grab the bitch and bug out. We’re supposed to get her and be back within ten minutes. Stick to the plan.”
True watched them helplessly as they rushed toward the back of the house and down the hallway, heading toward Jeanie. A door slammed before they were out of sight and he heard wood smash. He blacked out.
RUN! The howl pierced her sleep. Jeanie jerked awake and bolted upright in the dark bedroom. There was no mistaking that bellow or the snarled tone. True! She reached behind her but her hand only found warm sheets. Her heart raced. She was instantly afraid.
Lights came on in the house next door. She could see it faintly through the curtains and turned her head in that direction. It hadn’t been just a dream. The sound must have been real. For a split second she was torn between rushing out there to see what was wrong and doing exactly what he had yelled for her to do. He wouldn’t say that to anyone else.
A door closed and she heard soft voices. She slid out of bed and bent, grabbing at the first thing she found on the floor—a shirt. Her hands shook as she got the shirt on over her head and pulled it down. A loud thump sounded down the hall, almost as if something had fallen over. She wondered what was going on.
Jeanie rushed at the bedroom door and slammed it closed, twisting the lock. The door was solid but it wouldn’t keep anyone out if they kicked it down. She frantically glanced at the dresser on the wall near the door and grabbed hold of the back edge. Terror made her stronger than normal as she yanked hard and felt it give. She jumped back so it didn’t crush her toes when it landed front down. She spun, grabbed the solid chair from the other corner and lifted it. Her back protested but she dropped it into the space between the door and the fallen dresser to fill in the gap.
It wouldn’t stop someone from getting in but it would slow them down. She backed up, unsure if she should try to hide or climb out a window. A body slamming into the door from the hallway decided it for her. She rushed into the bathroom and slammed that door, locking it too. Wood splintered as someone applied something heavy as they attempted to batter through the bedroom door.
“Oh god.” She flipped on the light, frantically searching for a weapon. She had a hard time thinking as someone cursed loudly—not True—and she realized they sounded too close to still be in the hallway or at least had managed to get the door open enough to see what was blocking it.
She grabbed the glass shower door and opened it wide, putting it in the path of the bathroom door and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. Her hands shook as she grappled with the lid and just threw it on the floor by the door when she got it open. It poured out on the tile. She reached for the body lotion next, doing the same.
The conditioner was too far away without having to step inside so she just backed up, saw the window and lunged. Her hands shook as she worked on the lock but finally managed to get it to twist. She pushed hard and the window swung outward.
“HELP!” she shouted as she tried to climb up and out.
The bathroom door exploded inward and she screamed, scraping her knees and hands in the process but just shoved forward and fell outside. She wasn’t even sure how far the fall was but she landed on grass in the blink of an eye.
“Ahhhh!” a guy screamed before a loud crash sounded in the bathroom. Glass shattered, followed by what sounded like a heavy body slamming into the cabinets.
It compelled her to push up, ignoring the pain in the leg she’d landed on, to stand. She glanced around, knowing the backyard was totally fenced with a block wall but Justice North lived on the left side. She just forgot which way that was for a few seconds as she limped along.
For good measure she sucked in air and screamed again just in case they hadn’t heard her the first few times. The lights beckoned to her over the wall, assuring her she was heading in the right direction.
“Fucking bitch,” someone cursed behind her a second before an arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her off her feet.
She fought, trying to reach back and claw his face. Her fingers hit some kind of metal, as if he were wearing an apparatus on his forehead. His other hand slapped over her mouth and he squeezed her so hard around her middle it made her hiss in pain.
“Shut up or I’ll snap your neck. Stop fighting. I’ll take you alive or leave you dead.”
He twisted around hard. Her feet arched out from the force and she lost the ability to breathe. He was crushing her stomach and it hurt her injury as if she’d just been shot all over again. He crouched, slamming her into the yard.
“Where the fuck is it?”
She stared at the lights next door but couldn’t make a sound. A large form dropped next to them. “Right corner of the side yard. It’s hidden behind the air-conditioner unit.”
“Let’s get out of here. They are going to be all over this place.”
“I’m going to kill her,” the other guy promised. “That bitch dumped shit all over the floor and I think I busted my ass when I slipped. My foot is all fucked up from going through part of that sink thing.”