Page 132 of One Wrong Move
“You’re welcome.” He sat back, trying to ignore the pulsing sensation in his chest, the warmth in his limbs. A first in a long, long time.
¦¦¦
“Dinner was great,” Andi said as Christian cleared the plates. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I love chicken parm,” she said, standing and moving to the sink to help him. “You wash, and I’ll dry.”
“I’ve got it,” he said, thunder crackling in the distance.
The swiftly moving clouds, dark and thick, passed by the window in the blustering wind.
“That came on fast,” she said. It’d still been a blue sky when they reached the ranch. They’d been hoping to have a fire in the firepit, but the now dousing rain ruled that out.
Lightning illuminated the sky with a striking flash, followed by a loud grumble of thunder.
“I better go check on the horses,” he said. “You good?”
“Of course.” She finished the last plate and set it in the drying rack.
Lightning struck again. A massive, thundering boom shook the window. The fastened-back shutters rattled on their hinges.
Drying her hands on the towel, Andi hung it over the oven door handle. Another strike of lightning and the lights flickered.
She looked about the kitchen. Best find a flashlight in case the lights went out. Before she could move, thunder boomed and the electricity died. She patted her pocket for her phone. Nada.Great. Where had she set it? The living room? The bedroom? No. The bathroom. She’d set it on the sink when she pulled her hair out of its bun.
She moved with caution, trying not to bump into anything in the near pitch-black engulfing her. Her chest tightened.It’s just a thunderstorm. Moving tentatively toward the center of the house, she stared at the pouring rain, drops pelting off the central courtyard’s glass walls. She followed the courtyard around. Lightning struck, illuminating the space, followed by thunder. She’d barely taken a second breath when it struck again, illuminating a man with a gun across the courtyard from her. Her heart seized, and she ducked behind the recliner, praying he hadn’t seen her. Her back against the chair, she swallowed, wishing the thunder away so she could hear if he was coming.
Her heart thumping in her chest, she peeked around the chair, but it was too dark to see anything. She couldn’t stay there. She needed her gun from the bedroom, her phone from the bathroom. Needed to warn Christian so he didn’t walk in unaware and get shot.
Lightning struck again. The burst of light showed the man moving around the courtyard.
She needed to move. Taking a steeling breath, she moved in a low crawl, weaving around furniture she could duck behind when lightning flashed through the house.
The man switched directions, moving her way.
No. No. No.
At a bang from outside, he turned toward it, his back to her, and she took the opportunity to hurry as quietly as possible to the bathroom.
Once inside, she grabbed her phone and slid behind the door. Afraid the man would hear her call, she texted Christian.
Man in house. I’m in bathroom. Don’t have gun. Hurry.
She peeked through the slit in the door. The next strike of lightning showed him moving back around her side of the courtyard, putting himself between her and her gun in the bedroom.
Her phone vibrated. Her chest squeezed the breath from her lungs.No. No. No.She switched it to Do Not Disturb.Stupid. She should have done that in the first place. She pressed her back to the wall and looked at her phone for Christian’s response.
Get in tub.
She looked through the slit in the door and listened. Footsteps moving her way.
Darkness engulfing the space, she crawled for the tub and eased herself in. The ceramic cold against her body, she lay flat.Please,Lord.
You can do this. Go for his eyes.
Unless he came in shooting.
