Chapter 6 - Shadows at the Door
Despite our precautions, danger crept closer. Rain poured over the upstate safehouse as night fell. Lena was upstairs putting Grace to bed when the perimeter alarms flickered silently on Marcus's monitoring tablet.
"Three heat signatures approaching the eastern fence," Marcus reported over the comms, his voice steady. "They aren't police. They carry silenced sidearms."
I stood in the study, pulling a heavy tactical flashlight and a firearm from the wall safe. "Evelyn couldn't wait for me to break down. She sent a team to clean up whatever she suspected I was hiding."
"We need to evacuate through the south tunnel," Marcus advised. "I'll draw their fire."
"No," I replied, cold resolve taking over. "If they escape, they report back to her. We neutralize them here, silently."
The front door glass shattered in low, suppressed bursts. Two men in dark tactical gear slipped through the foyer, their weapons raised. But Marcus was already behind the first, taking him down with a swift, silent strike to the throat before dragging him into the darkness.
The second intruder rounded the corner toward the stairs, raising his weapon toward the upper floor where Lena and my daughter were hiding.
I stepped out from the shadows, stepping into his line of sight, and fired two precise shots into his armor-plated chest, dropping him instantly to the floor. The third operative fled toward the perimeter, only to be cut off and detained by Marcus's exterior team.
I rushed upstairs to the master bedroom. Lena was pressed against the far wall, holding Grace tightly against her chest, her eyes wide with terror, yet her jaw set with ferocious maternal instinct.
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"They found us," she whispered, her voice trembling.
"They found a decoy," I corrected gently, kneeling down to embrace them both. "This ends tonight, Lena. No more running. No more hiding in the shadows. Tomorrow, we take the fight to her front door."
