The Lair

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lily

Lily crept across the floor and pressed her back to the wall. She stood there for a long moment debating what to do, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure whoever was in the closet could hear. Was this crazy? Part of her screamed that she should tiptoe back downstairs, grab Stu and Jacks, and get the hell out of there. But she couldn’t leave a kid alone here in this house. She just couldn’t.

“I’m going to open this door,” she said loudly. “I don’t mean you any harm. I’m here to help.”

Then she twisted the knob and yanked the door so it swung out opposite her. There was nothing. Just clothes hanging on the rods. Shoes scattered across the ground.

She flicked the light over the interior and that’s when she saw it. One of the shoes inched back. There was someone there. A kid in scuffed black Mary Janes.

“I know you’re there. I—” and then she broke off. What had this kid been through since the Before? How had she even survived? Lily used her most soothing voice, the one she used to use to talk to Mel when her sister was freaking out about something. “I know you’re frightened. I can help you.”

Nothing.

No more movement from the shoe. No rustling of clothes. Hell, as far as she could tell, the kid wasn’t even breathing.

On impulse, Lily added, “I have a younger sister.” Which wasn’t true. Mel’s autism always made her seem like the younger one. The one who needed to be taken care of.

“I would do anything to protect her.” Which was true. There just hadn’t been anything she could do. Lily felt a surge of anguish rise up inside of her. How was it possible that Mel was gone? Maybe forever. How had she let that happen?

“I know there are a lot of things to be afraid of, but I can help you. I can keep you safe.” Again, a lie. In the world they lived in now, no one could keep anyone safe. No matter how you tried to protect them. Wasn’t that what she’d told Carter just this morning?

“I can help you, but only if you come out. You can trust me.”

Gently, the row of clothes stirred. Fingers crept around the arm of a coat and then the girl stepped forward, out from between the clothes, into the beam from Lily’s flashlight. She blinked and held out a hand to shield her face.

Lily lowered the flashlight and flicked it off.

The girl was maybe six or seven and dressed in a faded cotton dress and leggings. Her dark hair fell in fat, messy ringlets, but it was her eyes that surprised Lily. She’d expected to see fear and caution; instead, they were bright with curiosity.

Lily crouched down to her level and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lily. What’s your name?”

A sickening thought occurred to her. What if the girl didn’t know her name? What if she’d been here alone so long she’d forgotten it?

Then she reached out her hand and pressed her palm to Lily’s, quick as a bird, then tucked her hand behind her back. “I’m Danielle,” she whispered, her eyes huge. “Can you really help us?”

Lily’s insides turned to ice. “Us?”

“Did you come here to help us?”

Us?

Shit.

Lily mentally backpedaled through all the tiny bits of evidence that proved just how screwed she was. All these little snapshots that hadn’t made sense until that instant: the open window, the Cheerio on the high-chair tray. That was all new. It had been from today.

This wasn’t some kid scraping by waiting to be rescued. This was a kid with older siblings or even parents. This was a kid with defenses.

Crap.

All of this flashed through her brain, but she didn’t have time to flee or shout out a warning to Stu and Jacks. In the distance, from downstairs, she heard Stu’s sat phone ringing again. Her breath caught in her chest as she waited, hoping she’d hear Stu’s response. But the silence was only broken by the ringing phone. No Stu. No Jacks.

She glanced back over her shoulder toward the hall. The door was open. If she strained to listen, she could hear the faintest hint of footsteps on the floor below.

She turned back to the girl. To Danielle.

“Honey, go back in the closet. Hide, okay?”

Because someone was downstairs and it probably wasn’t Jacks. Whoever had kept Danielle alive all this time, they hadn’t done it by letting strangers wander through their house.

Danielle cocked her head to the side and scrunched her mouth into a frown. Then she shook her head.

“Go,” Lily urged. “Hide!”

A moment later a man’s voice called, “You might as well come out. I know you’re up there.”

She waved at Danielle to go back into the closet one more time. As she crossed the bedroom, she tucked her flashlight into the back of her pants and pulled an arrow from the quiver. Sweat made her fingers slick as she notched it. Her hands were shaking. She wouldn’t be able to aim for crap. Probably for the best anyway.

The bow and arrow were just for show this time. There was no way she would shoot this man in his own home, but maybe—maybe—if he saw she was armed, he’d at least hesitate long enough for her to talk her way out of this.

She kicked the bedroom door open and then spun out into the hall, facing the stairs and pulling the bow taut as she moved.

She aimed down the staircase, toward the voice. The dark, hulking shape of a man blocked out most of the light. She couldn’t distinguish any of his features or guess at his age, but he was bulky. A grown adult. He held Jacks in front of him. Jacks clawed helplessly at his grip and at the gun the man held to Jacks’s throat.

She had no idea where Stu was, only that she hadn’t heard any gunshots yet. She assumed he’d been taken out. Disabled. Knocked out, but probably not shot. Yet.

Her mind raced, trying to think of a resolution to the standoff that wouldn’t involve Jacks’s brains being splattered all over the wall. Or hers. Or possibly both.

Maybe she could stall him. Maybe the cavalry would show up.

Yeah, right.

The cavalry was Carter, up on the mountain somewhere. Miles away.

With a show of bravado she so didn’t feel, she called out, “Let him go!”

He ignored her and called back, “You okay, Danielle?”

“She’s fine,” she yelled before Danielle could answer. However this went down, it wouldn’t be good. Someone would die—her or Jacks or the man. Maybe all three. Jesus, she wished Danielle would go back to hiding in the closet.

“She’s just fine,” Lily called again, trying for the soothing tone she failed at so miserably. “If you let my friend go, I’ll send her down.”

The guy let out a guttural sound that was part growl, part sneer. “You think I’m going to just let you and your little friends walk out of my house?”

“We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“’Round here, we shoot thieves like you.”

“We’re not thieves.” But the line between thieves and scavengers was a thin one. “We didn’t know anyone lived here. You let us go and we’ll never bother you again.”

“I let you walk now and you’ll come back and murder us all in our sleep.”

“We don’t want to hurt you.” She could feel her anxiety rising as her voice rose in pitch. Her arm quivered with fatigue from holding her bow. “We have plenty of supplies without yours.”

“What sort of Pollyanna bullshit is that? Where’ve you been living, missy, that you think there are plenty of supplies anywhere?”

She automatically tensed at the aggression in his voice and instinct caused her to pull the bow even more taut. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the dark and she could see more of him now: gray, shaggy hair, worn plaid shirt, work boots. Jacks’s feet dangled above his. Oh God, were his kicks getting weaker? He was about to pass out. He was going to die. For all Lily knew, Stu was already dead.

She had two options: put down her weapon and let him kill her or shoot him herself. Jacks wasn’t a small guy, but this guy was huge. She might hit his shoulder or arm, if her aim was steady.

But she’d never shot anyone. Not anyone human anyway. She’d shot targets at Girl Scout camp. A rabbit once at her uncle Rodney’s. She’d thrown up after that. And then Ticks. She’d shot lots of Ticks. She’d thrown up then, too.

That had been horrific enough.

Could she shoot a human? A sentient, normal human? A guy who was just protecting his kid?

Before Lily could lower her bow, Danielle pushed her way past and into the hall. She threw herself in front of Lily, arms outspread.

“Don’t shoot her, Daddy! She’s here to help.”

“Get down, Danielle!” her father shouted.

“Get back,” Lily yelled at the same time.

She could tell she’d surprised him. He expected her to use his daughter against him.

On impulse, Lily lowered her bow, releasing the tension until the arrow clattered to the ground. It slid down a couple of steps before the fletching caught on the step.

“What game are you playing, missy?”

“My name is Lily,” she called back. “I’m not playing a game. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Danielle, go down to your father.”

Lily looked back at the girl. Her eyes were wide and panicked. How much violence had she seen in her short life? No child should be so afraid. Lily handed her the bow, hoping that her father would understand what that meant. She was defenseless now.

“Go on,” she urged. “Take this to your daddy.”

“You said you were here to help.”

“I was. I still am, if your Daddy lets me.” More promises she probably couldn’t keep. She looked back up at him. “Let my friend go. Please.”

She imagined she could see the hesitation on his face. The flickering of doubt. She thought his muscles loosened and he started to let Jacks go.

Then a savage cry came from somewhere off near the kitchen. The cavalry had arrived after all.