may be too late.”
Jason’s phone beeped with an incoming text. He glanced at the screen and tried to hide it from Addison’s view, but she caught sight of the message. It was from Nathan.
SOS.
The universal request for help. Addison shook Jason’s arm, urgency fueling the movement. “Go. The house is secure. It has an alarm and the attacker knows it, otherwise he would’ve broken in. I’m safe here.”
Jason stubbornly didn’t respond, but a muscle in his jaw worked. This was as difficult for him as it was for her. Maybe worse. He blamed himself for what happened in Afghanistan. Standing around while Nathan was in trouble went against everything Jason had trained for. Addison couldn’t bear the thought of adding to his pain.
She met his gaze. “The choice is mine, Jason. It’s my life and I want you to go.”
He kissed her, quick but gentle. “Hide in the bathroom and lock the door. Give me thirty seconds to get out of the house and then use your cell to rearm the alarm behind me. I’m leaving Connor with you too.”
Addison grabbed her cell phone and mace. Connor followed her into the bathroom and Jason gave him the order to guard. Then he grabbed Addison’s hand. “Don’t open this door for anyone other than me. You got it?”
She nodded. Her gaze swept over him. Jason’s dark hair was mussed, the faint night-light caressing the scars on his cheek. Her warrior. There was so much Addison wanted to say, but there wasn’t time. She brushed her thumb over the back of his hand. “Be careful.”
In a heartbeat, he was gone. Addison flipped the lock. Her gaze fell on the chair in front of the vanity. For extra measure, she shoved that under the doorknob.
Convinced she was as secure as possible, Addison sank to the bathmat on the floor. She counted thirty seconds out in her head and then used her cell to re-engage the house alarm. Connor joined her on the mat.
“We’re gonna be okay, boy.” She stroked his back, using the repetitious pattern to slow her breathing. Addison used her cell phone to scroll through the footage of the cameras on her house. The trooper’s vehicle wasn’t on the street. Other than that, everything looked normal, although she knew it wasn’t. Prayers fell from her lips in whispered words. They were all she could provide to help Jason, Nathan, and the trooper.
Connor growled.
Addison froze. She held her breath, straining to listen beyond the closed door.
Silence.
Connor rose from beside her on the mat and took a protective stance in front of her. The hair on the back of his neck rose. She didn’t know how it was possible, but someone was inside the house. Connor wouldn’t behave that way if it was Jason or Nathan.
Addison used her phone to activate the alert panic button on her home alarm system. Jason had already called the police, and they were supposedly on the way, but so far, she hadn’t heard any sirens. Her mind raced, struggling to make sense of the impossible. Then it hit her. They’d disarmed the alarm when Jason left the house. It was only a moment, but it would’ve been long enough for someone to slip inside using another door without being noticed.
Addison stood and gripped her mace. The only illumination in the bathroom came from the night-light. Maybe the intruder would be fooled into thinking she’d left with Jason…
Another growl rumbled low in Connor’s chest as a creak came from the bedroom. Addison’s pulse jumped. Her gaze shot to the doorknob.
It began to turn.
Jason sprinted through the woods behind Addison’s house. The flash of blue-and-red lights from the trooper’s patrol car acted as a beacon directing his path. The vehicle was parked on the dirt road. The attacker had used the escape route several times. Chances were the trooper and Nathan had discovered him, hence the exchange of gunfire.
Jason kept his gaze sharp as he ran toward the patrol car. Branches tugged at his clothes. His boots pounded against the ground, the sound muffled by leaves and pine needles. Nathan had to be injured. And badly. He wouldn’t have sent an SOS message otherwise. Leaving Addison in the house had been a calculated risk. She was secure behind the alarm system and she had Connor as backup. The German shepherd would protect her with his life if necessary.
No. It wouldn’t come to that. Addison was safe. Jason did his best to shove the doubts from his mind and focus