"I'm fast and I'm quiet. He'll never see me coming. He's a two-bit wife beater, Lance. Not a Coyote on the hunt. I can take him."
A shot fired from inside and the sound of a woman's cry had him flinching. Slowly, he released her ankle. Reaching into the small utility bag at the side of his belt, he pulled free a set of personal comm links that fit over the ear, the small mic extending out to lie on the cheek.
"Use this." He handed one to her as he fit the other over his ear. "If I have to use a body bag tonight, I won't be happy, Harmony," he informed her quietly, the sound of his voice coming through the link as she fitted it in place and allowed the wire-thin mic to curve over her cheek.
"No body bags," she promised with a smile, before blowing him a quick kiss. Rolling to her stomach, she pushed herself into the drainage ditch and began scuttling toward the deeper shadows several feet past the house.
The black material of her uniform blended in with the darkness, giving her the additional camouflage needed when she crawled out of the ditch and into the weeds and brush that grew at the edge of the property.
Keeping to her stomach in the long shadows, she crawled over the rough grass and rock-strewn yard, keeping her eyes on the window that gave a view into that side of the house.
"I'm moving in along the side of the house," she whispered into the mic as she finally moved against the outside of the building. Coming to her feet, she flattened herself against the siding. "Is there a back door?"
"It leads into the kitchen," Lance answered. "There's a short hallway that then leads to the living room and, beside it, the bedroom where he's holding her."
"I'm on it. Beginning radio silence." She flipped the mic up, leaving only the receiver active as she made her way to the back of the house.
Passing the back door, she moved instead to the window at the far end of the house. It was securely locked, but the small metal lock was easily turned when she slid her knife beneath the frame and began prying upward.
Within minutes she was sliding the window open and moving into the house. She could hear him now. His voice was slurred, enraged as he cursed from the front bedroom.
"Harmony, one of the neighbors who came up has reported that Mason keeps a knife on him. A switchblade." Lance spoke in her ear. "He's a mean gutter fighter, so be careful."
So the bad boy liked to play with knives. Well, so did she.
She slid the window closed before looking around carefully. She had come into the boy's room; his scent was all over it. There were few toys, only a small bed and dresser, a few scattered shirts. Inhaling at the bleakness that attested to what his life must be like, she moved toward the doorway, listening to Tommy Mason scream at his wife.
"You stupid whore. I warned you what would happen if you tried to leave. Didn't I warn you?"
She could hear a woman sobbing, but she couldn't hear the child.
She found the little boy in the living room, huddled into a corner, his hands covering his ears as he rocked himself back and forward. Tears marred his dirt-streaked face and his eyes were clenched closed.
Moving in close, she simultaneously laid her hand over his lips and crooned a soft
"Easy, sweetie" at his ear.
His eyes flared open.
"Shhh," she whispered again, her touch gentle as she ran it quickly over his fragile, shaking body. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head no, but his eyes were wild, frantic as his mother cried out his name from the other room.
"I have to yell if anyone comes," his voice trembled as he fought to speak. "He'll hurt her again. I have to scream."
She set her fingers against his lips.
"Trust me."
He shook his head desperately, tears pouring from wild blue eyes as his body jerked with silent sobs.
"Have you ever seen a Breed?"
He almost stilled, his eyes widening. Most children were fascinated by the subject of Breeds. They wrote letters to the Sanctuary, and a few times, Harmony knew, Tanner Reynolds, the Breed liaison, had enchanted children at several schools. They were the newest version of superheroes to the little minds.
Lifting her lip, she showed him the canines, a bit small perhaps, but definitely impressive. He blinked back at her in shock.
"I bet if you stay very, very quiet, I can make sure your momma is fine. And I'll make sure he never comes back. Can you be quiet for just a few more minutes and give me the chance?"