It would leave her exposed if she wanted a good shot.
Liam had an idea.
He took his phone out and as low as he possibly could, he whispered out a command.
“Price, make noise.”
The second the words left his mouth, Liam tossed his phone across the hallway and into the bedroom opposite them. There was a faint light in the room, and because of it, he saw the phone hit something that looked like a pillow on the ground.
The soft thud was still enough to alert whoever had come inside.
Then Price started making noise.
Liam placed his hand on Blake’s shoulder. He moved her soundlessly back a few steps. Then his hand dropped to her waist. He adjusted her stance until she was squarely looking into the other room. She didn’t fight him.
The footsteps were in the hallway next to both doors.
Price continued making noise on the other end of the phone. There must have been a sound machine going in that room. It made Price sound even more natural, as if there were people trying to talk in hushed, hurried voices.
Liam hoped it would be enough to draw whoever was in the hallway that way first.
He slid his hand back up to Blake’s shoulder and kept it there.
She didn’t as so much as breathe.
That’s how they were standing when the first man came into view. He wore a baseball cap and jeans. There was no gun in his hand but a slight tremor in the way he slowly moved. Liam squeezed Blake’s shoulder lightly. She continued to be still.
Which was a feat in itself considering the baseball-capped man made a stunning move.
Instead of walking into the room opposite them, he started to walk backward into theirs.
Liam put pressure on Blake’s shoulder with his index and middle fingers. Two quick prods. The man slowly backing up into their space was also using his hands to wordlessly signal. He motioned forward to the room where Price was still doing whatever it was to draw any and all attention.
It seemed the man was going to let his friend do the work of fighting while he backed himself away into a safer space.
Which meant that maybe he really wasn’t armed.
And meant that his friend probably was.
Liam released his hold on Blake and took a step forward. Blake didn’t move a muscle. He wished he could tell her his plan, but there was no time.
They were outnumbered, and he was hurt.
If they didn’t execute the next part of his new plan flawlessly, they could lose their lives. Or, worse, the family hiding in the house could.
But they were also out of any other good options.
So Liam did something he hadn’t done since he was in the Marines.
He decided to trust another soul explicitly, no room for hesitation or second thought.
Just pure, unbridled trust.
Then, and only then, did Liam make his move.
THEMANSEEMEDto have no idea he wasn’t alone. He had even less of an inkling that the wall of strength that was Liam was waiting behind him. Had he walked back even one more step, he would have collided with him. Instead, he stopped within the relative darkness, staring straight ahead.
He was waiting for his friend and his gun to make the first move.
