Adrian’s voice came through, controlled but tight. “Vehicle at the boundary. Same as before.”
Cole’s response was immediate. “Hold position. Don’t engage.” She didn’t move.
Her instructions were clear: stay within sight of the house. Wait. Let them handle it.
But from where she stood, she could see something they couldn’t. The vehicle wasn’t stopping at the gate this time.
It rolled past it — slowly, deliberately — tyres crunching over gravel that hadn’t been disturbed since the morning. Whoever was inside knew the gate wouldn’t open. They were testingdistance now, not access.
Her pulse quickened, not with fear but calculation.
She stepped back inside and keyed the radio. “Cole.”
His reply came instantly. “I see it.”
“You won’t in thirty seconds,” she said. “There’s a blind spot past the old oak. From your angle.”
A pause.
Then: “Confirmed.”
The vehicle slowed.
She moved before she could overthink it — not towards danger, but towards information. From the side window, she had a clearer view, heart steady as she focused on details instead of outcomes. Two silhouettes in the cab. Engine idling. No attempt to get out. Waiting.
“Tanner,” she said into the radio, voice low. “They’re not here to break in.”
“What are they doing?” he asked.
“Making sure I’m here.”
The words landed heavy.
Cole’s voice cut in, sharp now. “Inside. Now.”
She hesitated — only a fraction of a second — then obeyed. This wasn’t the moment to push boundaries. This was the moment to survive them.
She was halfway down the hall when she heard it — the engine revving, the tyres spinning briefly before gripping.
By the time she reached the back door, the vehicle was already turning, retreating down the drive it had just tested.
Silence followed. Thick and charged.
Minutes later, the door opened and Cole came in, Tanner and Adrian close behind him. None of them looked rattled. All of them looked alert in a way that told her this had crossed a line.
“That was deliberate,” Adrian said. “They wanted a reaction.” “And they got one,” Tanner added quietly.
Cole’s gaze fixed on her. “You saw something we didn’t.” “Yes.”
“And you stayed put when I told you to.”
“Yes.”
That mattered more than anything else.
He nodded once. “Good.”
She let out a breath she’d been holding since the engine sound had faded.
