Not someone running. These were slow, cautious steps. And they were coming straight for the bedroom. Maybe Judson.
Perhaps the killer.
Heck, it could be both of them, one coming from the front of the hall and the other from the back that fed off the kitchen. Without any illumination and no windows, the hall was pitch-black. Judson wouldn’t be able to see the killer.
And vice versa.
Except maybe that wasn’t true.
If the killer had made plans to cut the power, then he or she could have also brought along night vision goggles. Which meant the killer could see Judson and shoot him.
Addie couldn’t stop herself from moving closer to Bennie and the door. She wanted to be able to help Judson if he needed it. She also wanted to stop the killer from claiming a fourth victim.
She had to shut out thoughts of Judson dying. Of him being hurt and bleeding out the way Yvette had done. She was trying to shut out everything but the sounds around her. The footsteps.
Yes, she could hear them. From the front of the hall. That would probably be Judson, making his way to them. Risking his life to try to protect them.
Addie could also hear the faint whimpering of one of the babies, and she prayed Lily and Rose weren’t frightened, that they weren’t picking up on all the danger around them. Also, if the whimpering turned to full-out cries, the killer would have no trouble pinpointing their location.
That got Addie moving even closer to the door, but she came to a dead stop at the sound of the gunshot. It roared through thehouse, a deafening blast that sent her heart racing and her fears skyrocketing.
Mercy.
Had Judson been shot?
She couldn’t accept that. Wouldn’t. And she tried to listen for any indication that he was hurt. But all she could hear now were those full-out cries from not just one baby but both of them. Probably from the sound of that gunshot. She hated that the little girls were being put through this.
Addie blinked several times, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and she could finally see Bennie. Well, the outline of him, anyway. She couldn’t see anything or anyone in the hall, though. It was a black void where a killer no doubt was coming for them.
But where was Judson?
Was he lying in wait, too? Waiting until he could see the killer before he tried to take him out?
There was more movement. Footsteps this time. And she heard Bennie mutter something under his breath that she didn’t catch. But she had no trouble catching the next sound.
Another gunshot.
This one seemed even louder than the first, something she hadn’t thought possible. Maybe because it was closer? Was the killer right outside the bedroom door? It certainly seemed as if he was.
There was a flash of light. A bright burst of it, and Addie thought of those old cameras with the bulbs. It caused spots in her vision, smears and blurs blending with the darkness. It must have done the same for Bennie, because he rubbed at his eyes with the back of his left hand.
There was another shot.
Even louder, and closer, than the last one.
Bennie made a sound. A sort of grunt, and now that she could see slightly better, Addie saw something she definitely hadn’t wanted to see.
The deputy collapsed in the doorway.
God, had Bennie been shot?
Addie couldn’t see any blood, but it would have been next to impossible to catch sight of that anyway in the darkness and based on the way he’d fallen. Bennie was curled up in a heap on the floor.
However, she had no trouble seeing the figure that hurdled over Bennie. It happened at the exact second she heard another gunshot. But it wasn’t coming from the figure wearing all black and night-vision goggles.
The shot had come from the hall.
Addie brought up her gun, trying to take aim.
