But Darius didn’t say a word.
The doorknob, however, started to turn. It stopped at the engaged lock.
If it were Darius, this would at the very least be the first time he would say it was him. Let her know to unlock it. Called out to Eve, giving an all clear.
Instead, the silence was only broken by another twist of the doorknob.
Eve hadn’t realized she was already backing up on reflex.
It made running for the window even easier when the sound of frustration went from trying the lock to someone trying to break down the door.
DARIUS PLACED HISgun in the kitchen sink. To say he was unhappy was an understatement.
The second shooter from the steel mill, the woman who had gotten away, had now found her way back into his life.
Into his home.
And she, and the gun she had pressed against Theo’s back, had backed him into a corner in the kitchen.
He hadn’t yet seen the second person in his home, but he sure heard him trying with everything he had to get into the main bedroom.
“I don’t know what this is, but I can tell you that he has no part in it,” Darius said, aggravated. Theo’s deep frown seemed to mimic the feeling. Both men were angry and trying to put a lid on that rising rage so they could all come out of this safely.
The woman wasn’t taller than the boy but had angled herself to where she could see Darius clearly from his side without losing the upper hand.
Without the gun trained on him, she would have looked all but normal among them. Casually dressed, somewhere between their ages, and a pleasant-enough smile without context. Though, even without the gun in her hand, two glaring details would have eventually shattered the image.
For one thing, her lip was busted, blood dripping down her chin, and two, she was wearing black gloves.
Normaldidn’t seem to be on her docket.
She nodded to Theo, whose eyebrow had a nasty gash with a matching blood drip, and kept her smile tight.
“You just voluntarily put your only weapon in the kitchen sink,” she pointed out. “He might not have been a piece on the game board, but you can’t argue the results of using him.”
She was right.
Even as he had walked into the living room following the sounds of her and Theo’s scuffle, Darius hadn’t had the time or the space to go on the defense or offense. Not without risking Theo’s life.
Never mind having to deal with whoever was trying to break down the bedroom door.
If the lock hadn’t held, Darius wouldn’t have cared if there was space or not for him to move. He would have found a way to get back to Eve come hell or high water.
But the lock and the door were holding.
Which would give Eve enough time to hide or escape.
She was, as history had shown, good at climbing in and out of windows.
“What do you want?” Darius asked. He was hoping to stall for time to figure out a plan that got everyone he cared about out of harm’s way. “Why are you here?”
The woman used her free hand to wipe some of the blood away from her chin. She sighed.
“I’m running into more complications than I intended, that’s why.” Her hold on her weapon and aim didn’t waver while she multitasked.
“Then, quit,” Darius said. “Tell me who you’re working for, what game they wanted you to play, and then leave. Cancel whatever deal you made, whatever contract you entered, and go.”
The woman’s eyes widened in obvious surprise.
