Chapter 16 - The Night the Lights Failed
The safe house lost power at the same instant the alarm went off.
Emergency lights flashed red along the corridor. Sophie woke screaming, and I found her by following the sound of her rabbit's little bell against the bedframe.
“I'm here,” I said. “I’ve got you.”
Adrian stood in the doorway, phone flashlight trembling across the floor. Behind him Caleb was talking to Ortiz over a radio.
“Back stairs,” Ortiz ordered. “Now.”
We moved in a tight line. Nobody argued. At the exit a uniformed officer pointed us toward an unmarked car, then stopped short when he saw something beyond the parking lot.
“Wrong way,” he said. “They're watching the gate.”
He guided us into a maintenance corridor. We waited among folded chairs while officers cleared the surrounding streets. Sophie buried her face in Adrian's neck.
“I thought they'd take me again.”
He kissed her hair. “I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner.”
“Can you see it now?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“I promise I'll listen. Every time.”
Her small fingers loosened around his collar.
At dawn Ortiz told us the alarm had been triggered through a compromised security panel. Nobody had entered the building, but somebody had wanted us frightened and moving. The gate cameras showed a dark SUV leaving as soon as the first police cruiser arrived.
Ortiz had better news too. A search warrant was ready for Harold's private office. Marcus Wynn had been picked up at the airport. Vivienne's attorney was trying to arrange her surrender.
“Trying?” Adrian asked.
“She disappeared before he could reach her.”
The board meeting was canceled for safety. Adrian instead gave sworn testimony and signed away day-to-day control pending the investigation.
Later, while Caleb rested in a nearby room, Sophie drew a picture of five people holding hands. She included the rabbit with enormous ears. Beside him she drew one more figure.
“Who's that?” I asked.
“Mommy,” she said. “She’s behind the window.”
I followed her gaze toward the glass door at the end of the hall.
A woman in a dark winter coat stood outside, one hand pressed against the pane.
May you like
She was alive.
And she was looking straight at Adrian.
