Chapter 1 - The Four Sounds in the Kitchen

The first sound Daniel Mercer heard when he opened his front door was not his daughter's voice.

It was a hard crack from the kitchen.

Then another.

Then two more in quick succession.

Daniel stopped breathing.

He had spent fourteen years in the United States Navy learning the difference between a harmless noise and the kind that meant move now, ask questions later. The skill had followed him home whether he wanted it or not.

He dropped his overnight bag in the foyer and ran.

The kitchen doorway framed a scene that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

His five-year-old son, Noah, stood in front of his four-year-old sister, Lily, with both arms spread as if his tiny body could become a wall. Lily was crying so hard she could barely make a sound. On the other side of the island stood Daniel's wife, Claire, gripping one of his golf clubs.

Her face changed the instant she saw him.

"Daniel—"

"STOP!"

His voice filled the room.

Noah and Lily turned.

"Daddy!" Lily screamed.

"Help us!" Noah cried.

Daniel crossed the kitchen in three strides and put himself between his children and Claire.

"Put it down."

Claire stared at him.

"You don't understand. They were out of control."

"Put. It. Down."

She loosened her grip, but then lifted one hand as if she were going to reach past him for Noah.

Daniel reacted without thinking. He knocked her hand away and shoved the club aside. Claire stumbled into the counter. Her hip hit the edge, and a yellow soup pot tipped from the stove, spilling across the marble several feet from the children.

"Don't touch them," Daniel said.

His voice was quieter now, which made it more frightening.

Claire pressed one hand to the counter.

"You came home early."

Daniel looked at his children.

Noah's cheeks were wet. Lily's pink dress was wrinkled where she had been clutching it in both fists.

He dropped to his knees.

They ran into him so fast he nearly fell backward.

"I've got you," he whispered. "I've got both of you."

Lily buried her face in his shoulder.

Noah's small hand grabbed Daniel's tie.

"Daddy," he whispered, "she said you told her she could do it."

Daniel slowly looked up at Claire.

She had gone completely still.

"What did you tell them I said?"

Claire opened her mouth.

Before she could answer, Noah whispered something else.

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"Daddy... there's a camera."

And Claire's face turned white.