“Will you marry me?” he said.

Sierra opened her mouth to respond. Before she could say a word, a strobe light concealed in the recessed ceiling began flashing.

She glanced up and then hastily looked away from the senses-dazzling strobe.

“What in the world?” she said. “Is that an alarm?”

“Well, damn,” North said. “If it isn’t one thing tonight, it’s another.”

He released Sierra, took out his phone and hit the app that controlled the security camera screens. One of the mirrors on the wall slid aside, revealing a series of video screens. The views covered every part of the gardens inside the walls. There was movement in sector two, the pool and fountain area.

Sierra gazed at the screen, startled. “There’s someone out there.”

North glanced at the information that was coming in on the app. “Two people, to be precise.”

Two men wearing baseball caps were prowling around the edge of the fountain pool, pistols in hand. North zoomed in on one of the faces.

“That’s Ralph,” Sierra said. “One of the orderlies from Riverview.”

North got a close-up of the second man. “Joe. So much for hoping the cops back on Bainbridge or the cleaner team in Seattle would pick up the Puppets.”

“Ralph and Joe are probably out for revenge. In their minds we ruined their chances of becoming super psychics armed with untraceable weapons. I doubt if they had to go to a lot of trouble to find us. By now everyone involved in this thing knows you’re Griffin Chastain’s grandson, and this house isn’t exactly hard to identify.”

“True. Luckily, the house can take care of itself.”

He put the phone down and reached for her again. “Now, about my proposal. Will you—?”

“Wait,” Sierra yelped. “You need to call the police. There are two armed intruders out there in the backyard.”

“Don’t worry about them,” North said.

“I’m not worried about them; I’m worried about us. We’re alone out here in the desert and those two creeps probably intend to murder us. Call nine-one-one.”

“That won’t be necessary,” North said. “At least, not immediately. The house can take care of itself. About my question—”

“We can’t discuss marriage while we’re under attack.”

The two men circling the fountain pool abruptly stiffened as if they had touched a live electrical wire. Their mouths opened in soundless horror. Joe collapsed on the concrete pool surround. Ralph, however, managed to fall facedown into the long, shallow fountain pool.

“Damn,” North said. “You can drown in a few inches of water just as easily as you can if you go into the deep end of a pool.” He got to his feet. “Why can’t anything go right tonight?”

“Where are you going?”

“To haul Ralph out of the fountain. If he drowns there will be paperwork. My insurance company will probably have a fit. Go ahead, call nine-one-one. Those two Puppets have managed to kill the mood.”

Sierra yanked out her phone. “Out of curiosity, what just happened to Ralph and Joe?”