“’Night,” she repeated as he shut the door. The second she was alone, she dropped her head into her hands. “You guys are dicks,” she whispered toward the necklace. Before undressing for bed, she removed the heavy silver and placed it in the wooden jewelry box her dad had made her years ago. No way was Rutherford getting a show. Settling into bed felt like coming home, especially with the rain pattering against the window.

Her mind spun through the last day or so. She enjoyed working for the government. Enjoyed being one of the good guys putting away bad guys.

Until now.

She drifted off to sleep in worn flannel sheets that smelled faintly of fresh air and sunshine. Did her dad have her sheets changed regularly in case she came home? He could be so sweet when he wasn’t in the room. The idea made her snuggle deeper into the sense of home and family. Her sleep was calm and her dreams languid.

A sound jerked her straight up in bed before dawn.

Her heartbeat sped and she looked around, trying to get her bearings. Had she been dreaming? Rain still fell outside, and she took several deep breaths.

The boom of a shotgun firing had her jumping out of bed and running for the door. “Dad?” she yelled, running through the hallway and down the stairs. Her dad wouldn’t shoot Raider, would he? An explosion bellowed through the early morning, and she rushed for the front door, bursting onto the porch.

Fire billowed from the closest barn. Slats of burning wood rained down from the demolished structure along with heavy tools. Another explosion rocked the buildings, and she ducked her head as fire heated the rainy air around her. “Dad?” she called.

Her father came around the side of the house, firing toward the barn. “Get off my property, you sons of bitches,” he bellowed, dressed only in a pair of old jeans and boots.

Oh, God. She started down the steps in her bare feet, which instantly chilled from the hard wood. “What is going on? Raider?” She looked frantically around as the fire crackled. Where was he?

“Get back inside,” her dad yelled, rain matting his gray hair to his head as he advanced toward the fire.

Her vision blurred, and her body shook. Then she caught sight of a black SUV on the other side of the burning barn. She squinted to see better, and just then a man from the other side of the vehicle fired toward her father. Letting out a yelp, she ducked and hit the wet grass, rolling toward the side of the house for cover. She was a sitting duck on the porch. Where the heck was Raider?

Then a bullet hit her dad, and he went down. Two men with guns rushed her way. She screamed.

* * *