The SUV caught the shooter square with a meaty impact and dragged him into the woods. The SUV hit two trees simultaneously, lifting the rear axle off the ground as it wrenched to a halt.

His nose bleeding and right knee injured, Tinsley disappeared into the trees before the air bag had finished deflating.

Bullets punched holes through the walls above Gibson’s head. He stumbled backward and fell to the floor behind the cover of the bathtub.

Billy was frozen, hugging the toilet like it was a life preserver. Gibson crawled over and shoved him roughly around so that the toilet was between him and the gunfire. That and the bathtub would give them some short-term protection, but he needed to get Billy out of there.

Billy begged Gibson not to leave him.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised.

He moved low out of the bathroom. The hallway was covered in debris and broken glass. He scuttled down the hall to the front door. Hendricks was sprawled out on the floor. It looked like the front door had cracked Hendricks in the forehead, splitting the skin from the bridge of his nose to his hairline. The wound was bleeding heavily. Gibson checked for a pulse—it felt strong and regular.

He dragged Hendricks farther from the open door and patted him down. A thick key ring was in a hip pocket. He took the keys along with Hendricks’s gun and crab-walked back to the bathroom, where he fumbled through the keys, unlocked the handcuffs, and motioned for Billy to follow him.

Together, they crawled down the hallway back to Hendricks. The automatic-weapons fire had slowed, becoming more deliberate. There was a thunderous crash away from the house. A car horn rang out. It took him another moment to realize that the crash had momentarily halted the gunfire.

He gestured for Billy to drag Hendricks farther back into the house.

Gibson glanced out the door and into the dark. A round snapped past his ear. One of the SUVs had driven off into the woods. The other SUV’s headlights had been shot out. He could see Jenn crouched behind the car, but no one else. Billy said something behind him.

“What?”

“Floodlights,” Billy said again.

Gibson pointed to a panel of light switches above his head. Billy nodded.

Not a bad idea. He knocked on the doorframe to get Jenn’s attention. They made eye contact. He showed her the gun, gestured for her to come to him, then held up three fingers. She nodded, and he counted down with his fingers. On zero, he threw all the switches at once. Powerful halogens lit up the driveway like high noon. In the glare, he saw two men back by the SUV and another behind the elm tree in the circular driveway, kneeling beside a body.

Where were the others?