Page 15 of Target Acquired
Her pulse thundered and her gaze went back to the boots at her window. They had moved away a few seconds ago, and Kenzie had darted for the stairs. Only, she paused when the boots returned and one lifted to press against the glass. Testing to see how sturdy it was?
The end of a crowbar appeared for a brief moment before it settled against the window. Did he not realize she was in the room? Or did he just not care?
She ran the rest of the way up the stairs. The door leading to the basement didn’t lock, but she shut it anyway. She grabbed her gun, checked the magazine, and then bolted into the den, aiming her steps toward her phone.
Her fingers curled around it and she dialed 911. While it rang, she slipped her feet into the tennis shoes she’d worn home from headquarters.
“What’s your emergency?”
“Someone’s breaking into my house. I’m a cop and I’m armed and I don’t know if this guy has a friend with him.” She gave her badge number and returned to the entrance to the kitchen to watch the basement door.
“I have a unit on the way.”
“Tell the responding officers I have a basement. The guy was right outside the window that’s just above ground level. If he opens it, he can slide in—assuming he’s average sized. Can you also alert Detective Cole Garrison?” She rattled off his number.
“Yes ma’am.” She heard keys clicking in the background. “Do you know if the intruder is armed?”
“I didn’t see a weapon other than a crowbar, but I’m going on the assumption he is and he might not be alone.”
“Of course. Where are you? Can you get out of the house?”
“I can, but I’m not sure if he’s inside or out now, so I’m staying in at the moment. If he comes through my basement window, there’s only one way to access the rest of the house and I’ve got my weapon pointed at it.”
“Detective Garrison was actually nearby. He’s pulling onto your street now.”
Kenzie backed toward the great room, keeping eyes on the basement door, phone pressed to her ear, weapon aimed. Her ears strained for any hint of sound or movement from below, but all was quiet.
Until a footfall hit the squeaky stair in the middle.
Okay, then. He was inside.
Kenzie darted for the front door, flipped the deadbolt, and twisted the knob.
Only to come face-to-face with Cole, who had his weapon drawn. Relief flashed on his features for a fraction of a second before he stepped back. “You reported an intruder?”
Kenzie ended the 911 call. “Coming up my basement stairs. I ran instead of confronting him. Because him might be a them.” She wasn’t ashamed of that.
“Smart.”
“But now that I have backup, you ready?”
He hesitated, almost said something, then nodded as he stepped inside. Kenzie steadied herself. This was just like any other situation where she would be going after a burglar. She held her weapon ready and Cole shut the door behind him. They walked toward her basement stairs. Everything looked exactly like she’d just left it. “I’m going to clear this floor,” she said. “Keep an eye on the basement, will you?”
“Got it.”
Blue lights came into view and bounced through the front door and off the walls. She heard Cole updating dispatch to pass along their current situation to the arriving officers. She ignored them and checked the utility room, her primary bedroom, bath, and closet, then made her way back into the kitchen, where Cole nodded that he still had the basement door covered. It didn’t take her long to clear the other two bedrooms, bath, and office, and she walked to the basement stairs.
They were clear. She started down.
“Right behind you,” Cole whispered.
“Skip the step I do.”
“Got it.”
She continued down the stairs until she had a full view of the room. And the legs hanging inside her window to the thigh. “Police! Stay there!”
The legs withdrew and the window swung closed. Of course he ignored her.