Free Archer by Debra Kayn Page A

my gun back.”
    He shook his head. “No gun. Go. Clear your throat when you reach the front door and unarm the alarm. Then count to ten and reset it.” He led her to the inside kitchen wall. “Then sit on the living room floor. Even if you hear anything, do not get up.”
    She shuffled her feet, working her way around the kitchen. He took out his pistol. She hesitated in the archway. “Go.”
    “Kage…be careful. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
    That’s where she was wrong. Kage knew exactly what Carson was capable of, and he’d do anything to make sure none of it touched Jane again. Kage had trained, experienced, and come out alive in more dangerous situations in his life. His chest tightened. But he’d never had Jane to protect before. He’d make damn sure they both survived.
    “Kage?”
    “Do what I tell you, Janie. Please.”
    She followed his directions and went into the living room. A few seconds later, she cleared her throat. He headed to the back door, slipped outside, and listened for any noise.
    The crickets chirped, a frog croaked intermittently from the spring that ran a hundred yards behind his house. He was thankful for any noise to cover his movements, knowing Carson wouldn’t recognize the sound of the night if it bit him in the ass. This was Kage’s territory.
    He’d grown up in this house. Only during the time he spent with the Dentons had he been away. Even then, he’d always come here to find a connection to family when life got too heavy, even though he knew how messed up that seemed to others. His parents had lost the property, but he’d bought it back the minute he earned enough money for a down payment.
    The house stayed vacant for years. Nobody wanted a known drug dealer’s house, let alone a place where someone overdosed and died. That was fine by him. Every day it reminded him of what he would not become. He was an Archer by birth, but he would not carry on that legacy.
    Staying close to the building, his back to the wall, he scanned the perimeter. He planned to use the old barn to draw Carson away from the house, away from Jane, if he showed himself. He forged his way to the roadside to make sure Carson wasn’t using the bushes to hide in.
    While he made his way across the yard, he listened.
    The crickets continued their incessant chirps. He eyed the distance to the mailbox, cleared the area safe, and ran to the closest rhododendron. Creeping along the side, he rolled around to the front, his pistol raised.
    Nothing.
    The area was clear.
    Dammit. He sensed movement coming from his left, stilled, then relaxed at the familiar whistle.
    Garrett approached him. “All clear for the quarter of a mile leading to the house.”
    “There’s no sign that anyone’s been here recently.” Kage lifted his chin. “Barn.”
    With unspoken understanding, they separated, each going in a different direction. Since he knew the lay of the barn, Kage entered, knowing Garrett had his back.
    Ten minutes later, he left the barn through the front double doors, swinging them wide open. He’d hear if anyone closed them later.
    Garrett slipped his gun into his holster. “We’ll get him.”
    “Not soon enough.” Anxious to get back to Jane, he walked toward the house with Garrett at his side.
    “How’s Jane doing?” Garrett asked.
    “The email shook her. Before that happened, she seemed to be acclimating pretty well.” He saw no reason to share with Garrett the way she’d kissed him. “Every time I think of what she must’ve gone through…”
    “I know.”
    He blew out a breath. “When we catch this bastard, I want ten minutes with him.”
    “Kage—”
    “I’m not asking.” He looked at Garrett. “I’ll walk away from the agency afterward if that’s what it comes down to but I’m taking my ten minutes, and that’s still letting him off too easily.”
    Garrett nodded, putting a hand to his friend’s shoulder. Kage peered up into the sky. He was tense and angry and he