Page 121 of Denial
I meet him at the front door and disarm the alarm. The screaming stops, but my ears keep ringing. His eyes are intense as he scans the exterior of the house.
“What happened?”
“Don’t know yet.” My brows knit as I flip through the alarm panel. “The system’s giving an offline warning for the playroom. I already checked that window.”
“I’ll check it again,” Silas says and skirts past.
Red-and-blue lights illuminate the normally quiet street, skidding to a stop outside my house. I watch my captain approach, service weapon drawn.
“Is it that guy again?”
“I don’t think so, Captain. Can’t seem to find a breach.”
He holsters his gun, but his eyes remain alert. He clicks on his radio, letting dispatch know not to send anyone else. “I’ll stick around. See if we can spot the problem. Did you do a perimeter search?”
“Not yet. Got my daughter and my woman both inside. Didn’t want to leave them alone. I didn’t see anyone on the cameras.”
He nods and flags down Marlowe. “We’ll take a look.”
I move back into the house, trusting those two to be thorough.
“Sutton,” Silas calls, rounding the corner from my living room. “This one doesn’t have an LED light on. I think the battery is dead.”
The tension in my shoulders eases. A humorless chuckle slips out. “Goddamn, Si.” I wipe a palm across my eyes.
He claps me on the shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “The system worked. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have known the battery died, and that window would have been unsecure for however long it took you to notice.”
“You’re right. Though I wish it wasn’t three in the fuckin’ morning.”
He shrugs. “Better than three in the afternoon when your nanny is here all alone.”
That thought didn’t occur to me. I blow out a harsh exhale. “You’re right about that.”
“Got a fresh battery?”
“There’s a caddy full of them in the cabinet above the fridge.”
“I’ll take care of this, switch it out, and put it back.”
“Thanks, brother.”
While Silas takes care of the window sensor, I let Captain and Marlowe know it was a false alarm. By the time I’m done and they’re driving down the street, Silas has the window fixed. I thank him for coming and reengage the alarm, verifying that the playroom zone is back online.
My steps are sure as I return downstairs. I knock softly on Nellie’s door, proud to see it remains locked.
“It’s me, Firecracker.” I use the intimate nickname only she knows I call her.
Before my next breath, the door lock disengages, and Alice’s face appears. Her eyes are wide, and she chews on her bottom lip.
“How’s Nellie?” I whisper, looking over her head to see my girl in the same place I left her in.
“Slept through it,” Alice answers.
I slip my hand through the opening and thread our fingers, tugging her into the hall. She closes the door behind her and follows me to my bedroom.
“Is it-Is it over?” She tries for nonchalant, but can’t quite hide the waver in her voice.
“It was a false alarm.”
