Five seconds passed, then five more. Lightning split the sky open then, and for a heartbeat, it was as bright and clear as day.

"Hell," Theo muttered when he saw another figure darting across the road.

Michelle was in the bathroom dressing by the soft glow of the nightlight in the hall. She was shoving her feet into her tennis

shoes when the nightlight went out. The bulb was too new to have burned out. Racing back into her bedroom, she saw that the clock radio dial was also dark. Either lightning had struck a power line, or someone had cut the power feeding her house. She opted for the second bleak possibility.

It was so dark without the nightlight, she couldn't see anything. The linen closet was right outside the guest room. She felt around for the handle, got the door open, and reached up on the top shelf for her flashlight. She knocked over a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a box of Band-Aids. The bottle landed hard on her instep. She kicked it into the closet to get it out of her way, found the flashlight, and then shut the door so she wouldn't bump into it.

There were Band-Aids scattered all over the floor. She slipped on one as she ran into the guest room. "The phone line's dead

and the electricity's out. Theo, what is going on?"

"There are two men out in front. One's crouched down low by the tree and isn't moving. Grab my cell phone and hand it to me. We've got to get some help."

She was afraid to turn the flashlight on because the drapes were open, and whoever was outside would see the light, so she felt around on the dresser, her frustration mounting with each second.

"Where is it?" she asked. Then she heard the sound of a motor humming in the distance. She ran to the window facing the

water and saw the light from the boat coming closer and closer to the dock. She couldn't tell how many were in the boat,

couldn't see anything but that shimmering beacon that seemed to pulsate with a life of its own as it grew stronger and stronger.

Theo already had his jeans and shoes on and was pulling a dark T-shirt over his head and trying to keep watch at the window at the same time. Pain shot through his arm when he shoved his hand through the short sleeve, and his skin felt wet and sticky with blood. He touched the injury, felt the jagged piece of glass, and was relieved it wasn't a bullet hole. Wiping his hand on his jeans, he tugged the T-shirt down, then reached up again and plucked the shard of glass out. It burned as if a hot iron were stuck to his skin.

"There's a boat coming toward the dock," she said. "They're with the two in front, aren't they?" She felt foolish asking the question. Of course there were more of them. Who among her friends would come visiting in the middle of the night during a torrential storm? "What do they want?" she whispered.

"We'll ask them later," he said. "Where's my phone?" he demanded as he fastened the holster to his jeans, then shoved his gun

into the leather pouch and closed the snap. He'd already figured out their escape route. They'd have to go out the back window, drop down onto the porch roof, and hit the ground running. With any luck, they could get to his car.

"It's not on the dresser," she said.

"Ah, hell," he muttered, for he'd suddenly remembered where he'd put it. It was sitting in the charger next to Michelle's on the desk downstairs. "I plugged it in by your phone."

"I'll go get it."

"No," he said sharply. "The steps face the back door, and if one of them is waiting there, he'll see you.

"Stay by the window and try to see how many get out of the boat. Has it docked yet?"

Theo kicked the door shut, then shoved the heavy dresser in front of it in hopes of slowing the men down.

"One man just got out of the boat, and he's using a flashlight. He's headed for the backyard… no, he's going around to the

front. I can't tell if there's another one."

"Open the window," he said as he picked up his car keys and shoved them into his back pocket. "We're going out that way.

Let me go out first so I can catch you."

He' climbed out the window, swung down, and tried to be as quiet as possible as he dropped to the porch roof. The shingles

were slick from the rain, and he almost lost his footing on the sharp pitch as he landed. Bracing his legs apart, he put his arms

up and waited for Michelle to jump, all the while praying that lightning wouldn't strike and give them away. If there were others

in the yard or in the boat, they would see them and sound the alert.

He reached for Michelle just as he heard glass breaking downstairs. It sounded as if it was coming from the back door. The

noise was immediately followed by an earsplittdng sound of gunfire coming from the front of the house. The bastards were organized. They were simultaneously rushing both entrances. They wanted to trap Theo and Michelle inside.

Michelle could hear them knocking things over downstairs. How many were there? She tucked the flashlight into the waistband

of her jeans and climbed out on the ledge.

"Let's go." His voice was a low, urgent whisper.

She hesitated for a second or two, trying to focus, but then she heard the pounding of heavy footsteps on the stairs. She let go.

Theo caught her around the waist. She slipped, but he held fast until she recovered her balance. Staying close to him, she scrambled on all fours across the roof. The rain was coming down in sheets now. She could barely see her hands. She reached the edge, tested the gutter, hoping she could hang on as she swung her legs over, but the gutter was loose, and she knew it would make a racket if it fell. There were overgrown lilac bushes all along the side of her house. She put her hand over her eyes as she jumped into the center of the thicket.

Scurrying to get out of Theo's way, she ran headfirst into a thick branch. It cut her cheek, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"Which way?" she whispered.

"The front. Wait here." He pulled his gun out. He edged his way to the corner of the house, ducked down, and then leaned out. The hood of his car was up, which meant they'd disabled it. He looked across the road, judging the distance to the swamp. He didn't relish getting trapped and hunted in the maze of dense vegetation, but if they could run across without being seen, then he and Michelle could make their way to the crossroads.

A car was parked further up the road. He wouldn't have seen it if the brake lights hadn't suddenly gone on. Whoever was

waiting inside had his foot on the brakes. A second later the lights went off.

Theo went back to Michelle. "We have to try to get to your boat. It's the only way out of here."

"Let's go."

They made it to the edge of the dock before they were spotted. Caught hi the glare of a light shining down from the bedroom window, Theo pushed Michelle down as he turned and fired. He didn't know if he hit anything or not. The light went out, and he heard shouting.