“Isolate the prisoner. Keep him from contacting the outside world.”

Anderson shrugged. “For every rule there is an exception. Maybe you can lobby for change there. I don’t have the answers. For every step forward you make, there will be three back. I hope you’re ready for that.”

Eliza glanced at the stack of mail she’d brought in with her. It would take an army of victims, of families. But it was the right thing to do. She thought of her father’s words. “Do what’s right, pumpkin, and you’ll always sleep well.”

She stood and placed her palm out for the other woman to shake. “Looks like I have some work to do.” That work would require help from her husband and his family.

Before Eliza committed herself to a cause that would involve hundreds if not thousands of other people, she needed to know her own life was secure. She twirled the chunk of diamond around her ring finger and smiled.

Please don’t let me be wrong about Carter’s intentions.

****

“What’s that noise?” Carter asked while on the phone with Eliza. He had one more night away from home and he’d be tucked in bed with his wife. He couldn’t wait.

“I’m at the back door waiting for this dog to do his thing and the wind is blowing.”

“Our pilot said something about Santa Ana winds.” The hot wind that blew off the desert often reached tornado strength and was responsible for devastating fires throughout southern California. They also delayed flights of smaller aircraft.

“For once the weatherman was right.” The wind beyond Eliza’s voice shut off. “I hope you’re done for the night, furry beast.”

“Please tell me you’re talking to the dog.”

“I am. So when will you be home tomorrow?”

Carter stretched out on the hotel room sofa and kicked his feet up on the table. “I have that luncheon and then I’ll be outta here.”

“By dinner then?”

Carter smiled into the phone. “You sound excited to see me.”

“Need to feed your ego much?”

His grin grew wider. “I missed you, too.”

There was a pause on the phone and for a minute, he thought the line went dead.

“Call me from the airport,” she said. “I’ll order our pasta and chill the wine.”

Our pasta from our place.

God, he loved this woman.

“Oh, damn.”

“What is it?”

“The power went out.” Her phone made a clicking noise. “And my cell is nearly dead.”

Power outages in Southern California were rare. Outside of fallen trees and earthquakes, the power company didn’t have to deal with many weather related issues. “I’m sure it will kick on soon. Russell has a back up phone, and the alarm system will run for a few hours on battery backup. There’s a flashlight in the pantry on the wall and another in my nightstand by the bed.”

He heard Zod bark a couple of times.

“Oh, you big baby. How you ever passed police training is beyond me,” he heard Eliza say. “Where do you keep the candles?”

“I only have the long ones we use on the dinner table. You sure you’re okay?” The thought of her stumbling around in the dark made him itch. “I can call Blake, have you go there.”

“It’s just a power outage. I’m fine. Hey, Russell.”

Carter listened to Eliza and Russell talking about candles, and reassured himself that she had protection in his absence. The phone beeped in his ear.

“I better go before the call drops. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

He looked forward to it. “Sleep well.”

“Dream of me.”

Oh, he would.

Chapter Twenty-Five

According to the battery-operated scanner on Russell’s desk, the power outage was due to a transformer blown a few blocks from the house. The battery backup ran low, and it appeared that they would be in the dark for a while. Pete, the second guard, said, “I’m not comfortable without another form of backup. If the batteries die, we’re blind, surveillance is down and we’re screwed. I’m going by the office to pick up another unit before this one goes down.”

Zod’s special doggie door automatically stopped working in the event of a power outage, which put Eliza on alert for the dog’s needs. She didn’t mind. The eerie wind and dry air made her itch. She considered attempting to weed through the stack of letters to find the most articulate people to lead others, but concentrating on her work was difficult in the silent house. Strange how she became used to the hum of the refrigerator or the sound of one of the guard’s radios upstairs.

The soft glow of the candle flickering off the walls of her bedroom blanketed the room with warmth.

She missed her husband. Power outages and candlelight would prove more romantic with her husband by her side instead of the dog. She made certain the door was open a crack so Zod could move about before she curled up on her side of the bed with the second book in a series she’d been awaiting for, for months. She hoped the author hadn’t been in the mood to write a passionate love scene within the first few pages. That would suck on this lonely, dark night.

****

Five minutes before the final bell tolled, signaling all inmates to return to their cells, Harry sat with his back against the wall pretending to read a book. One of the other inmates, Michael…or maybe it was Mitchell, hesitated as he walked by. He stopped long enough to make eye contact with Harry, dropped a piece of paper on the floor, and then walked away.

Harry bent down and retrieved the paper, hiding it between the pages of his book to open it. He glanced up several times, certain that someone watched him.

On the wrinkled paper was a note. HE CALLED A HIT. HOPE YOUR KID ISN’T CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE.

Everything inside Harry froze.

He’d waited too long.

****

The soothing sound of the heater turning on and off in the room finally filled Carter’s noisy brain. He must have drifted off to sleep only moments before the shattering ring of the hotel phone shot him out of bed like lightning through a turbulent sky. Still, it took until the third ring for his mind to fully engage.

“Hello?”

“Carter?” It was his dad.

“Hey?” He sat up in bed and turned on the bedside light. “Is everything okay?”

“Were you sleeping?”

Carter glanced at the glow of his cell phone clock. 11:23, yep, he was sleeping. “Not anymore. What’s up.”