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anything that looks like a flash drive.” He lifted the gun a little higher. “And if you try anything, I don’t have any problem putting a bullet in a kid, you understand?”
    Jenna’s fear tripled. She swallowed. “I understand.”
    But she also knew that if Samantha or her father had found something, they would have mentioned it to her. Now her mind clicked as she desperately tried to figure out a way to put out a distress signal.
    Pulling open drawers, she rifled through the things she’d just unpacked yesterday. And found nothing, of course. She didn’t expect to, but going through the motions seemed to make the man with the gun happy and that was all that mattered to her right now.
    Think, think, she ordered her sluggish brain. There was another officer outside. If she could get his attention . . . but what if he was in on it?
    Curses reached her ears and she flinched, watching him from the corner of her eye.
    He spun back around. “Upstairs.”
    Away from Andy. That was fine with her. As she stepped out of the room, Andy stirred and her heart jumped. Then he let out a sigh and settled back down.
    With a prayer on her lips, she followed the man to the stairs.

    Samantha flew up the stairs, down through the hallway, and stopped on instinct as she came to her hallway. Composing herself, she turned, hearing Connor and the others right behind her.
    One guard still stood at the door. She’d never seen him before, but she kept an eye on his body language as he caught sight of them.
    “Harkham?” she said.
    He jerked, pulled out his phone even while he nodded and put on a smile for her.
    Samantha turned to Dakota. “He’s one of them.”
    Dakota trained his weapon on the officer. “Hang it up.”
    Harkham gulped and did.
    “Where’s Ellis?” Sam demanded.
    “He . . . uh . . . took a little break. Should be back soon.”
    Sam looked at the men. “He’s in the room.”
    Connor was swiping the card before she finished speaking.

    Jenna heard the door open the same time he did.
    “Jenna!”
    “Dad!”
    Without hesitating, she left the drawer half closed, spun on her heel, and flew down the steps. Thundering feet chased after her. She saw her father standing just inside the door, Samantha behind him.
    Her father’s eyes went wide, his mouth opened, and Jenna threw herself flat at the bottom of the steps just as a gun cracked behind her.
    Two more shots followed from in front of her.
    A harsh cry escaped the man trying to harm her, and she heard him hit the stairs. Scrambling to her feet, she launched herself at her father even as Dakota pushed his way in, gun still smoking.
    She felt her dad’s arms wrap around her. Then heard, “Mommy!”
    From the corner of her eye, Jenna saw Samantha bolt into the bedroom and snatch Andy close to her heart. Her brother let go of his truck and Jenna saw something fall from it to land on the floor at Samantha’s feet. Her stepmother never noticed.
    Jenna pulled away from her father and walked over to Samantha and Andy.
    Samantha asked, “Are you all right?”
    “Yes. I am now.” Jenna leaned over and picked up the silver and black miniature flash drive about the size of her thumbnail. “And I think this may be what everyone has been after.”

    Samantha took the drive and stared at it. Then she looked up at Jenna. “Where did this come from?”
    “It fell out of Andy’s truck.”
    The light went on. “In the bathroom.” She looked at Connor. “Special Agent Reese slipped it in Andy’s truck when we left to get him help.”
    “His one last act of heroism,” Dakota declared. The handcuffed Francis Harkham glowered. Dakota asked him, “So what’s on here?”
    “Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Dakota laughed. “Right.”
    Connor shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”
    As the FBI led the two criminals away, Samantha fell into Connor’s arms and let him hold her and Andy. “Is it over?”
    “I’m not sure yet.”
    “It’s