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pot. It had just started to slide across the carpet when she heard him make a sudden exclamation.
    “Got it.”
    She turned her head. He was crouched beside her, his face level with hers, so she had a close-up view of the smile that flickered over his face. It wasn’t charming or friendly like the other ones she’d seen. It was…hard.
    He caught her gaze, and his smile instantly eased.
    It had been a trick of the lighting, she decided. Anyone’s face could look hard when it was lit by a flashlight from below, as all kids who had ever told a ghost story around a campfire knew.
    “Okay, I’m almost done.” He pushed aside her purse and the stray backpack that she’d dropped beside the plant, then slid his screwdriver back into a slot in his tool belt. “I’ll need to open up the electric box here, so for your own safety, I’m going to have to ask you to leave the apartment now.”
    She sat back on her heels. A fig leaf wafted downward and settled on her lap. “What do you mean?”
    “It’s routine, in case something goes wrong. The power company would be held liable if you got accidentally injured while I was doing repairs.”
    “I can’t see why I need to leave. That seems excessive. I’ll just stand out of the way and—”
    “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’re going to have to leave.”
    “If it’s that dangerous, shouldn’t you be wearing protective clothing or something?”
    “Don’t worry about me, I’m a trained professional.” He placed his hand under her elbow and gently but firmly helped her stand up.
    She looked at the place where he held her arm…although, she didn’t really need to look because she felt what he was doing with every other one of her senses.
    “It will only take a few minutes,” he said. “I know you’re in as much of a hurry as I am, so I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
    Before she could form a reply, there was a sudden commotion from the corridor outside her apartment. Men’s voices raised in anger.
    “Hey, take it easy,” someone shouted. “Watch where you’re going.”
    “Get out of my way, idiot,” a heavily accented voice said.
    “You could have broken my nose, slamming through the doorway like that.”
    There was a spurt of muttered words that Abbie couldn’t make out. They sounded foreign.
    Flynn tightened his grip on her elbow and pulled her toward the door. “Please, ma’am. You’re going to have to get out,” he said. “Right now.”
    “But I can’t just—”
    Something heavy slammed into her apartment door.
    “Oh, my God,” she said. “They’re fighting out there. The blackout must be making them panic.”
    Flynn switched direction, pulling her back toward the balcony door. “They’re coming in. We’re going to have to use the balcony.”
    “What?” She tried to tug her arm free, but his fingers couldn’t be budged. “Who’s coming in? What do you mean we have to use—”
    Something hit her door again. There was a sharp, splintering sound.
    Flynn shoved the fig tree to one side with his foot and lunged for the balcony door. It slid open only a few inches before it was stopped dead by the broom handle Abbie kept for security in the sliding door’s track.
    “What are you doing?” she shrieked.
    The apartment door burst inward and slammed against the wall. Three men rushed in.
    Before Abbie could draw breath to scream, Flynn spun her behind him. “Get down,” he ordered.
    She hadn’t meant to obey him—she hadn’t even registered what he had said—but she stumbled over the fig tree pot and lost her footing, going down to her knees, anyway. More leaves rained down around her.
    The intruders were silhouetted against the emergency lighting from the corridor. There were two short men and one tall, and the tall one appeared to be holding a…
    “Oh, my God, he’s got a gun,” Abbie said.
    The words had barely left her mouth when Flynn made a sudden movement. The flashlight he’d been holding hurtled across the room and