Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

T he boom was deafening.

"No!" Jasmine lunged for the door. Her shout was loud in her head but muffled in her ears. Where had the bomb hit? Was Leila hurt? Peggy? One of the children?

Please, God. Please…

Another explosion. And another.

Sophie grabbed her arm.

Behind her, in the pale light coming from outside, Summer pointed to their feet.

Jasmine wanted to check on the others, but Sophie yanked her to the floor.

In the strange and muffled silence, a high-pitched whistle was unmistakable.

Summer dove on top of Jasmine and Sophie, knocking them to the hard floor.

Jasmine banged her shoulder and elbow, but everything felt numb in the surreal world.

The next explosion was so close that her hair lifted. She squeezed her eyes closed, but blinding light pierced her eyelids.

Smoke filled the space, thick and heavy. She inhaled an acrid chemical scent and coughed, sure she'd never get another clean breath. She pulled the knit hat from her pocket and covered her mouth and nose, breathing through it.

Summer rolled off them and crawled toward the doorway.

Somehow, despite the bomb, the bedroom seemed undamaged. There was no debris from fallen walls. The bed beside her felt intact. No flames brightened the darkness, and she felt no heat.

What kind of a bomb did no damage?

Summer peered into the hallway, then pointed. "Downstairs. Stay low." Her words were clear, though faint, as if they'd been shouted from far away. But Jasmine's hearing was already coming back.

Heeding her instructions, Sophie started for the hallway.

Before Jasmine could follow, Summer got in her face and shouted, making herself heard. "Stay away from windows. Don't go anywhere alone. Understand me?"

Jasmine nodded, and Summer returned to the window.

What was she doing? She wasn't coming?

No. Summer was back at her perch, firing, determined to keep up the fight, to defend the house and the people in it.

Protect her, Lord. Protect her child.

Jasmine couldn't fight. She'd never fired a gun in her life. But she could care for the wounded.

The hallway was pitch black. Though Sophie had only been a few feet ahead of her, she was lost in the haze of smoke and darkness.

Jasmine crawled back to the bed, snatched the flashlight, and flicked it on.

Thank God the smoke rose to the ceiling. In the hallway, if she stayed low, she could breathe. It was cold enough that she pulled the hat on her head, shoving her hair inside it, before swinging the light toward the stairs .

Sophie was gesturing her forward.

She swung the flashlight in the other direction and caught sight of someone crawling toward her from farther down the hallway. Leila!

Jasmine lit the way between them. "Are you all right?"

"I think…." Leila said something else, but she didn't catch it. The faint, hazy light showed a gash on her twin's forehead and a line of blood dripping from it.

"You're hurt!"

"Only a little. Peggy told me to…" The rest of her words were lost as she twisted to look behind.

"I'll get her. Go with Sophie." Jasmine pointed to where their friend waited. "She's hurt. Help her!"

Sophie called, "Come on. Hurry."

Leila grabbed Jasmine's wrist. "Come."

"I'll be right behind you." And she would, soon. But first, she'd see if anyone needed help. Leila wanted to keep Jasmine safe, but what about Camilla and Eliza?

Bryan and Roger had been in the attic. Were they all right?

Where were Zo? and Jeremy and Levi? They were children—well, one of them was, anyway. But they might be hurt.

Jasmine's ears were clearing, picking up the sound of gunfire. The attack was still on, and most of the adults in this house were involved. Leila had been shooting from one of the windows, but with her injury, Peggy must've insisted she get downstairs.

Was Peggy searching for her family? Or at a window, taking out targets?

Jasmine wasn't going anywhere until she knew if anyone needed help.

Leila followed Sophie, and Jasmine aimed the flashlight the other way.

These bombs had been all lights and smoke and sound, but they hadn't done much damage. Except Leila had been hurt. How had that happened?

This…this was the distraction Khalid had told her about. She was supposed to go now to meet him.

Derrick and his brothers would take care of Khalid. While they did, she would take care of the people they loved.

Movement in the flashlight beam showed Eliza walking, bent low, with her five-year-old hanging onto her octopus-style.

"Are you okay?" Eliza called.

"Yes. Sophie and Leila are downstairs. Follow them."

Eliza didn't argue, just took Levi to safety.

"Go," a woman's voice said. Camilla?

Jasmine headed toward the room farther down and across the hall.

"But, Mom, you need to?—!"

"Don't argue with me."

Zo? crawled into the hallway and saw Jasmine. "I can't get her to come." The twenty-something sounded on the verge of tears.

"It's okay. She'll be okay." Jasmine prayed it was true. "Hurry, hurry." She aimed the flashlight toward the stairs. "Where is your brother?"

"He went to the attic."

"I'll find him. Go."

Zo? opened her mouth like she wanted to argue.

Camilla was at the window, peering out. She aimed, fired.

Jasmine gripped the young woman's wrist. "Your mother needs to know you're safe so she can focus on what she's doing. The best you can do is go downstairs."

Camilla glanced back and gave Jasmine a grateful smile.

"I love you, Mom." Zo? gave her mother a final look, then crawled toward the stairs.

"I can't find Levi!" Peggy's frantic shout came from the end of the hall.

"He's with Eliza," Jasmine shouted over the gunfire. "They've gone down."

"Oh, thank God." The older woman crawled closer but stopped, coughing. Hacking. "I have to make sure"—she coughed—"Roger and Bryan…" Again, her words were cut off with coughing.

"I'll check on them," Jasmine said.

"And Jeremy!" Camilla yelled. "He went to the attic?—"

"I'll see to them." Jasmine aimed the flashlight toward the stairs. "Go, Peggy. Join the others. We've got this."

Peggy started that direction, then stopped. "But you should—" Hacking coughs kept her from finishing.

"I'll come when I know everyone is all right," Jasmine said. "Go. Please."

From the top of the staircase, Zo? called, "Please, Nana. Please, come on."

The older woman joined her granddaughter.

After they started down, Jasmine continued to the ladder that had been lowered from a hatch in the attic and climbed up.

She poked her head through the opening and looked around. Though smoke rose from the ground floor, this area had avoided damage. Boxes and furniture had been pushed to one side. "Is everyone all right up here?"

Bryan glanced from his spot at a window facing the rear of the house but didn't lower the rifle aimed outside. "Grant told us to stay put."

At a window nearby, Jeremy was pale but unhurt. "Did you see my mom and Zo??"

Before she could answer, Roger asked, "Is anyone hurt?" He was on the opposite side of the attic, also aiming a rifle. The gun was out of place in the gentle man's hands .

She answered Jeremy first. "Your mother and sister are fine." Turning her attention to the older man, she added, "Peggy was coughing, and Leila has a cut on her head, but it didn't seem serious. Otherwise, we are okay."

"You're sure?" Roger's gaze flicked to his grandson. "Jeremy can take over for me."

She hated to think of the teenager shooting anybody, even if he was capable. "I think Peggy needed fresh air, and Leila's cut wasn't deep. Summer and Camilla are in position. The rest have gone to the first floor. I'll let you know if you're needed."

He seemed torn but stayed in position. "All right. Thanks."

Jasmine headed down the ladder to the second story. She was on her way to the staircase when that telltale whistle had her diving onto the hardwood and covering her head.

The explosion came from the south side of the house, facing the water.

Camilla screamed.

Smoke filled the space, thicker as Jasmine crawled toward the bedroom where she'd left her friend. "Are you all right? Camilla?"

But there was no answer.