Whistleblower by Alysia S Knight Read Free Book Online Page B

head, he flattening himself to the wall. She mimicked his action, staying close behind. He entered the main room from the opening closest to where the jacket hung by the fireplace. Motioning her to stay back, he dropped low, crossing the floor in a crab walk.
    Reaching his target, he waited a second before he rose. His hand just clamped onto the jacket when one of the large window panes shattered around him. Zan threw himself across the floor reaching Marley as smoke burst into the room. He shoved the jacket into her hands as he passed, leaving her to follow him down the hall to the kitchen entrance off the main room.
    He was about to motion her around the corner to the stairs when there were several thuds against the shatterproof glass and the sound of splintering wood. Zan crossed the room to meet the shadow as it stepped through the door. The intruder’s arm whipped out.
    Zan threw up his arm to block the punch. Letting the motion of his body carry him around, he sent a blow into the man, dropping him to the floor. Zan pulled a plastic pull tie from a pocket in his pants. Grabbing the stunned man’s hands, he fastened them together through one of the stools hooked to the counter.
    Smoke was seeping into the hall, but Zan ignored it. Catching Marley’s arm, he drew her with him down the stairs. By the time they reached the bottom, she seemed to be past the shock. Zan released the bolt-locking mechanism on the small window and lifted down the whole window inset. Turning back, he noticed Marley had already pulled on her leather jacket and the camo raincoat.
    “I’ll go through the window first. When I decide it’s clear, I’ll put my arm through. You grab hold of it, and I’ll pull you up,” he whispered his order.
    She nodded.
    Gripping the edge, he pulled himself up enough to do a quick survey before he pushed up and rolled out, flattening himself against the house. He waited to hear a movement. None came, but he knew there had to be at least one other.
    How had they found Marley so fast? One of them had to be a heck of a tracker to follow a trail in this kind of rain. Rain might have made the ground softer, imprints deeper, but washed evidence away quickly. That’s why they moved so fast, so not to lose her.
    The faint rustle of leaves to his right, and the sound of one of his snares releasing, told Zan what he needed to know. He moved silently across the ground. At the side of the porch, he caught a glimpse of a figure, dressed similar to him in combat fatigues, but Zan had an advantage. He knew what he was facing. He doubted the other man, though cautious, had any idea he was up against someone with as much or more training than he had.
    Zan came up behind him as the man watched the two side doors to the deck. Clamping his arm around his neck, he applied pressure, careful not to kill him. He held on until the form went slack. The guy would wake up with a massive headache, but by then, he and Marley would be long gone. This time Zan fastened the hands to the railing.
    He was about to start back to Marley when he noticed the man’s gun on the ground and recognized it as a tranquilizer gun. Deciding it might be handy, since he really didn’t want to kill anyone, he did a quick search of the man for the spare darts, shoving the case into his pocket. He took the gun, going back around the house to the window.
    He was almost to the window when he saw another shadow move. Zan brought up the tranquilizer gun. There was a faint hiss as the dart exploded out of the barrel, but it was too late of a warning. The man dropped. Zan didn’t know how long the man would be out but didn’t worry about restraining him, just checked to make sure he was breathing okay.
    Satisfied, he went to the window. The instant he stuck his hand through, Marley grasped it and he pulled her up. She looked at him as if checking he was all right but didn’t make a sound. He pointed to a set of trees to the edge of his yard and motioned for her