Page 54 of Collateral Damage
Ava
For a moment, I don’t respond. The answer sits between us—clinical, sharp, and entirely too terrible.
Until now, I’d assumed the isolation was a shield. I thought distance and obscurity bought us the time Silas needed. Apparently, that assumption was a delusion.
I fold my arms, my pulse hammering against my ribs. “Would I have been safer in Baltimore?”
He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t even look like he can.
“Silas?”
His eyes aren’t on me. He’s fixed on the lamp nestled on a table. A little annoyed he’s not going to answer me, I follow his gaze to the darkened corner of the room.
Belatedly, I realize the lamp was on a minute ago. So was the light on the satellite phone charger and his laptop charger plugged into the wall.
"Storm must've taken down a line."
I stand, forcing my posture to remain neutral so he doesn’t see the fresh wave of alarm that just hit me.
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Where are you going?”
"To switch on the generator." He's already moving toward the closet, pulling out his coat. "I'll need to get it running."
My stomach tightens. "How long will that take?"
"Five minutes." He pauses, looking at me. "I want you armed again."
The words hang between us.
"I'll keep the gun close," I say, even though my voice sounds thin.
He studies my face for a long moment as if weighing whether to tell me more.
"Lock the door behind me," he says finally. "I’ll announce myself, then knock four times. Like this…"
He raps his knuckles on the table. One, two, pause. One two.
I nod, committing the pattern to memory.
He crosses to where he left the backup weapon earlier and hands it to me. "Safety's on. Keep it that way unless you need it."
I take it, the weight of it feels heavier than before.
He pulls on his coat, checks his own weapon, then moves to the door and stops with his hand on the handle.
"Ava." His voice is quiet. "If you hear anything—anything that's not me announcing myself and knocking that pattern—you get in the bedroom. You barricade the door. You don't come out until I come for you. Understood?"
"Understood."
He holds my gaze for another second, then opens the door. Cold air rushes in, carrying snow with it. He steps out into the gray morning and pulls the door shut behind him.
I stand there for a moment, staring at the closed door. Then I move toward the deadbolt and slide it. I back away slowly, the gun heavy in my hand, and position myself where I can see both the front door and the window.
Every sound feels amplified. The wind against the walls. Snow sliding off the roof. The old cabin settling.
I move to the window, careful to stay to the side as Silas does, and peer out. I can just make out his shape moving through the snow toward the shed. Then he disappears around the corner.
