Page 43 of The Rough Ride

“You know that part-time staffer who works for the senator and attends Georgetown?”

Nick snapped to attention. “The student who stays on top of any news stories involving him and his family?”

“Yup. She just sent an interoffice email with a link to a broadcast. You’ll want to look at it right away.”

“Got it.” Nick fished for his phone, watched the video, and then snapped the case shut. A reporter from one of the larger cable stations had posted a broadcast in front of the Richardson’s street sign and had all but announced the senator’s home address.

Biggs sat in a brocade chair across from Nick. “Remind me to never run for public office, man.”

Nick hoisted Ollie to a different shoulder and shrugged. “It’s just the opposition. There’s a big vote next week. That’s why Beau Richardson hired us. Let’s amp up the sensors on the perimeter and be prepared for a few extra drive-bys tonight. I’ll call the next shift in early, just in case.”

His phone chimed with a text from the senator laced with fuming red-faced emoticons about the news broadcast. Nick replied and included a photo of Natalie’s tea party.

I saw the broadcast. All is quiet. Kids happy. Will keep you updated.

The front gate buzzed, and Biggs left the room to answer it. He returned with two huge bags of food. “Kung Pao sustenance, bro. Are we eating in the kitchen with the kids?”

Nick barked a laugh. “That’s the only safe space to eat with Ollie.” He got up and moved to the kitchen where he slipped the little man into the high chair.

Biggs sidled up to him as they fixed bowls of food. “Delivery kid said the reason he was late is because of the protest against Richardson at the entrance to the neighborhood. The young man had to go all the way around and drive the farm roads behind the house. Resourceful guy, if you ask me.”

They exchanged a look, concern creasing both their foreheads.

Nick opened a drawer and rummaged for one of Ollie’s bibs. “I found that road when I walked the neighborhood. It runs along the farthest corral and is unpaved but usable in dry weather. It’s impassable before harvest, but dumps right into the neighborhood. We’re lucky it’s not on Google Maps.”

“Yeah. The kid says his aunt owns the farm. He grew up riding horses there. I gave the kid a big tip.”

“Make sure you expense the meal and tip to me.” Nick paused. “I wonder if the owner would allow us to position a few discreet sensors at the end of her dirt road?”

“It can’t hurt to ask. Regardless, with the harvest over, it’s golden to know there’s more than one way out of this neighborhood besides growing fairy wings and crashing fences.”

Nick nodded as goosebumps skittered across the back of his neck. “Hey Natalie, come in the kitchen and eat some supper. I got you and Ollie chicken fried rice.”

“Nooo, Mr. Nick, I’m not done with the tea party yet. Can I eat in here with my dolls?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, kiddo. Ollie can’t eat in the dining room. You come in here and finish the tea party later.”

Precious sat at attention three feet away and stared. She’d been politely hovering since the food arrived. Nick filled her bowl with chow, got the kids started on their dinners, and the four of them sat and ate while laughing at Ollie’s sticky duck-sauce fingers and Biggs’ knock-knock jokes. It was the closest thing Nick had had to a family dinner in years.

He wanted to call Liz in the worst way and tell her about his day. But he’d save it for later. He planned on going back to her place tonight. Kids were actually…kind of fun. He’d been amused by the spills, not mad. Charmed by the tears—not pissed. The house was messy, but so what? The kids were safe and seemed happy, even if the whole boo boo thing still freaked him out.

Nick glanced out the window. The yard stood quiet in the dusky few minutes before dark settled in. One second, Biggs dangled two shrimp from his mouth imitating a walrus, the kids bubbling with laughter, and the next, Biggs’ eyes flared as he dropped the shrimp and announced they hadtourists.Nick’s phone alarm pinged, the perimeter property lights switched on, and there were a half-dozen streaks of flame in the front yard. Nick hauled Ollie out of the high chair with one arm, scooped Natalie up with the other, tucked them close to his body and rolled under the big farmhouse table. Precious threw herself on top of all three and covered Nick’s face with her head.

A crash shrieked above them, followed by a deafening roar. The shatterproof triple-pane windows nearest themheld fast. There were several more thuds followed by tinkling glass and a whooshing hiss.

Biggs broke into a run toward the security office. “I called 911.”

Ollie cried at the top of his lungs, and once Nick coaxed the dog off of them, he rolled into a sitting position. Little Natalie was white as a sheet and trembling. In the distance, tires squealed and sped off.

Nick peered over the tabletop and out the window. The azalea bushes outside the breakfast nook window roared with flames. A huge maple tree in the yard was split and ablaze. His best guess at the moment suggested a series of Molotov cocktails flung near and far, causing an inferno. And the recent three-week drought had left the landscaping dry as kindling, aching for a spark. He smelled smoke.

He gathered the two kids into his arms and hurried into a playroom to them and a safe room to the adults. He entered codes into the wall panel by the kids’ bookshelf. In the next fifteen seconds, the steel doors swung shut and locked, steel panels covered the windows, and the separate ventilation system activated.

Nick tried to set the kids down on the rug, but Ollie hung onto his neck while Natalie latched onto his thigh. He sat in a rocker, pulled them onto his lap, and checked the security feed on his phone. Emergency vehicles whined in the distance, and a few minutes later, Biggs greeted the first police car with flashing lights in the driveway. The fires appeared to be limited to the front yard.

When Biggs sent him anall cleartext, Nick disarmed the safe room panel and strode into the dining room with the kids in his arms.

Natalie took one look at the yard and started bawling hereyes out, which only sent Ollie into a fresh chorus of hysteria. Their Chinese dinner was scattered as far as ten feet away. Ollie’s high chair lay tipped near the hallway.

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