The heavy iron gates were closed, but headlights were visible through the driving rain.

They were bright, blue-tinted halogen lights, cutting through the darkness of the driveway.

Hayes noticed the shift in light on the monitor.

His head turned slightly, just a fraction of an inch, to look at the screen.

I took a sharp breath, my muscles tensing to spring forward.

“They’re here,” Madison whispered from the floor, her voice trembling.

“Hold the pressure,” I ordered her again, my eyes never leaving Hayes.

“Don’t look at the door.”

Hayes’s eyes widened slightly as he recognized the shape of the vehicles on the screen.

They were heavy, armored utility vehicles, moving fast.

“You called them,” Hayes said, his voice losing its calm veneer.

“You brought them to my estate.”

“It’s not your estate, Colonel,” I said.

“And you’re out of time.”

The transceiver on the desk gave a sharp, high-pitched beep.

A voice cut through the static, crisp and authoritative.

“Garrison command to Mobile One, we have visual on the objective.”

Hayes turned his weapon back toward me, his face twisting with sudden panic.