The noise exploded through the walls like a battering ram.
A door outside had slammed open with a force that shook the floorboards beneath their feet.
The five women flinched simultaneously.
Valery covered her mouth to keep from screaming, while Libby, the youngest of the group, curled in on herself, trembling violently.
Everyone in the room stiffened.
Ross slowly rose to his feet, eyes narrowing.
Another sound.
Heavy footsteps. Fast. Purposeful. They crunched against gravel, then wood—approaching the house without hesitation.
The women clung to one another, their breaths shallow, their eyes wide with terror. Not one of them had to say it aloud—
They thought Bruno's men had found them.
The tension in the air thickened until it felt like the room itself was holding its breath.
Outside, the footsteps stopped right at Ross's door.
And then—
BANG! BANG!
Someone pounded on it with enough force to rattle the windows.
"Ahhhhh…"
