Delaney opened her mouth to start from the beginning - the jacket - when she heard the sound of movement in the darkness of the barn. Gunnar shot up, turning to the noise when three popping noises rang against the walls. She caught the last flash of sparks coming from the wall as she sprawled herself flat against the straw. The Neanderthal crumbled before her, his blue eyes staring at her only inches from her face, until he collapsed on the ground. “Hell,” Joe muttered as he yanked a gun from his boot beneath his snow pants. “DON’T MOVE!” a woman’s voice yelled. Joe held his arms in the air, the beam from the flashlight pointed toward the ceiling of the barn. He held the gun loose in the other hand, dangling toward the ground. “Put them down, Joe,” the woman’s voice ordered from the darkness. Joe moved slowly, about to place the flashlight on the ground toward the voice. “The other way, toward her,” the woman ordered. Joe obeyed, turning the light toward Delaney.
