"We're leaving." I zipped past him toward the back door to the garage with no idea if he could leave. But we had to try. "Now."

"The gun," Kason shouted.

"Leave it!" Just as I reached the door, glass plinked behind me. The final poppy petal had broken. The magical feel of the house I'd sensed since I first arrived blinked out.

The front door slammed open.

The Diamond Dogs rounded the corner into the kitchen, all three of them, ...