Before Olivia could reply, the heavy metal door at the top of the stairs creaked.
It wasn't the rhythmic, familiar knock of the local grocery store owner who occasionally left them day-old bread. It was a heavy, deliberate sound.
Creak.
Then, silence.
Olivia froze. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She stood up slowly, instinctively pushing Lily and Tommy behind her skirts. Marcus reached for a rusted iron pipe leaning against the concrete wall, his knuckles turning white.
"Stay down," Olivia breathed, her voice barely a vibration. "Under the table. Now."