He knew the sounds of his cabin. Knew Chaos’s footsteps. Knew the way Dan moved when he raided the refrigerator in the middle of the night.
This wasn’t either of those sounds.
David slipped out of bed, pulled on his jeans and a shirt, then grabbed his sneakers with the quiet soles. He moved silently down the hallway, his senses on high alert.
He reached the edge of the living room and froze.
A man sat in one of his chairs, completely at ease. A glass of David’s bourbon in one hand. A handgun in the other.
His demeanor was familiar, but his face had definitely changed. Surgically altered. Nose different. Jawline softer. But the eyes were the same.
Cold. Calculating. Devoid of conscience.
“Hello, David,” the man said, his voice smooth. “I see you have your father’s taste in bourbon.”
David kept his face neutral, his body relaxed despite every muscle coiling for action. “I see you’re still helping yourself to whatever you want.”
His senses screamed at him.
This man wasn’t here alone. He was a coward. Always had been. He wouldn’t come after David on his own. No, he only did that to women and children.
“So this is your new look,” David said. “And I believe you even had a name change.”
The man smiled, cold and reptilian-like. “I think we’ve all changed a lot.” He drawled the words out, taking a sip of bourbon. “Look, David, I’m not here to disrupt your life. You know what I want. All you have to do is give it all to me and...”
“You’ll what? Bury me in a shallow grave?” David quipped, his eyes never leaving the man’s face. “No thanks.”
He kept his ears perked, listening for movement behind him. To his left. Anywhere.
“I was afraid you would say that,” the man sighed.
He downed the bourbon in one swallow.
Then everything happened at once.
Before David could react, something hard and heavy slammed into the back of his head.
Pain exploded through his skull.
The world tilted.
David crumpled forward, darkness rushing up to meet him.
Eve
Eve glanced at the clock on her bedside table.
Six in the morning.
She’d tossed and turned the entire night, her mind alive with everything that had transpired.How was this happening?It felt like living in some weird soap opera. Or rather, a telenovela.
She got up, took a quick shower, and got dressed in jeans and a sweater.
As she was brushing her hair, she heard movement in the other rooms.
A knock came at her door.
“Aunt Eve?” Lila’s voice. “Are you ready for breakfast? And Milly wants to know if we’re all packed for Uncle William’s. Nolan is coming to get our luggage and put it in his car.”
