“Yes, but I’ll be okay.”
“Babe, the message on your computer said Silas was on his way here. I don’t want you without protection until we neutralize him and your father.”
“Okay.” I lean up and kiss him before he heads out of the room.
I lie back down but give up on going back to sleep after a while. I get dressed and make my way out to the living room, where a toasty fire is glowing. Icarus is asleep on the sofa.
Sitting at the counter with a cup of tea, I pull up the app for my security feed at the shop. I see there is power, and a silent alarm is going off. I flick through the images and notice something pressed against the glass of the front door. Some kind of debris. Shoot. I’m going to have to go in.
I leave a quick note for Icarus instead of waking him up, then head out the door. Juneau is sitting on the porch like a sentry.
“There’s a problem at the shop. We need to go.”
“Got it. Let me let an officer know.”
“Make it quick. I don’t want the window damaged. I can’t afford to pay for another one.”
“I’ll just text them while we drive in.”
He pockets his phone, and we walk over to my Denali. I start it up as the wind whips my loose hair around my face. As soon as I get into the driver’s seat, I dig in my bag for a ponytail holder and slip it into my hair, putting it up in a messy bun.
We head out, and the closer we get to Wasilla, the worse the wind gets. In Big Lake and Meadow Lakes, it whips around, and I have to keep a firm grip on the steering wheel. As we reach the outskirts of the city, the gusts grow stronger, jerking my large SUV from lane to lane.
Trees shed damaged limbs around us, and I swerve to avoid debris from buildings and yards all the way to the center of town, where my shop sits. I turn onto the road and head up the hill toward the strip mall. The wind is even worse at the top. A branch flies at my windshield, and it takes everything in me not to scream and jerk the wheel.
When I finally pull into the mall, I see a lawn chair pressed against the glass of my front window. I circle around back as a bright light flashes across the sky. The transformer on the electrical pole across the street blows, and power instantly cuts out in the surrounding buildings and the strip mall.
I remember the small battery backup on the security system and open my app to turn off the alarm when an unsettling feeling tightens my stomach. I look around but don’t see anything out of place. Juneau’s eyes are on his phone.
“Did you message for an officer?” I don’t want to go against Rylan’s rules. I don’t feel very safe right now and know something is off.
“Just did. I forgot while we were driving.”
“Shit. I don’t want to go in there until we have more backup.”
I don’t want to leave my vehicle. That sixth sense I’ve developed over the years is screaming at me, but my shop is in danger right now. My dream.
Movement catches my eye from my peripheral, and I scream as I see Silas standing along the side of the SUV with a gun aimed at Juneau.
“Get down,” I yell, but it’s too late.
The explosion of glass and blood happens so fast, it feels like I’m watching it from outside my own body. I see the bullet travel through the window right after it bursts from the barrel. Then it blasts through the back of the seat and into Juneau’s skull. Bone, blood, and brain matter fly around me. Fear sets in, and I don’t even wait, knowing Juneau is dead.
I jump out of the SUV and race for the back door to my shop. I key in my code, and the lock clicks open as a bullet slams into the concrete beside me. Shards of rock fly at me, and I scream again as I slip into the back of the shop.
The alarm starts going off as I run for my office, not bothering to disengage it. I remember the gun I bought withHarley is in my drawer. Another shot fires. It slams into my arm as I duck down. I make it to the office and take shelter under the desk as I reach for the drawer.
“Come out, Mimi. Don’t make this worse. I don’t want to hurt you too badly.”
“No,” I scream.
“I’m going to punish you for defying me, Mimi.”
“I don’t care. I’m not Mimi. I’m Marnie now.”
Once I have the cool metal of the gun in my hand, I feel safer. I control my breathing and close my eyes, trying to figure out where Silas is. I didn’t see my father with him. This part is beneath him, though.
“Mimi, you’re mine now. I’ve convinced your father to give you to me. Come out so we can start our lives together. We can have another baby, if that’s what you want.”
