Chapter 1
Boom.Boom.Boom.
Denise Reynolds rolled off the edge of the bed and took a defensive position. Heart pounding as she blinked sleep out of her eyes, she crouched in the small space between the bed and the wall and reached for her gun, groping in the dim light. Where the fuck was hergun?
A groan sounded from the bed and sheets rustled. The jangle of dog tags worked its way into her consciousness as she came fully awake. Sarah’s house—not the desert. The dust ruffles on the bed should have given it away. Sprocket, her two-hundred-pound English Mastiff, eased herself off the bed and stuck her snout in Denise’s face, bathing her with doggie breath and smearing slobber on hercheek.
“Ugh, quit that.” She pushed her dog’s huge head away and wiped her face with the sleeve of her worn t-shirt. “I’m awake.” Sprocket huffed ather.
The pounding cameagain.
“Aunt Denny! Someone’s at the door!” Her niece’s high voice reached her from across the smallhouse.
How long had she been asleep? Twisting her neck around to look at the clock, the luminous numbers showed four-twenty-three. Seriously? She’d been out for less than fifteen minutes. Fifteen hard minutes if she woke up this disoriented. That hadn’t happened since she started staying at Sarah’s house a few monthsago.
She’d sat on the end of the bed to kick her shoes off after coming home with the kids and told herself the universal lie ofI’ll just close my eyes for a few seconds.God, she was burning it at both ends between work, spending time with Sarah at the hospital, and taking care of Kimber and Kaden. She needed to figure out a betterschedule.
Levering up out of the tight spot on the floor, she tried not to fall over Sprocket, who thought she was beinghelpful.
She reached between the mattress and the box spring for her Glock. Whoever was pounding on the door like that deserved to be greeted with the pew end of hergun.
“Come on.” Pushing at the dog, she rose from her position on the floor and followed the dog out of theroom.
“Aunt Denn—” Kimber stood in the door of the bedroom she shared with Kaden. Denise shifted her hand behind her back. “Someone’s at thedoor.”
“I heard. Sorry—I fellasleep.”
“It’s okay,” Kimber said. “You’ve had a hardweek.”
Jeez, not something an eight-year-old needed to worry about. Denise needed to be better about being with them—they needed all the emotional support they could get right now. Her exhaustion would just have to wait. Or she’d have to start catnapping at her apartment duringlunch.
“How’s your homeworkgoing?”
She shrugged. “I’m done. I’ve been helping Kaden withhis.”
Why was she helping Kaden with his homework? He was a grade ahead of her. She made a mental note to ask Sarah about it when she visited next. “Okay. We’ll sit down and go over yours after I see who’s at thedoor.”
Kimber put a hand on Sprocket. “Can Sprocket stayhere?”
“Sure.” Looking at the dog, she said, “Stay with K-Squared.” Sprocket sat and licked her chops. “Goodgirl.”
Holding the gun low beside her leg, finger poised along the trigger guard, she walked through the small, combined living room and dining room. She glanced through the peephole, then rocked back on herheels.
The bottom dropped out of her stomach then rushed up again to choke her.What the fuck?She stared at the door, trying to decide if she should open it ornot.
Three more sharp knocks made the decision forher.
She unlocked the door and yanked itopen.
“What the hell are you doing here?” shedemanded.
Chris took a step back. Whether from the door opening suddenly, her, or her question, she wasn’t sure.He looks tired.It wasn’t her problem. Neverwas.
“Denise?”
“Yes, Chris. What are you doinghere?”
The lines between his dark eyebrows grew more pronounced. “What areyoudoinghere?”
