I’ll make her that quick bread she likes.
Bustling into the kitchen, I start gathering ingredients—flour and the starter, eggs and baking soda and salt. I decide to get crazy and shred some cheddar cheese, chop a jalapeño.
Just as I’m pouring the batter into the pan, the doorbell rings.
I glance at the clock over the stove.
That was fast.
Hurrying to the door, I don’t really process that Pascal’s crew all have codes to the front door, that they wouldn’t have knocked and waited for me to answer, especially with River in tow.
A cursory knock before coming in?
Yeah.
Standing on the other side until I open the wooden panel?
No.
But that thought doesn’t cross my mind?—
Not until I twist the knob, open the door, and…
See the woman pointing a gun at me.
The Lyons have found me again.
FORTY-ONE
BRIAR
“You don’t haveto do this,” I say as Angela herds me back, closing the door behind her.
The deadbolt sliding shut is gunshot—no pun intended—loud in the quiet apartment.
She’s tall and slender, her blonde hair pulled back into a neat chignon, and the sunglasses on her face don’t hide the bruising around her black eye. She moves carefully, as though she’s protecting her ribs, but her grip on the gun is steady.
“I don’t have much time,” she says. “So I need you to sit down, shut up, and listen to me.”
Maybe I could overpower her, especially considering she’s hurt.
But I’ve seen this woman endure things that would break me, so I know that even though she appears weak, she’s anything but.
“Okay,” I say calmly, not loving the gun pointed in my direction, but doing my best to ignore it.
“Is there anyone else in the apartment?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Just the cats.”
She doesn’t move, but I have the feeling that her gaze is flicking around the room, assessing if I’m telling the truth.
Then she seems to decide that I am.
“Sit.” She gestures to the barstool with her gun.
I sit and the silence stretches as we just look at each other.
Then she walks over to me, slides her hand into her pocket. “Here,” she mutters. “Use this. It’ll keep you and the other girl safe.”
