I hold back my sigh. I’m so dang tired; I donotneed this today.
I look around grudgingly, hunting for anything that could be used as a weapon. My gaze scans the room and finds exactly nothing of use—why have I filled this home with unhelpful items like books and pillows and lamps?—so I turn on my heel to go to the kitchen instead.
Except my path has already been blocked—by Rocco freaking Astor.
My psycho murderous coworker, in my living room, holding—holding—is that a knife?
“Holy crap,” I say without thinking as my eyes narrow in on that blade. “Are you gonna stab me?Seriously?”?*
All right. I would not be a good hostage negotiator.
But Rocco just barks a laugh, a sardonic, wheezing sound, before holding the knife up. It’s not huge, but it doesn’t need to be; that’s four inches of razor-sharp metal that will pop me like a balloon. Crap. I amnotprepared for this.
“Hey,” I say, holding my hands up. “Let’s slow down, okay? That’s a pretty creepy knife you’re pointing at me. Can you put that away?”
“Sorry,” Rocco says with a shrug as he steps closer. “But no.” Then he sighs, and it’s the craziest thing I think I’ve ever seen; he’s looking at me like he always does. He looks completely normal, he sounds completely normal—except there’s a knife in his hand, and he’s very plainly threatening me with it. “But I told you, didn’t I?”
I clear my throat, shuffling backward toward the kitchen. “Told me what?”
Another laugh, casual and breezy. “I told you to stay out of it. I told you to stay away from my brother.” His smile vanishes as his eyes turn pleading. “Why didn’t you listen?”
And Rocco’s not a huge man, but something about the knife in his hand has elevated him to giant status. There’s also an uncomfortable feeling he’s giving off that makes me want to keep my distance even more—a weird cloud of chaos floating around him, like the dirt that surrounds Pigpen in the Charlie Brown comics. I skirt further back, trying to move slowly so I don’tset him off.
“Why didn’t you listen?” Rocco says again. His eyes, the same blue as Juniper’s, swim with unshed tears. “Ilikeyou, Aiden. You’re a great guy.”
Insane. He’s insane. And—holy crap—he might be my father-in-law one day.
My panicking brain takes this thought and runs with it.MY FATHER-IN-LAW IS INSANE, it screams.WHAT SORT OF FAMILY ARE WE MARRYING INTO?
No. Focus.
“Where is she?” Rocco goes on, wiping his eyes with the hand that isn’t holding the knife. “I like her too. This is so sad. Where is she? Her car was here.” He steps sideways and flings open my bedroom door, glancing inside only briefly before moving to the door of the coat closet. He throws that door open too, swearing under his breath when he sees the rows of jackets and piles of shoes.
My heart thunders in my chest as his eyes land on the bathroom door—behind which I know he’ll find Juniper, though I don’t know what she’s been doing in there all this time. I can only hope she’s heard what’s going on and is preparing herself.
Rocco grasps the doorknob and eases the door open, giving it a nudge so that it swings wide. He sticks his head in; I shuffle hastily to the side so I can see too.
And there, sitting on the toilet, naked as the day she was born from the waist down with her pants around her feet, is Juniper.
And she’s asleep.
That stupid sleep medicine. Why did I recommend it tonight, of all nights? Her head is propped in her hands, elbows on her knees, and she’s snoring slightly, her mouth gaping open.
“Juniper!” I shout, turning my body and slipping my hand into my pocket for my phone.
Juniper startles awake in a flurry of chaos,blinking rapidly and looking completely out of it. She peers up at Rocco and I, frowning. Then she reaches one hand out.
“Papa?”
Rocco yelps and scrambles backward, slamming the door shut, breathing hard, looking horrified.
For one eternal second, there’s complete silence, broken only by the sound of our breathing and Juniper’s clumsy stumbling on the other side of the door. Then Rocco rounds on me. My breath catches in my throat at the look on his face, and in that moment, it finally becomes real—it finally becomes undeniable.
This man is a killer.
Gone are the tears; gone are the twinkling eyes. No smile, no amusement. Just cold indifference and a maniacal gaze. He advances on me, the knife raised?—
Just as Juniper bursts out of the bathroom.
