Page 18 of Levee

Then grunting.

Footsteps.

The slam of the door.

And an eerie silence.

I rushed over toward my window.

I’d lucked out with a view of the front of the building, including the entry itself, letting me always know what was going on.

There’d been three open units when I came to take a tour. The owner expected me to want to take the one with the view of the back of the building that was just an open lot.

Nice and quiet,he’d said.

But I hadn’t wanted quiet.

I’d always liked being in the hub of activity. I felt like it sparked my creativity. And, well, being a woman living alone, it made me feel safer being able to watch the various goings-on.

Just a few moments later, four men emerged from the building.

I had no reason to assume that it was the same men from near the dumpster the week before since I couldn’t actually see them now, nor did I see them then.

But that was what I thought regardless as I saw them start to emerge.

It wasn’t until I saw that they seemed to be struggling to carry something heavy and awkward between them.

My heart sank but before I could see what they were carrying, they took a sharp turn, heading toward the side of the building next door instead of heading back out to the street.

My gaze slid up to my ceiling, praying to hear some sort of sound.

Footsteps.

Water running.

His video games playing.

Something.

Anything.

But no sound came.

Not that night.

Not the whole next day.

And I couldn’t help but worry that the thing the men had been struggling to carry between them… was my neighbor.

CHAPTER SIX

Levee

Raff checked his watch, then looked between the rest of us.

“So… is he always late?” he asked.

Raff and Coach were in from our sister chapter in Shady Valley, California, dropping off guns they’d picked up at various gun shows in the south.

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