Page 60 of Deceitful Oath

I lean back on the leather seat and force myself to enjoy this one tiny luxury as we head back to Lisa’s house.

Maybe I can convince her to have a celebratory dinner with me tonight before she goes to work. Or maybe I’ll dust off my ancient credit card, order takeout, and become one with the couch until Monday.

Before I know it, we’re pulling up to Lisa’s creepy mansion. I pay the taxi driver, feeling like royalty, even though people take cabs every day without a second thought. As I head up the stairs, a small group of men pass me.

They’re wearing dark suits and menacing scowls. I move out of their way, pressing myself up against the railing, but they pay no attention to me.Weird. I need to get out of this place as soon as possible.

A small convoy of SUVs with tinted windows waits for them in the circular driveway. I watch from the front door as they file inside and head out of the parking lot. Another man suddenly bursts out of the door, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Five, I said,” he growls into the phone. “They sent five, can you fucking believe it?”

He glances at me and shoots me a death glare. I shrug my shoulders and slip past him as he stomps down the stairs.

One thing I’ve learned living in big cities: don’t get involved with your neighbors and their drama. It can only end badly. So, I head up the stairs to Lisa’s room without a second thought.

I walk in the door to find Lisa running around like a chicken with its head cut off. She’s wearing one boot, her jeans halfway up her legs, and her hair is flying wildly as she races around the apartment.

“Lux!” she calls, finally noticing me. “Have you seen the other snakeskin boot? I can’t find it anywhere!”

“Try the bathroom,” I volunteer, dropping my purse on the table and sinking into the couch.

“You’re a blessing,” she calls from the bathroom and emerges wearing two boots. “I need to get to work early. Some emergency or something, blah blah blah. Did you get the job?”

“Yes!” I cheer from the couch, and she shoots me two thumbs up as she slides her shirt on.

“Celebratory dinner on Sunday,” she calls, rushing out the door. I sigh happily, settling onto the couch and turning on the TV.

***

I wake with a start in total darkness, the sunlight that was streaming across my face as I dozed off earlier long gone.

Shivering, I pull the cashmere throw across my shoulders and pad to the light switch across the room. The creepy mansion feels even more eerie tonight.

I stop in the middle of the room, trying to figure out why. It’s deadly silent. No TVs blaring from other units, no footsteps on the stairs—the only sound I hear is my own breathing. My feet are light as I creep to the light switch and I’m not sure why.

The air hums with electricity. It feels like a foreboding sense of anticipation, like something’s about to happen and I’m not sure why.

Goosebumps cover my body and I pull the throw tighter around me as I flip on the living room lights. Flooded with soft light, the space feels much safer and I take a breath to steady myself.

Pizza. I need pizza and maybe a bottle of wine. I wonder if Lisa has…oh wait, right. I’m pregnant.

I pause in the middle of the room, marveling yet again at the fact that I’m pregnant. It still just doesn’t feel quite real.

A bang makes me spin around wildly to the front door. I hear loud, heavy footsteps pound down the hallway—multiple sets ofloud, heavy footsteps. I move toward the door, confusion and worry sending my body into autopilot.

Sounds of struggle come from the apartment across the hall. Glass crashes, things bang on the ground, and the yelling continues. I creep to the door, pressing myself against it, and look into the peephole. My hand automatically slides the security chain across the door, just in case.

I see the doorway across the hall, a man’s back taking up most of it. Suddenly the lights cut out and I’m left in complete darkness again. I stifle a scream, somehow knowing that I should keep quiet. Just as I force myself to move away from the door, I hear it.

A gunshot.

One, two, three. Silence.

I’m frozen in place, clutching the cashmere throw to my chest, staring at my door in open-mouthed horror.Someone was just shot five feet away from me.

I rack my brain trying to remember who lives across the hall, but my mind is blank. I sink to the floor, fear paralyzing my muscles. The heavy footsteps in the hallway are back but they sound like they’re leaving.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and click the first name I see: Lisa.

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