Page 96 of S.O.S. Billboard

“Ethan?” she called over her shoulder, just before walking out the door.

“Yeah?” he answered from the living room where he’d settled in a few minutes earlier and was now glued to some video game.

“I’ll be outside for a few minutes. Don’t let the cats eat the steak, and keep your grubby mitts off the cookies,” she added cheerfully.

“Grubby mitts,” he repeated distractedly, then snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”

O’Shea rolled her eyes, but left the back door open with only the screen separating her from the interior so she could glance in and make sure her edicts were being followed. She could see the counter that held the food, and past it, Ethan’s feet on the coffee table.

Opening the cover to the grill, O’Shea groaned. It looked like the thing hadn’t been used since the previous season. She had a lot of scraping to do.

She’d just bent to her task with the tool she’d found hanging on it, when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Expecting it to be Billboard, she was surprised to see Anna’s number pop up.

“Hey, what’s up?” O’Shea answered.

“I’ll be a little later than I thought,” Anna huffed.

“Is everything okay?”

“Peachy,” she answered with a sigh. “But the deli where I normally stop is closed due to renovations, so I’m having to go a little farther afield for our salad.”

“Don’t sweat it,” O’Shea told her. “I have challenges of my own that are putting us behind. Your grill looks like a volcano erupted inside it, and it’s going to take some time to make it right.”

“Oh,” Anna responded, contrition in her tone. “I’m so sorry I overwintered it without scrubbing it down. Would you rather we all just eat out?”

“Nah.” O’Shea wasn’t discouraged. “I have the steaks all prepped, and they look too good to abandon. Just don’t think you have to hurry, is all.”

“If you’re sure.” Anna sounded hesitant.

“Positive,” O’Shea assured her. “The only thing that could go wrong is if Ethan fills up on dessert before we get to our meal.”

Now Anna laughed. “No worries there. He’s a bottomless pit these days. He could eat the entire…whatever it is you’ve made, and still do his part on the steak.”

“Great.” O’Shea blew a hank of hair out of her face. “So we’re all good. Take your time, and I’ll see you soon.”

“See ya,” Anna answered chipperly.

O’Shea once again attacked the grates, but after a short stint where she only managed to scrape half of one, the back of her neck began to prickle. She tried to ignore it. After all, this was a suburban back yard. There wouldn’t be—

A twig snapped not more than twenty feet behind her.Fuck.Was there an animal stalking her? A coyote perhaps? Or was it something two-legged?

She’d bet on the latter.

She’d almost been waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding Barnie Jakes. She hadn’t felt like he was the type of person to let go of a slight that anyone delivered to him. And asfor locating her? With having been booked at the police station, it wouldn’t have taken him much to find out she was living with his ex-wife.

O’Shea bent as if to bang out the tool she was using on the flagstones beneath her feet, but in reality, she took a better grip on the scraper while glancing back between her shins.

Her blood ran cold. Two perps were creeping across the yard right toward her, and yeah. This was no random stalking. Jakes was clearly continuing his dirty-work.

She stood back up and began working on the grill again as if nothing was wrong, but in reality, she was weighing her options. She could run into the house, slam the door, and call Billboard. But if the pair approaching had guns, she didn’t want a shootout of any kind. That would risk Ethan.

Ethan…Shit. She needed to warn him.

If she sounded the alarm, the trespassers would know she was onto them, but Ethan would be able to sprint off into the woods, hide, and call for backup.

O’Shea would fight the pair while waiting for Billboard and the guys to show. The battle might go poorly for her; two against one, but she’d been well trained, and she wouldn’t be pulling any punches.

With every passing second, the two were coming closer. There was no time to second guess herself.

---