Page 7 of Malice

Farnsworth smiles. “Wonderful. We’ll start orientation right away.” With his hand on my shoulder, he gently guides me toward a table, and when I blink, I’m alone in a dimly lit room with a stack of paperwork and books on it labeled with numbers.

Oh-kay. Guess it’s self-study.

“There will be a test.” Farnsworth’s disembodied voice fills the room. “Take it seriously.”

“I will,” I say, assuming he can hear me.

I flop down in the chair, my head spinning.

I’m dead. But not for long, I guess.

Picking up the first stack of papers labeled “Number One—Start Here” I flip to the first page to start reading. I have a chance to get back to my life. I’ll figure out everything else after that.

Chapter 4

Hudson

My sister pats my thigh as we pull up in front of my house. The scene of the crime. My stomach tightens, but I’m not about to let Chester ruin the dream house that took me years to buy.

“It’s all cleaned,” Jocelyn says. “Good as new.”

“Did you do that?”

She smiles, even though her eyes are glossy with unshed tears. “Did you know there’s no services provided through law enforcement? They just leave it.”

“Kind of fucked up.”

“It is.” She gently squeezes the back of my neck. “But it’s all good.”

“Thanks. You didn’t have to do that. I can’t imagine…”

“You would’ve done the same for me.”

I nod, shifting my gaze out the window to my front door. “It looks like fresh paint.”

“We had to have the doorframe repaired. That’s how he got in. Cops think he used a screwdriver.”

“Why didn’t I see that?” I blow out a shaky breath. “As paranoid as I’ve been, I didn’t notice anything until it was too late.”

“Hey.” She squeezes my hand. “It’s not your fault. Not any of it. If he broke a window, you would’ve noticed. He knew what he was doing.”

I nod, doing my best to believe her. I enter through the side door near the garage, not the front. How would I have noticed someone pried the lock open on the unused front door?

“I can still stay for a while. Elaina can take care of the dogs by herself.”

“I appreciate it, but I’m okay. They wouldn’t have let me leave the hospital if I wasn’t.”

“Physically you’re fine, but emotionally?—”

“Also fine. You have a life back home. It means a lot that you drove out here for me.”

“Hud…” She lifts my hand to her chest. “You don’t have to do everything alone. You could come back with me. We have a guest cottage.”

“I have a home.” I clear my throat to push back the tidal wave of emotion threatening to pull me under. I refuse to fucking cry over that guy. “I love it here, Joss. I’ll make friends now that…” A shudder rattles through me. “Now that he’s out of my life.”

She nods, forcing a smile to her face. “Take all the time you need, Hudson. Your work can wait. Your health is more important.”

“I know.”

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