Page 1 of The Lair

Prologue

Age 9

“Are you broken or something,Allison?Smile.”

My mother huffed and put down her phone with an annoyed sigh.

The disdain in that gesture made my eyes get glassy. I knew I had to smile. I did it all the time when I played with my friends at school, so why did it feel so impossible?

“Hold the doll up higher,” she instructed in a not-so-nice voice, kneeling in front of the couch where I was sitting so she could get the best shot. Our dog, Milo, wagged his tail, looking for attention, but she brushed him off with a small push. “And, for the hundredth time,smile. I need this picture today, and you’re already late for school. You know what will happen if you don’t smile, don’t you?”

My stomach dropped at the threat woven into her words. I didn’t want to be there, but my mother had always been very clear about what would happen if I didn’t smile for pictures and videos—no new toys for Christmas, no going out to eat on the weekends, and no new house.

“Yeah,” I uttered.

It was a weak, anxious sound.

“Then do it.”

It’s just a smile.

I adjusted the doll on my lap and pushed down the tears collecting in my eyes, giving her the smile she wanted.

“You can’t even smile right,” she said with a roll of her eyes. I hated it when she did that. It made me feel like I’d ruined everything. “This doll is a gift they sent you for free. Do you have any idea how hard I have to work to get this for you? The only thing you have to do is look like you’re happy, so stop this attention-seeking charade.”

I didn’t ask for this dollis what I wanted to scream at her, but I stayed quiet. She always called me ungrateful when I did that, and I didn’t want to fight.

The pressure weighed me down as I sneaked furtive glances at the clock. There was no way we would get to school on time. There were too many cars on the road at this hour.

If I was late to school, I would get in trouble with the principal again. And as much as I didn’t want that, I also didn’t want to disappoint my mother no matter how much I hated posing for pictures.

So I propped the doll higher and smiled until my face hurt.

“That’ll do,” she dismissed a few clicks later, still unconvinced. Her attention shifted to the phone always glued to her hand. “Get in the car. You’ve made us late again.”

Chapter One

Once upon a time,there was a ferocious bear and a tiny rabbit who found themselves trapped in the same lair because the universe had a shitty sense of humor.

And then the bear ate the rabbit. The end.

“Allie. A word.”

I forgot to mention that, in this tale, the bear could talk.

And it’s called Travis Ward.

I shut my eyes, taking advantage of the fact that my back is turned to him, and press my lips into a thin line. Who am I kidding? There’s no getting out of this.

“What’s up, boss man?”

I also forgot to say the rabbit had had an exhausting week and just wanted to go home, open a bottle of cheap wine, and watch reality TV on her phone because she doesn’t have cable.

When I saw Travis earlier today, taking inventory with that familiar scowl on his face, I already knew he wasn’t in a great mood. Which, for him, doesn’t mean much—the storm in him never clears.

Whatever advantage I think I have is short-lived. His heavy footsteps on the floor I mopped just minutes ago approach me with a daunting rhythm.

Too slowly, the tank-sized man who has been my boss for a little over a year steps into my line of vision—well, his chest does. At five foot two, I consider myself to be on the shorter side, but my boss makes me feel all the more minuscule. He’s what, six four? Six five, maybe, if I’m generous. With that dark brown hair and thick, short beard, he’s not beating the bear allegations anytime soon, that’s for sure.

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