Page 22 of Chain Reaction
What was that? The noise was slight, and if it hadn’t been so quiet in the house, Raven probably wouldn’t have noticed it.
A small tremble began in her hands as she stood.
This could be nothing. The wind blowing a branch against the siding. A loose shingle even.
But given everything going on, it would be prudent to check the noise out and know for sure.
She didn’t have a gun. But even if she did, she wasn’t about to go check this out on her own. Not after everything that had happened.
She spotted a butcher block on the kitchen counter and quickly grabbed the largest knife she could find.
The noise sounded again. It came from the other side of the house.
Her heart pounded harder in her ears.
Then she grabbed her phone. She stared at the screen, wondering if she should call 911.
But what if this turned out to be nothing? Then she’d just look paranoid. That wasn’t what she wanted either.
Women in her profession already had a disadvantage. She didn’t want that reality to be true, but it was. If she acted like a scared little schoolgirl, that would only cause her to lose some of the respect she’d been trying so hard to establish.
In many ways, it was still a man’s world.
She shoved her phone back in her pocket and then turned toward the hallway and glanced at the front door.
A shade was pulled over the glass on the top half of the door. But a light was on outside, and a shadow moved beyond the window.
A silhouette.
Raven realized what the sound was—the door handle jiggling.
Someone was trying to get inside.
That did it. She’d call 911 after all.
As she grabbed her phone and dialed, she realized the call wasn’t going through.
She squinted. Tried again.
Nothing.
What was going on?She hit Jake’s number next.
That call didn’t go through either.
The door handle twisted again. This time it was louder. Whoever was there wasn’t trying to be stealthy anymore.
She was running out of time.
Raven stashed her cell phone in her pocket and clutched the knife with both hands.
She realized with sickening clarity that she was on her own right now.
CHAPTER 10
Raven continued to stare at the door.
The shadow had disappeared.
