Page 62 of Erik's Redemption
She was about to respond when the home alarm went off.
She spun, her heart racing at the abrupt sound. Shit, that wasloud.
She ran back up the steps, rushing to unlock the doors and key in the code again. The second the piercing noise quieted, she blew out a breath.
Had she done something wrong? Had she put in the wrong code?
Tapping into her phone screen, she pulled up her notes, including the alarm instructions from the owner. Nope. Everything appeared right. With a frown, she keyed in the code again, this time slower.
She waited a moment, and when the alarm didn’t shriek at her, she turned and headed out of the house again.
She’d made it exactly the same distance, halfway down the path, when the alarm went off a second time.
This time, something cold slithered over her skin. For a second, she was tempted to just go back to her car, but the alarm was piercing, and she didn’t want to upset the neighbors.
It was fine. She’d go back in, turn it off, then call the owners.
With quick steps, she jogged back to the door. After unlocking it yet again, she stepped back inside and moved straight to the alarm pad, where she typed in the five numbers.
The house silenced.
She was about to call the owner when the iPad caught her attention. It still sat on the hall table where she’d put it. Crap! She’d almost left it behind. Guess the faulty alarm was a good thing. She lifted the tablet and was about to turn it off—
But stopped when she noticed the last recorded name on the check-in list.
Ice slipped into her veins, nausea coiling in her belly. For a moment, she didn’t move. She didn’t breathe. Because that name was so familiar and utterly terrifying. A ghost from her past.
Clarence Burns.
A rustle sounded behind her.
She didn’t have time to turn before a hand shoved her against the wall. She struggled as a body pressed into her back—then something sharp touched her side and she just stopped. Stopped fighting. Stopped breathing.
“I’m gonna make you hurt for what you did to him.” She barely heard the whispered words over the buzzing between her ears. The fear fogging her head.
She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Then the knife pressed harder, her side stinging as her world started to darken.
Suddenly, pounding footsteps sounded from the walkway outside.
The person behind her cursed, the knife disappearing before her head was slammed hard against the wall.
Pain blasted through her skull as she fell to the floor.
Footsteps raced down the hall—then a new set of steps. She tried to see the person running into the house, chasing afterwhoever had grabbed her, but she couldn’t. Because remaining conscious took all her energy.
CHAPTER 22
“Itold you, I don’t need a pacemaker. I’ve been handling the arrhythmia fine with medication.”
Erik’s hands fisted at his dad’s words. His father had always been a rational man, but today it was like he had no damn sense.
“The doctor said it would help,” his mother said gently, touching his hands. She’d been doing a good job at remaining calm. It was the only reason Erik had been staying the hell out of the conversation.
“Jennifer, I’d just like to go home.”
“Me too. And we will, as soon as they’ve organized the procedure for this pacemaker.” His mother rose, squeezing his hand. “I’m going to get some coffee, and I think you could use some rest. I’ll be back.”
She leaned down and kissed her husband before walking over and kissing Erik’s cheek. She was probably escaping to get some space so she didn’t explode on her husband.
