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“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice shakier than I’d have liked. Why would Nate have let him go? Unless they didn’t have enough for an arrest to stick, and his lawyer had made a fuss about them holding him. But if that was the case, Nate would have called and made sure I knew about it.
“It’s not what you think,” he said, his eyes wild. “Just let me explain.”
“Everyone seems to be saying that lately.” Someone had to be lying.
He took a step forward. “I didn’t lie to you about who I am, but I didn’t tell the whole truth either.”
He took another step forward. I edged closer to the knife block.
All of a sudden, he jolted, his face contorting. I lunged for the knives and yanked one out of the block, only to stare in disbelief as he toppled to the floor with a thud. Alice stood behind him, holding a taser.
“Oh my god.” I nearly crumpled with relief. “You saved my life.”
She smiled with grim satisfaction. “Just doing my job.”
“Ha!” The laugh that burst from me surprised me as much as it did her.
Duke trotted into the room and stopped to sniff at Ezra’s prone body, then growled.
“You’re okay.” Alice dropped the taser and moved toward me slowly, as if wary of my mental state. “Why don’t you give me the knife?”
I glanced down at my hand, stunned to realize I was still gripping the weapon so tightly, my knuckles were white. I passed it to her, handle first.
She used her free arm to hug me, and I closed the distance between us, coming to an abrupt stop when something punched me in the chest, robbing me of my ability to breathe. I looked down, barely able to believe what I was seeing. The knife I’d handed Alice was buried in my lower chest, the blade puncturing the skin beneath my breast and angling upward.
Pain ripped through me, blazing hot. I raised my eyes to Alice’s, my mouth hanging open. The taste of blood filled my mouth.
“I… I d-don’t….” I dropped to my knees.
“No, you don’t,” Alice whispered, her voice harsh. She leaned close until only a couple of inches separated her face from mine. “You don’t deserve everything you have. You owe it all to a pair of incompetent judges. If the universe were fair, your life would have been mine.”
I tried to shove her away, but my strength was leaching out along with the blood that soaked the front of my blouse. Alice twisted the knife handle and slowly drew it out. I screamed in agony and scrambled backward, trying to escape as she raised the knife for another strike, but there was only so far I could go while I was on the floor. As the knife arced toward me, I threw my hands to block it and screamed as the blade sliced into my palm.
A blur of dark fur passed my face, and then Duke launched himself at Alice, sinking his teeth into her arm. She shrieked and shook him off, but he latched onto her calf, easily tearing through the thin fabric of her pantyhose and piercing the flesh. She tried to dislodge him, but he growled furiously and refused to let go. I reached for her other leg to pull it out from under her, but she swung the foot and booted Duke in the face. He yelped and released her. She lashed out at him again, this time with her pointed heel. He grunted and fell back. Alice yanked her other shoe off and sprinted out of the kitchen.
I tried to get to Duke, but I couldn’t seem to make my body move. My limbs were heavy. My vision flickered at the edges. Duke dragged himself toward me and licked the side of my face.
“It’s okay, boy,” I whispered.
But nothing was okay.
I summoned all of the energy I could muster, but instead of getting up off the ground, the ceiling seemed to grow further away. My head had hit the floor. Darkness crept across my vision. Before I let it overtake me, I had time for two thoughts.
Please let Duke be okay.
I should have told Nate I loved him.
54
NATE
It waswith gritty eyes and a weary heart that I tried calling Grace again. I’d been surprised the first call had been rejected, but I figured she must have been sleeping and had turned it off reflexively. I had to get in touch with her soon so I could share the news that would turn her world upside down before Ezra got to her and spilled the beans himself. I would have accompanied him back to her place, but Mehrtens had pulled me aside to discuss a possible lead and by the time I’d heard her out, Patton had already released Ezra. As we’d discovered, Ezra had a legitimate reason for wanting to spend so much time around Grace, and given the circumstances—and how distraught he’d been—there was no reason to think he was behind anything. That meant Grace may still be in danger.
When she didn’t answer, I tried again. The call went to voicemail. I told my staff I was taking a break and drove home, but she wasn’t there. Kennedy’s car was missing too. Figuring she’d probably taken Grace back home, I returned to the car and raced to Grace’s place. When I got there, Ezra’s car was the only one in the drive. My heart sped up. Was I too late? Had he already confronted her?
I went to the door and knocked, but there was no response. I tried the handle and found it unlocked. I frowned. She should know better. I pushed it open cautiously and strained to hear the slightest noise, but it was eerily silent. With dread clawing at my gut, I withdrew my gun from its holster and cleared each room as I made my way through the house. Perhaps it was overkill, but my instincts were screaming that something was wrong, and when I got to the office, which looked like Grace had only stepped away from it for a few minutes, my suspicions were reinforced. I checked Alice’s computer and saw that it was shut down. My jaw tightened. Even if she’d thought she was safe, what would have possessed Grace to be reckless enough to come here alone?
I continued up the hall. The living area was empty, but when I entered the kitchen, my heart nearly stopped.
