The Risk (Page 21)

He exhales heavily, weighing the gravity of the situation.

“His MO is breaking into a home. He immediately attacks the woman, using brute force to establish dominance. He’ll hit them, then he chokes them until they’re on the verge of passing out.”

“I’m aware,” I tell him.

“He blindsides them, Lana. Your guard will need to be up at all times.”

“I want him to get a couple of hits in,” I say as I pour some fruits into my juicer. “Gotta make it believable.”

“This is too fucking risky. I think I should probably set up surveillance on your house.”

“No. Don’t you dare. If anyone ever tapped into that—”

“Right. Fuck! Then let me come stay with you?”

“And how would I explain you if Logan shows up unexpectedly again? You know what’s eventually coming, right? There’s a reason you’ve been riding in a wheelchair for three years—riding it in and out of your home and in your town.”

He groans, and I turn on the juicer, peering out my window again. As if Logan hears me talking about him, a text comes through as Jake speaks.

“Right. Then I’ll come up with something else.”

LOGAN: Boogeyman problem. I’ll call later.

ME: Okay. Please be careful.

LOGAN: Always, pretty girl.

“Are you texting while I’m on the phone?” Jake asks, annoyed.

“Maybe a little.”

I look out the window again, and this time I catch sight of a car and a flicker of red before I lose sight of whoever is here.

“Gotta go,” I whisper to Jake, hanging up before he can say anything.

I cut my phone off and toss it to the counter before pulling out one of my guns, clicking the safety off as I slowly make my way to the door.

Someone knocks, and I blow out a breath. I doubt the Boogeyman would politely knock before barging in to slit my throat.

I check the peephole, confused when I see a pretty redhead on my steps. Tossing on a pair of jeans that I grab from the back of my couch, I check the mirror. Then I tuck the gun into the back of my jeans and open the door, leaning against it to impede any thoughts of her coming in.

“If you’re here to witness, then you have your work cut out for you. If you’re here to sell me something, go ahead and leave. I shop online. If you’re here to—”

“I’m Hadley Grace,” she says, interrupting me. Her name sounds vaguely familiar, though I’m not sure why.

“Okay.” I shrug, letting her know that name holds no importance.

“Logan Bennett is my boss.”

That’s…surprising. “Shouldn’t you be in DC? Heard the Boogeyman dropped another body.”

Her eyes light up in surprise, and she jerks her phone out from her pocket, cursing when she reads something.

“I’ll make this quick,” she tells me, holding up a file.

She thrusts it at me, and my blood pumps quickly through my veins as I flip it open to see my worst fears starting to come to life.

“Actually, you make this quick,” she says flatly. “Tell me why the hell you stole the identity of a dead girl.”

End of Book 1