Chapters (78)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Discover More
- About the Author
- Also by Owen Laukkanen
But it wasn’t, of course. Nothing ever came easy. The man left the porch and circled around the side of the house, and Jess caught a glimpse of him through a side window, knew he was headed around back to keep looking.
Damn it.
Quiet as she could, she crossed to her bedroom, the shades drawn in there, the lights off. She knelt by the bed and reached underneath, felt around until her fingers found the soft case she’d stashed. Quickly she unzipped the case and removed the shotgun.
She’d purchased the gun from Chase Ogilvy at the marine supply store in town, after Harwood and his tagalongs had come back for Lucy. She’d let them take her dog, okay, but she’d be damned if they were going to take anything else from her. It was a Remington tactical shotgun, twelve gauge, model 870 Express. Seven-round capacity, and Jess kept the gun loaded.
She stood. Hesitated. Strained her ears for any sound of the man through the rain. Heard nothing. Maybe he’d gone, but she doubted it.
The house was getting darker, daylight disappearing. Shadows played on the walls, and Jess squinted to see. Squinted too hard, and she was somewhere else suddenly, back in the valley with an M4 in her hands, another shitty situation, another bad feeling.
Pull it together. Come on back, marine.
She let the sound of the rain bring her back to reality. Cradled the shotgun and moved back to the living room, the kitchen. Looked out over the sink into the backyard, the fenced-in weedy patch and the green-black forest beyond.
The man was out there. He’d come up to the back door, must have looked in through the window. Now he was turned around, headed out across the weeds to the edge of the fence line. Ty had built a shed out there for the lawn mower and whatever else, and Jess watched the man check it out, look around the yard, slow, and then start back across to the gate.
Quickly, Jess hurried to the front door. Opened it and slipped through as stealthy as she could, like she was back in the shit, patrolling Haji’s turf. She crept across the front porch and around to the edge of the house where the path came up the side. Waited there, stilled her breathing, clutched the shotgun two-handed, and tensed for the man’s approach.
He wasn’t trying to be sneaky. Or he was really bad at it. Jess heard his boots on the gravel path, practically heard him breathing. Timed it so just as he reached the end of the house, she stepped out toward him, swinging the butt of that Remington into his belly.