Once inside, they stood by the window. Searching.

The house was dark, but with the help of the moon and a bare window, they were able to make out the basic features of the room.

A large sofa, with a throw folded on one end, dominated the room. A side table stood on the other side, cluttered with a television remote control, tea mug, and a stack of newspapers.

None of those inanimate objects explained the strange odor that hit Leah’s nose.

It was a very human smell. But it was overlaid with the scent of decay.

It was the smell of life gone amiss.

Was this an old odor, perhaps of a mouse that had died in the walls?

Goosebumps skittered up the back of Leah’s neck. It didn’t matter how simple and fast this break-in was supposed to be, standing in someone else’s house in the dead of night felt so terribly wrong.

Dead.

Night.

Those words would not stop stalking her mind.

She threw a glance over her shoulder at the window.

It’s not too late, Leah.

Aiden tapped her arm and pointed.

She put one foot ahead of her.

No.

I can’t do this. It doesn’t matter if this is for the greater good.

It’s wrong.

Aiden gestured again, impatiently pointing to the desk. Do it, his eyes said.

Her heart pounded so hard that she thought it would flee and leave her stranded in this house.

She inched backward until her hip connected with the windowsill. She could just slip through the window right now, and no one would be the wiser.

Her hands gripped the wooden frame.

Aiden spun around and grabbed her arm. Through the thick knit of her hoody, she felt a sharp point press into her side.

It was a knife.

She froze.

What the hell is he doing?

Those eyes that had gazed at her with love, tenderness, passion, and promise, now drilled into her with a threat.

He jerked his head toward the desk.

She tried to ease away. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

“Just do it.”

She shook her head. “It’s wrong.”

His gaze narrowed. “Don’t think I won’t use this.” He pushed the knife harder into her side. She felt the tip penetrate her skin. “It will only take a minute. And then you’re home free, Leah.”

“No.” She tried to ease away from his knife. But the blade followed the curve of her flesh. She was strong, but Aiden was stronger. “Let go of me, Aiden!”

His thickly fringed eyes did not blink. “Joey will be next if you don’t do this.”

The words were uttered softly, but it made the threat all the more real.

She stumbled forward, her lover’s knife pushing her toward the desk.

Do it, his eyes said.

Do it, the knife said.

The dark of the Owens’ living room shifted around her.