We rode the rest of the way home in silence. A long silence. It was rush hour in L.A. We were lucky to move an inch in twenty minutes. I was seriously jonesing for my Rebel when we got stuck behind a pileup on the 101. How easily I could have weaved between the cars and simply zipped my way home. Instead, I was stuck in a tank, getting dirty looks from every eco-friendly Prius driver who passed us.

By the time we pulled up to Oasis Terrace, I was tired, hungry, and really had to pee.

“Well, thanks for the ride,” I said, throwing open the door and dropping the two feet to the ground.

“I’ll walk you in.”

“You really don’t need to,” I protested.

“I’d feel better if I did.” And before I could stop him, Cal had beeped the car locked and was already following me up the front path.

“Look, I’m a big girl. I think I can walk myself to my front d—” But I trailed off as we approached the condo.

The door was open. The wood splintered near the handle as if someone had kicked the thing in. Hard.

I felt my heart jump into my throat, the breath suddenly knocked out of me as my mind latched on to one horrible thought.

Aunt Sue.

Chapter Seven

Cal reacted immediately. In an instant his gun was in his hands, held straight-armed out in front of him, his stance low and guarded, one hand holding me back as he slowly approached the door.

Not that I was going anywhere. In fact, my entire body felt frozen with dread, my feet suddenly encased in lead. My breath sped up as I watched Cal slowly push the door open and ease inside the condo.

God, if anything happened to Aunt Sue…

No. I didn’t even want to think about that. I shut my eyes, giving myself a mental big-girl talk, then followed a step behind Cal, adrenaline backing up in my chest at what horrible sight might greet me.

The kitchen was trashed. Cupboards open, pots and pans strewn all over the floor, broken glass in the sink, an entire box of spaghetti noodles dumped over the counters. And the living room hadn’t fared much better—coffee table overturned, vases smashed, sofa cushions slashed, the stuffing bulging grotesquely out their sides.

I watched as Cal slowly circled the room, then entered the bedroom on the left, Aunt Sue’s. I held my breath, tension building in every part of me.

“What in God’s name happened here?”

I jumped. And may have even peed my pants a little.

I spun around to find Aunt Sue standing in the doorway, her eyes bulging behind her bifocals.

“Oh, thank God!” I rushed her like a linebacker, squeezing her in a hug that had her making strangled little gurgling noises in the back of her throat. “You’re okay!”