BooksBarbecue
Back We Were Killers Once
Chapters (65)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty–one
  25. Twenty–two
  26. Twenty–three
  27. Twenty–four
  28. Twenty–five
  29. Twenty–six
  30. Twenty–seven
  31. Twenty–eight
  32. Twenty–nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty–one
  35. Thirty–two
  36. Thirty–three
  37. Thirty–four
  38. Thirty–five
  39. Thirty–six
  40. Thirty–seven
  41. Thirty–eight
  42. Thirty–nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty–one
  45. Forty–two
  46. Forty–three
  47. Forty–four
  48. Forty–five
  49. Forty–six
  50. Forty–seven
  51. Forty–eight
  52. Forty–nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty–one
  55. Fifty–two
  56. Fifty–three
  57. Fifty–four
  58. Fifty–five
  59. Fifty–six
  60. Fifty–seven
  61. Author’s Note
  62. Acknowledgments
  63. Also by Becky Masterman
  64. About the Author
  65. Newsletter Sign-up

Gemma-Kate was a cop’s daughter and understood when I removed my cell phone and my weapon from my tote bag. I tossed her the phone, which she caught neatly. I watched her press her thumb on the three numbers and then put the phone to her ear without speaking. All she did was breathe through her mouth loudly enough so that only I and whoever was on the other end at emergency services could hear her. Good girl, I nodded.

Her eyes were tracking as she did so, and now she pointed to the short hall that led to the master suite. On the yellow wall someone had spray-painted a good-sized circle in red, and inside it two lightning bolts.

I listened with all my ears until all I could hear was my mild tinnitus. Even the pugs were still, watching me. I moved first to the master bedroom area, clearing that and the bathroom. The room itself was a relative mess, drawers pulled out and clothes strewn about. The lid of my small jewelry box was open. I would deal with that later. For now I was just making sure we weren’t about to be killed by some burglar, cornered and desperate.

The drawer to my nightstand was pulled out more than I remembered leaving it, and knowing what was inside I took the time to pull it open. The box with my other weapon in it was still in the drawer, but when I lifted the lid I found it empty. So someone had it in their possession. Were they still in the house?

I really didn’t need this tonight. You might think someone like me could risk death on a mountain road and then come home and fight off a guy hiding in the shower. Well, maybe I could, but I’d rather not.

Gemma-Kate had been left unguarded in the living room. I moved more quickly now and found her where I’d left her. I motioned for her to go into the bedroom, and as she passed by me I whispered, “Lock this door, then go in the bathroom and lock that door, and tell the nine-one-one dispatcher there’s a break-in. Not sure whether perp is still on premises.” The pugs, who had been watching everything with mild interest but no apparent alarm, followed her when she silently tapped the side of her leg in a come gesture. Times like this, they were as useful as a fly swatter in a locust plague.