AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER ONE
Ava turned the corner, relishing every beat of her feet against the concrete beneath her, inhaling the crisp February air deep into her lungs before exhaling the grief, pain, and rage that had been her constant companion these last two years. The tiny ranch-style house she’d rented nearly four months ago sat nestled among huge pines and oaks that lined the suburban neighborhood. Obscure, yet close enough to the bustling city of Atlanta, it had been perfect for what she needed…anonymity.
As she slowed her pace, she wondered if her neighbors would ever understand what now lay in their midst. The beast that prowled under her skin waiting for the right time to exact vengeance. She slowed further, a brisk walk that brought her to the side entrance of the small house she might at one time considered home but now was nothing more than a temporary haven from the weather.
A quick look told her that nothing on the porch had been disturbed. No footprints in the sand she’d scattered anew yesterday. The wire across the top of her screen door remained as she’d placed it when she left out an hour ago.
This was the only entrance into the house. She’d boarded up the front door so it still looked functional but couldn’t be used for entry. The backdoor she’d taken out altogether and boarded up the empty space with plywood and drywall. Oh, she played the game—there was a grill that sat on her unused back deck. This was temporary, but she needed to be able to sleep at least a few hours a night, so she took precautions.
She was tired of living this way but had no idea if this would end any time soon.
She focused on the door again, taking in her surroundings—the breeze that promised rain, maybe sleet, the stillness after that breeze. There was no tingling at the base of her skull. Ava had learned to pay attention to that sign. The last time she’d ignored it, she’d lost Olivia.
She drew in a deep breath, feeling the sweat congeal on her skin under the breathable fabric of her running jacket and tights.
You got this. Breathe. Her precious sister’s voice ringing in her head. She hadn’t heard it in two years, and she never would again. Just a memory.
Panic was an emotion she could no longer afford. She was alone. Hunted. Hiding. And she ached to go on the offensive.
Another breath, and she released the tension, allowing it to leak out of her body.
She opened the screen door, turned the knob to enter the side door, and stopped.
The tingling hit her full force. No, wait. Not a tingle, more like a hammer to the back of her head. Adrenaline spiked—fight or flight—those were her options. Instead, she froze.
Caesar, her beloved red nose pitbull, sat on his haunches in the middle of the kitchen, ears forward, mouth dripping drool, body shaking as he controlled himself. His blue eyes screamed DANGER. His twitching muscles told her to run.
He knew she’d never hear him bark, so he’d been trained to sit just that way to warn her.
Fear shot up her spine even as her natural instinct to duck had her lowering the foot she’d raised to enter the house and going into a crouch. The window above her head exploded outward, showering her in stinging bits of glass. Ava pulled Caesar’s whistle out of her pocket, blew twice, shoved the door wide open for him to follow and then she ran.
She swore she felt the percussion of the gunshot striking her car, but still she ran, pushing past the lactic acid build-up that made her muscles protest violently, fleeing the bastards who’d found her.
If they killed her dog, she’d have lost everything that mattered in her entire world. She’d lost Olivia. She couldn’t lose Caesar.
But she didn’t slow, reaching down deep, finding the rage that had sustained her for so long now. She hit the street in front of her house and just…ran. A mile ahead of her was a busy intersection that led to the heart of Atlanta. If she could make it to that intersection, she’d be safer, maybe flag down a car.
She looked back once, saw a dark SUV winging its way toward her, and beside that, Caesar. He was running like a hound straight from hell, eyes on her even as he dodged the car. Bastards were trying to kill her dog!
To her left was the entrance to the neighborhood. To her right…woods.
She pushed her body, demanding strength from depleted reserves, and veered right, into the bowels of the section of property that tracked alongside the intersection she was aiming for. She had no idea how close they were and was afraid to look back.
She blew the whistle again, hoping Caesar followed, and then she lost herself in the trees and overgrown weeds. Pain flared along her upper arm and she gasped. But she did not stop.
They were desperate if they were shooting in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.
Caesar bulleted past her, as if leading the way, so she reached even deeper into her reserves, pushing past cramps and pain, and she followed him. If he was still running they were pursuing.
She had to put enough distance between her and them so that when she came to the intersection she could disappear before they saw how she’d done it. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, put anyone else in danger helping her.
And the men gunning for her wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t give a shit who they hurt, until they had her in their hands.
From the corner of her eye she saw a piece of ground gouged out by a bullet. But just ahead, cars moved, wraiths in the distance, their journeys broken only by the trees standing between her and the road. Caesar pulled up as he reached the treeline, barking, but the sound was lost between them.
She made it to his side, walking as fast as she could to the light at the corner. Her legs were jelly, barely holding her up. Caesar stayed close, froth layering his flanks. Ava glanced back again, saw nothing, but didn’t breathe in relief. They were there, even though she couldn’t see them. The light turned red and she hustled to the crosswalk, making it to the other side before disappearing around the side of a gas station, hurrying down the street.
Ahead of her, another light and sitting there waiting for the light to turn, a tractor trailer with Virginia plates. She held up a hand for Caesar. He went to his haunches. This dog. He was her savior. She reached for the door handle, praying the driver helped her.
