Page 106 of Bad Intentions

I fight through the sharp pain at the back of my head and force my eyes to open.

It’s dark, the only light shining on me is a little bright circle, and I blink, squinting.

The lights in the house suddenly come on, making the kitchen around me pop into focus. With a grunt, I try to prop myself up into a sitting position. Sharp pain prickles me at the back of my head, and I wince, going still, trying to fight through it.

“What is going on?” I whisper, looking around.

“Oh, thank god. You are fine. What the hell did you do, you old duck?”

I raise my eyes to see Donna crouching beside me. “What are you doing here?”

The kitchen door swings open, and Rika runs in, stops next to us, and gapes at me. “Oh, good. She’s fine.”

“Did you fall?” Donna asks, helping me to my feet. “Does anything hurt?”

I sway, dizzy. Slowly, an image comes back to me—Mallory Blain, scowling at me, in my kitchen, asking in her mocking voice, “Still kicking?” Then everything went dark.

“Mallory Blain was here,” I say meekly, holding on to a chair as Donna holds on to me like I’m about to fall. “She was here. Right here. Birdie… Then everything went dark.”

“Rika couldn’t get a hold of Josie,” Donna says. “You were supposed to have dinner.”

“Dinner,” I murmur, looking around. The chopped-up vegetables are still on the kitchen counter. “Josie? Where’s Josie?”

“Her phone is off,” Rika says.

“What was Mallory Blain doing here?” Donna asks. “Karen, you have blood at the back of your head. What happened?”

We all look at each other, and all of us think the same thing at the same time.

“Oh, god,” Rika blurts.

“I knew it,” Donna rasps. “Rika, help her to the chair. I’ll call the paramedics.”

“No, no…” I protest. “We have to find Josie.”

“We’ll find Josie,” Donna assures me, already dialing someone. “Chief? I need you here ASAP. Mallory Blain was at Karen’s house. I think she assaulted Karen. Josie’s missing. We need an ambulance.”

“She did something,” I say to Donna as she hangs up. “D, that woman has something to do with it all. We were wrong. We were so wrong. Josie is in trouble.”

“Mallory Blain?” Rika asks. “The kidnapped woman?”

Donna curses under her breath. “The chief said things didn’t add up with the kidnapping. Someone saw her car in town the day she was discovered, when she was supposedly in the basement. They found a folding knife behind the pipe, which means she could’ve freed herself. She refused surveillance. Refused medical exams. And she was a witness at the trial years ago.”

“You think…” Rika doesn’t finish the sentence but exchanges looks with Donna.

Donna nudges me toward the chair. “Sit down, K. You might have a concussion.”

I shake my head and put my palm against her. “D, this time…” I sway and almost fall when Donna catches me again in her arms. “This time, we have to do this by the book. Get the chief and the team ready.”

“I got it, K.”

“No, no, no. Here. Help me to the bedroom.”

Donna leads me to my bedroom, to the big antique wardrobe with my old clothes. “Open it,” I order. “Move the clothes to the side.” She does, pushing the coats aside, revealing several boxes with handguns and ammo, a rifle, and a shotgun.

“Whoa.” Rika gives a low whistle behind me. “Karen’s Narnia.”

Young people with their precious water bottles, cell phone arms, and lack of patience—what would they know about self-defense?