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I remember this place, but it’s like a dream being here again. I don’t belong in this sacred house. It’s too peaceful for a man like me.
“Wait a second,” Donovan says, freezing suddenly.
I stop, looking over to him. “What is it?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know, but something isn’t right.”
I lower my voice to a whisper. “Red Hitters?”
He shakes his head. “Something else. Someone has been here already.”
I frown, but I trust his judgement. Donovan has broken into more houses than either of us can count. He’s been doing this type of thing for decades, and in that time, he’s built up a wicked intuition.
If he says something isn’t right, then something most definitely isn’t right.
Donovan pulls his gun, nodding down the hallway toward Dimitri’s office. “Do you smell it? Something sour.”
I close my eyes for a moment, turning my nose up and sniffing the humid air. There is something sour, but it’s more than that. Any old house can have a sour smell after being left abandoned for a few days, but this goes beyond sour. It’s a bit musky, like body odor.
I sniff myself, double checking I haven’t dragged in the unpleasant smell.
Donovan looks like he wants to laugh, but he knows the situation is precarious. Now isn’t the time for humor.
“Smells like a person,” I whisper. “You think they’re still here?”
“Could be,” he replies, narrowing his eyes. “Let’s check the rest of the house first for signs of a prior break-in. Then, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”
I nod, turning on my heels and head back down the hallway toward the living room. From there, we sweep the first floor thoroughly on the way to the front door. The musky scent grows stronger, but then it’s replaced by the earth smell of the outdoors.
“There it is,” Donovan mutters as we arrive at the front door.
The floor is covered in glass from one of the side windows. There’s blood on it, too, but it’s not very fresh. Probably a few days old.
“Amateur work,” Donovan says, shaking his head at the mess.
“So, not the Red Hitters?”
“No,” he replies, looking up at me. “Probably some crack head or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was asleep in one of the rooms. I’m just surprised nobody in the neighborhood has reported it.”
I hold up my finger. “Ah, but perhaps they did and the police ignored it because they assumed it was related to the Red Hitters.”
“That’s a good point. We’d better be careful, though, because I’ve dealt with some pretty dangerous addicts in my life. If they’re willing to break into Dimitri’s house, they might also be willing to do harm to us.”
I pull my gun, checking that there’s a round in the chamber. “I’m ready if you are.”
“Born ready,” he mutters with a smirk.
We turn around and head back toward the office, keeping our eyes and ears open for any sign of the intruder. If we’re lucky, they’ve already left, but there’s a solid chance they’re still hanging around somewhere in the house. It’s a big place with several floors, so there’s plenty of places for them to hide.
We might not even run into them even if they are here, though, because our only goal is to get the research documents from Dimitri’s office.
As much as I hate that someone has desecrated his house like this, we don’t have time to weed them out and give them the punishment they deserve. We’ve been here too long already.
The air is tense and heavy again as we head to Dimitri’s office. The carpet makes our footsteps silent, but every breath I take sounds far too loud. I start to get this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, like this whole thing is a trap, but I ignore it as my hand wraps around the doorknob to the office.
I glance at Donovan and nod, turning it and opening the door.
My finger twitches next to the trigger of my gun, but when Donovan flashes a light inside, it’s obvious nobody is in the office.
