Page 57 of Hidden Ties

Valerie’s eyes turned into slits, smelling bullshit, and it wasn’t his dirty underwear that was lying about. “Did you tell anyone I was here?”

“No—”

“Who did you tell?” she whisper-screamed at him, knowing instantly that he was lying through his fucking unbrushed teeth. “Tell me right now, or so help me God, Lyle, that’ll be the last fucking game you play on your Xbox ever again.”

It wasn’t until she was about to rip the console out of its place that Lyle finally gave in.

“Fine! I might have told Gerald that you’re here.”

Gerald was another one of their coworkers, but when another knock came at the door, this time louder, she began threatening him with her hands still on the Xbox.

“Tell me exactly what you said.Wordforword.”

“All I said was that he wasn’t going to believe who was here,and then I told him it was you.” He added the last part in a rush after she had ripped out its cords and looked like she was about to drop it. “I swear that’s all!”

She was contemplating throwing the stupid thing to the ground and smashing it to tiny bits when Lyle stood up and went for the door.

“It’s not a big deal. I’m sure Gerard just came over to say hi—”

“No! Do not open the door!” she screamed out when her gut told her that something was wrong, but it was too late as a bullet went right through Lyle’s face. It was much different in real life than in her video games. It was certainly a lot messier and strangely a lot quieter than she had expected, due to the silencer on the end of the barrel of the gun.

Splattered in blood and knowing that her time had come, Valerie had nothing to lose. And, frankly, Lyle didn’t either, considering he was dead, so she chucked the Xbox she still hadin her hands right at the fully covered intruder. Having knocked them senseless, Valerie ran as fast as she could to her car and shut herself in before starting it.

“Shit!” she cried out when she found her keys no longer sat in the ignition. Whoever had come in to kill her had been thorough in giving her no possibility of escape, which led her to no other option but …

She eyed her bat in the passenger seat. The bitch had fucked up by leaving it in her car. She made a promise thatthatwas going to be the last mistake he would ever make.

Gripping her bat as she exited the car, she prepared to fight to the death when the masked assailant rushed out of the house at the same moment. Once he caught sight of her, Valerie ran right at him, holding her bat high in the air as he pointed the gun right at her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blood that coated Valerie this time, she wasn’t sure if it belonged to her or not. It didn’t feel like she had gotten shot, and she certainly hadn’t been the one to fall to the ground.

“Are you fucking stupid?” a masculine voice roared from behind her.

Turning to see Officer Daniels with his gun still smoking out from the barrel, she dropped the bat, still in shock, and realized that she wasn’t dead and dreaming. “Huh?”

“I said,are you fucking stupid?” he roared at her again, but she was only barely able to catch it over the ringing in her ears.

“Well, what the hell was I supposed to do?” she asked snarkily, trying to calm her heart rate down from almost being killed. “Let him kill me without a fight? No, thanks!”

“No,” he said harshly, looking at her as if she were fucking crazy. “You were supposed to run theotherway!”

“And let him shoot me from behind?” She picked her bat back up and swung it over her shoulder. “Again, no, thanks.”

For both of their safeties, Officer Daniels put his gun back in its holster.

While grateful to still be alive, Valerie gave him a curious look. “How’d you know this was happening, anyway?”

“I followed you—”

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Valerie had his words coming to a halt.

“Fucking hell, woman, athank you for saving my asswouldn’t hurt.” When he knew he wasn’t going to get that, as she kept staring at him to continue his story, he did. “After Sal found your house ransacked, he asked if I could keep a patrol out on your neighborhood.”

“Oh, so, it wasn’t the police who broke all my shit …” She understood now. Obviously, since Sal hadn’t mentioned that he had her computer, he couldn’t tell her that it wasn’t the police who had trashed her home.

“No.” Unimpressed, he continued, “So, when you left the neighborhood in your little blaze of glory earlier today, I happened to be nearby, and he asked me to tail you.”