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“Lexi! Slash!” She launched herself into our arms for a hug, and I caught the faint scent of strawberries. “It’s been way too long since I’ve seen you guys. Congratulations on your engagement and the new house. I can’t wait to hear all about your wedding plans.”

I swallowed my disappointment as my dream of huddling in the corner with her and talking about anythingexcepta wedding vanished in a poof. “So, where’s Hands?” I distinctly remembered him being on the list that had RSVP’d for this evening.

“I’m sorry,” she said shoving a bottle of wine into my hands. “He got deployed unexpectedly. I hope it’s okay I came solo.”

“It’s more than okay,” Slash said with a smile, ushering her into the house. “We’re glad you could make it.”

The next half hour was a whirlwind as people continued to arrive in clusters. Suddenly my house was full of people and more were still arriving and I had to recite the periodic table backward so I didn’t freak out. Slash handled everything with amazing calm and charm, so I gladly let him do most of the talking. I envied him that, in spite of his own deep introversion, he could dazzle people so effortlessly.

I disappeared into the kitchen to chat a while with my older brother, Beau, a detective for Baltimore Police Department, about a case he was working that had some interesting cyber elements. When I walked out into the living room again, I clutched my wineglass and looked for Slash. He immediately made eye contact with me, clearly assessing my mood. It warmed my heart that he could gauge my anxiety level so well without us even having to speak.

He smiled as I approached and slid an arm around my waist, pulling me close and taking my hand, giving me the chance to squeeze my way out of the party. I was doing okay, so I didn’t signal, but I loved him for thinking of it. I gave him a brave smile, leaning into him and soaking up his warmth. He brushed a kiss against my cheek. When he did that, it felt like it was just the two of us in the room.

He’d been speaking in Italian to a couple who were friends of Slash’s family. As soon as I arrived, they switched effortlessly to English. I admired people who could do that without missing a beat. I chatted with them for a bit until my mom and dad pulled me aside.

“Lexi, you and Slash did a lovely job with the party,” my mom said. “I have to say, the caterer is to die for. The house is lovely as well. You’ll have plenty of room to grow here, especially when you have children.”

I choked on my wine. “Mom, we haven’t even got married yet.”

“And your point is? You don’t have to be married to get pregnant, you know. Although we’d better not have to go shopping for a maternity-style wedding dress. But as soon as you’ve walked down that aisle, you should start working on my grandchildren. I don’t intend to be an old grandmother.” She glanced around the room. “Where’s Slash? He needs to hear this, too.”

I opened my mouth to respond when I heard a sound like popcorn being popped, only louder.

“Get down,” Slash yelled as the lights went off.

I turned toward his voice just before he slammed into me, my mom, and dad, bringing all three of us to the floor in a jumble of limbs.

My elbow smashed into something soft and I heard my dad yelp. I gasped as my hip banged against the floor. “Ouch! Slash, what’s going on?”

“Stay down.” Slash rolled off me and came to a crouch.

I crawled toward my mom, lying protectively on one side of her, with my dad on the other. She was shaking. I patted her shoulder awkwardly.

“Lexi, are we going to be okay?” she whispered.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see Slash creeping toward the window, his hand resting beneath his sports coat, where I knew he had a gun.

Why the heck was someone shooting at us during our engagement party? Did someone want to hurt Slash?

I swallowed my concerns, tried to be the calm and collected hostess. “Don’t worry,” I whispered to my mom. “Slash has everything under control.”

My dad made a noise between a grunt and a sigh. Not quite disbelieving, but not happy either.

I just held my breath and hoped I was right.

Chapter Three

Slash

Slash swore softly in Italian as he headed for the window. He and Lexi didn’t live normal lives, but he’d promised her father he’d keep her safe, and this wasn’t helping his case.

“Everyone stay down,” he ordered, his hand resting on the gun in the shoulder holster beneath his jacket. He’d already loosened the strap, but he didn’t want to draw it and scare everyone. He first needed to determine the level of danger. The noise had faded and all he could hear were faint pops. Not firearms, but something else.

Something familiar.

His phone was vibrating but he ignored it. He figured they were multiple warnings from the security camera feeds warning him that the side perimeter of his house had been penetrated, and the audio and motion-activated feeds he had surrounding the house had been tripped. He also would have received alerts from his Secret Service detail. He didn’t read any of them; none of them were more critical than a situational awareness of what was happening at the moment.

As soon as the noise had sounded, someone, probably Beau, had hit the lights in the living room. Someone else had turned off the lights in the dining room and kitchen, plunging the house into darkness.