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I turned to Slash. He was staring into the backyard, his expression distant. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but a guest chose that exact moment to put on some dance music in an apparent effort to lighten things up. I couldn’t even hear myself think, let alone carry on a conversation.

The furniture in our living room was pushed to the wall and people started dancing. I should have been relieved that the party was revived, but I wasn’t. I was worried. Although Slash was as gracious, charming and attentive as always, his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

At one point, he excused himself to speak with an additional detail of Secret Service agents who arrived to discuss the incident and review the security camera tapes from our alarm system. They disappeared upstairs with Slash, presumably to review in our home office. Twenty minutes later, the agents left and Slash rejoined the party.

I was dying to find out what they’d seen and discussed, but from the look on Slash’s face, I had to wait until the party was over. I was even more curious about what he’d found on the ground and slipped into his pocket without showing the agents.

A part of me hoped all of this was just a couple of kids playing around. But it was wishful thinking, and I knew it.

Our life would never be that simple.

Chapter Five

Lexi

As soon as we closed the door on our last guest, I turned around and leaned back against the frame. “So, what did you see on the security camera?” I asked Slash.

He stacked several paper plates and a couple of plastic cups and carried them toward the kitchen. “A dark figure entering the yard from the side of the house and setting off the firecrackers. He, or she, already had them in a box.”

“So, it was clearly thought out.” I followed him into the kitchen, snagging two empty beer bottles on the way.

“Apparently. A single figure, well-prepared.”

“That rules out kids or random teens, right?”

“I would say that’s a fair assessment.”

I dumped the bottles into the recycling bin and studied him, thinking about what that meant. “Well, that certainly raises a lot of questions, but foremost in my mind is what would be the point of the firecrackers? And is it aimed at getting my or your attention?”

“It doesn’t matter. Someone put you, your parents and our close friends at risk, and that got my attention. Not in a good way.”

I waited, but he didn’t say anything further. Finally, I spread out my hands. “Slash, when were you going to tell me? Or were youevergoing to tell me?”

He had one hell of a poker face, but I knew disingenuity when I saw it. And it pissed me off. “Tell you what?”

“What you picked up off the ground near the firecrackers.”

He shot me an exasperated look. “I presume that to mean you didn’t stay on the floor as I asked.” He crossed his arms and regarded me.

“Of course not. I thought you knew me better than that.”

He was totally busted, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, then passed it over to me. I tried not to be mad he hadn’t shown it to me right away, but I was.

I unfolded it and read aloud. “Daniel 9:5. Come home.” I looked up. “What does it mean?”

“It’s a message.”

“From whom?”

He didn’t answer, so I tugged on his arm. “Slash. What is it?”

He braced himself with one arm on the counter, looking like he didn’t want to be having this conversation. I wished the same thing, but I needed to know what was going on.

“It’s a Bible verse,” he said.

“Iknowit’s a Bible verse.” I tried to keep the exasperation out of my voice and wasn’t sure I succeeded. “Do you know what the verse says?”

I assumed he’d know, given his time as an altar boy in Sperlonga and the work he’d done for the Vatican before he came to the States. Given my nonexistent church experience, I would have to rely on Google if he didn’t know.