Page 40 of Cold Light of Day

Her heart suddenly kicked up—was Grier just passingthrough? She shouldn’t care so much about a man she knew so little about.

But she cared. Oh, she cared.

Autumn sped home after she realized how late it already was. She wasn’t sure how her father would react if Grier showed up before she got there.

Maybe she should have just turned up at his cabin and talked to him there, but she needed to check in on Dad as well—she had a feeling he thought she was neglecting him. Well, more than a feeling. She’d been busy. Did that count as an excuse?

It was dark by the time she got home with five minutes to spare. She opened the front door and stepped into a dark house.

Alarm kicked her heart rate into overdrive, and she removed her Staccato P from her holster and gripped it.

“Dad?”

She stared into the utter darkness and listened. Chills prickled her arms. Autumn took a step to reach the light switch and stumbled over something. She flipped on the lights, but the darkness remained.

Autumn radioed dispatch to request backup and ask for an ambulance, though she prayed one wasn’t needed. Using her flashlight, she slowly crept through the house, clearing every room and searching for her father. Hoping she would find him and praying he was safe. But sensing something entirely different.

Fear gnawed her gut.

After clearing the house, she stepped through the back door, quietly. Her skin crawled—she felt it.

The sensation that she wasn’t alone.

Leading with her pistol, she walked around the perimeter of the house and shined her flashlight into the woods to search for an assailant and her father, hoping those two were mutually exclusive—she’d find her father or the criminal, but not together.

God, I don’t want to lose Dad too. Help me.

A hand covered her mouth at the same moment a voice whispered in her ear. “It’s me. Turn off the flashlight.”

Her heart jumped to her throat.

Grier? That he’d been able to get so close told her a lot—about herself and about Grier. He gently urged her into a crouch against the side of the house near some bushes.

In the shadows of the cool, wet night, she could barely make out his face, but she could see clearly enough that he pressed a finger against his lips. Before he gave her any explanation, he signaled for her to wait.

He started to leave, but she caught him. “I’m not sitting this out. What do you think you’re doing?”

He leaned in so close, his warm breath tickled her ear when he said, “You’re in danger. Stay here.”

“No, Grier. I’m the law here. You stay.” She started to move, but he held her in place. Her insides twisted. “Take your hands off me or I’m going to hurt you, and then I’ll cuff you.”

“I respect you, Chief, but I can’t get to your dad until I take care of this. Stay here or you risk his life.” He released her and was gone before she could move.

His words had stunned her and were the only thing he could have said to cement her in place. He knew where her dad was? And he was using that to his tactical advantage? How would she risk her dad’s life if she moved?

She couldn’t see much in the darkness but waited and listened. The seconds ticked by, and as the time increased, so did her heart rate. Her breaths came faster until she couldn’t hear any sound over the pulse in her ears—not even the incessant rain.

Autumn slowly stood as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. No way was she going to cower in the bushes.

Grunts, groans, and punches resounded in the woods.

Then shouts.

Bursts of gunfire blasted the night.

No, no, no...

People she cared about were getting hurt. Autumn held her gun at the ready and maneuvered between the trees with stealth. She knew these woods next to her home and might be able to walk them blindfolded. An unsettling silence now met her ears. Silence except for the patter of raindrops.