Page 15 of Nails

His mother blinked at him, then frowned.“What are you talking about?”

“I saw someone hanging out of the window,” he said, already moving toward the stairs.

His mother’s face suddenly shifted, and she muttered, “Oh shit… Riley.”

Nails paused mid-step.“Who the hell is Riley?”

“She’s my neighbor and helps me around the house.”

He frowned, confused.“What does that have to do with someone dangling out of the attic window?”

“She was up on the roof blowing the leaves off for me.”

Realization and concern hit them all at once.

He and Snow rushed up the stairs.He yanked the pull-down attic door open, and he climbed up, while Snow waited at the bottom.

The attic smelled like dust and cedar.He flipped the light switch, and as soon as the attic light flickered to life, Nails spotted her.There, hanging halfway through the narrow window, was a woman, her upper body inside, with her arms braced awkwardly on a support beam as she kicked her legs, trying to wiggle free.

He rushed toward her, but even as concern kicked in, a part of him couldn’t help but wonder how in the actual hell she’d managed to get herself into the situation in the first place.

Just as he went to crouch beside her, she lifted her head, hair falling across flushed cheeks, and their eyes met.Then she opened her mouth.

“Oh, thank God.I was starting to think I was gonna die in this attic window and become a local ghost story,” she said.

Nails chuckled.“I’m assuming you’re Riley?”he asked, his voice low with a hint of amusement.

She sighed as she dropped her head.“That would be me.”

Nails grinned as he crouched down next to the window, eyeing the situation with both concern and a bit of confusion.“Not to be critical, but how exactly does one get stuck inside an attic window?”

“I was blowing leaves off the roof,” she groaned.“The ladder fell, the windows were locked, and my phone is sitting on the porch.This was my last hope.And then the window decided to close on me like some vengeful trap from aHome Alonereboot.”

Nails laughed again, loving the woman’s sarcasm.He turned toward the ladder and shouted to Snow.“Snow!Get up here.I need your help.”

He turned back to Riley, who still had her head down.

“Okay, hang tight.We’re gonna get you out.”

“Oh, I’m hanging, alright,” she muttered.“At this point, I’ve accepted the window as part of my identity.”

Nails snorted.“You know, for someone halfway eaten by a window, you’ve got a hell of a sense of humor.”

“Glad I can be of entertainment.”

Just then, Snow arrived and raised a brow as he took in the scene.

Nails then started giving orders.“You lift the window, and I’ll help guide her through the window.”

Snow got into position by the window, but then he started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”Nails asked.

“I didn’t realize we were rescuing someone from a Victoria’s Secret window display.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?”Nails asked.

Snow pointed out the window at the same time Riley spoke up.