Bullseye by Virginia Smith

Author:Virginia Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2012-05-14T05:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Her cell phone rang while Karina was finishing up a blow dry for a customer. Normally she never answered her phone while she was working, especially when she had an elderly woman in her chair as she did then, because some had little patience for cell phones and considered it rude for their hairdresser to interrupt their visit. But Alex was only allowed phone calls at limited times, and she didn’t want to miss a call from him.

Mason had come to work with her this morning, of course. He’d taken on the role of self-appointed bodyguard. She had to admit his presence gave her an unexpected sense of security. Sleep had not eluded her last night as it had the night before, and a big part of the reason was the fact that she knew he was keeping watch right outside her front door. She’d felt guilty for sending him out to sleep in the car. No doubt her neighbors wouldn’t even notice, much less care. Though she would never admit it to Mason in a million years, her reason had nothing to do with appearances and everything to do with avoiding temptation. When he’d opened up to her yesterday about his feelings, a hard place inside her had softened. During the long hours of the night after a stressful, frightening day, she was feeling a bit vulnerable. No sense putting either of them in a situation that might lead to something they’d be sorry for. As her pastor was fond of saying, the best way to resist temptation was to avoid it.

At the sound of the ringtone, Mason stopped his pacing and turned toward her.

She flipped off the hair dryer and smiled an apology. “Excuse me, Mrs. Sanders.”

“You go ahead.” The woman lifted a hand beneath the thin nylon apron and waved an approval. “I’m not in any hurry.”

Karina grabbed her phone from the counter and glanced at it. An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. She caught Mason’s eye, her eyebrows arched in a question, and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Guerrero? This is Hector Navarro. Could you come down to the juvenile justice center at your earliest convenience?”

“Is everything all right?”

His reply didn’t answer the question. “There’s been a development in Alexander’s case. I spoke with him briefly a few minutes ago, and he became agitated.”

Her grip tightened on the phone. “What’s happened? What did they say?”

A pause. “They’ve decided to request that the judge remand Alexander’s case to criminal court.”

The words seemed to bounce off of her brain without registering. “I’m sorry. Remand to criminal court? What does that mean?”

Hector’s voice softened. “They want to try Alexander for first-degree murder as an adult, and seek the maximum penalty.”

The room around her careened sideways. Karina staggered backward until she was resting against her station, otherwise she might have fallen on the floor. “No. They can’t do that, can they? He’s only fourteen. And he didn’t kill anybody.”

Fear made her voice shrill, and it pierced through the salon. From her

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