Instrument of the Devil by Debbie Burke

Author:Debbie Burke [Burke, Debbie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Media Management LLC
Published: 2020-07-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8 – Hiding Out

The doorbell rang.

Tawny startled from sleep, fighting for breath, grasping for familiar surroundings in the blackness. Her hands found the padded arms of the recliner. A weight pressed on her lap. The revolver. The clock on the mantel glowed 12:03. Just after midnight.

The feds again? Trying to catch her by surprise?

Or the burglar returning? Maybe this time to attack her.

Gripping the gun in both hands, she crept to the living room window. The porch light glowed through closed drapes. She didn’t dare look out. If they saw the drapes move, they’d know she was inside.

Lucifer jangled like a manic alarm clock. She jumped at the sound, fumbling the phone from her pocket.

Kahlil!

She whispered, “Hello?”

His mellow voice comforted her. “Tawny, I do not mean to frighten you. I am at your door.”

On tiptoe, she peeked out the high window. Kahlil stood in the pool of the porch light. Alone.

Thank God. A friend in need.

She set the phone on the end table beside the door. Still holding the revolver, she unfastened the deadbolt and opened the door, crouching behind it.

Kahlil stepped inside. She quickly closed and locked the door behind him. He blinked in the darkness of the living room, holding out a hand toward her as if blind. She grasped it. Then his arms folded around her, warm, close, safe.

“You’re shaking, my treasure.” His lips moved in her hair. “I am sorry I frightened you. It was not thoughtful to come to your door in the middle of the night.”

She clung tight to him, feeling foolish to be gripping the gun, but unable to let go of him long enough to put it down.

“When I called this afternoon,” he murmured, “your voice sounded strained. I knew something had gone terribly wrong. I left the conference early and caught the first plane back here.” He moved toward the couch, reaching to turn on a lamp.

She caught his hand. “No!”

They sat on the couch, his arm around her shoulders. He didn’t press her with questions. Gratitude welled in her for his patience. She tried to pull her thoughts together, still struggling out of sleep, disoriented, not knowing where to begin.

Kahlil stiffened. Tawny realized he’d noticed the gun in her lap, illuminated by the dim light through the high window. She set the revolver on the coffee table, pointing the barrel away from them.

Were there bugs, hidden cameras watching them? Did she dare talk? Who might be listening?

She put her lips to his ear, touched the small hearing aid. “Will you take me out of here?”

He nodded.

She stood, slid the gun in her jeans, grabbed a jacket and her bag. He followed her through the dining area, to the kitchen. From the glass-enclosed mud room, she looked out into the backyard. The security light that Starshine always complained about lit the breezeway connecting to the garage. A flagstone path led to the rear gate that opened on the alley. Beyond the fence, shadows deepened. She flicked the switch off and blackness shrouded the backyard.

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