Chapter 4

The pounding shook the whole building.

I bolted up and rushed to the door, pressing my eye to the peephole.

It was Patsy's boyfriend.

Bleach-blond hair, a thick brutal face, still in his coveralls from the auto repair shop.

How had he found this place?

My granddaughter woke up and ran out of the bedroom in her pajamas.

"Who is it?"

"Don't make a sound." I shoved her behind me.

"Roberta Barnes! Where the hell are you hiding my woman? Open this door right now!"

Julius Finch started kicking the door again.

Her eyes went wide.

"Patsy isn't here with me..."

I dropped my voice. "He's got the wrong place. Get inside, call your dad, tell him to call the police."

"But..."

"Get in there!"

I pushed her into the bedroom and pulled the door shut behind her.

"Grandma!"

"Don't come out! Lock it!"

Another crash outside.

The security door in this old building was half rusted through, the hinges already loose, the whole frame shaking with every blow.

"You old hag! Open up or I'll deal with you too!" Julius snarled. "Patsy told me everything. Your granddaughter's the one who broke us up! Wanted to set her up with some rich heir! Shameless!"

I went cold all over.

I never thought it. This time around, my granddaughter never went near that bar, and the blame still landed on her.

"You shut your mouth!" I yelled back through the door. "My granddaughter hasn't left the house all day! Wherever your woman is, go find her yourself!"

"Bullshit!" Julius kicked again, the frame rattling.

"My woman's phone location says she's in this building! Your granddaughter won't open up because she's guilty? What, you got some other man hiding in there?"

He started slamming the door. The steel panel dented inward.

I took half a step back until my spine hit the entryway cabinet.

"I already called the police!" I shouted at the top of my voice. "They'll be here in five minutes! You hit that door one more time!"

Julius paused.

"Who do you think you're scaring? A dump like this, the cops take twenty minutes minimum." He sneered. "You old thing, your granddaughter didn't think about the consequences when she was stirring up trouble, did she? Fine. Open the door and we talk it out. Don't open it and I tear your place apart!"

I thought the security door would at least hold for a while.

But through the peephole, I saw him dig a thin, long iron hook out of his pocket.

My mind went blank, then detonated.

Blurred memories from my last life rushed back.

Patsy's boyfriend, it seemed, was a locksmith.

That night at the bar in my last life, he was the one who'd pried the back door open and slipped inside.

Now he was going to pry open my door with that thing.

The iron hook pushed in through the peephole, feeling its way inward.

The scrape of metal set my scalp crawling.

I flinched back on instinct, watching the hook stretch longer and longer, then jerk sharply. The whole peephole cover popped off.

Then a face pressed up against the hole.

Julius's eyes stared straight at me through it.

He grinned. "All by yourself, granny? Where's your granddaughter? Where's she hiding?"

My legs buckled and I almost dropped to my knees.

Thank god the door had a latch bolt. A hook like that couldn't work it open.

The bedroom door suddenly opened.

My granddaughter ran to the kitchen and came out holding a kitchen knife, her voice shaking.

"You try prying that one more time! My dad's on his way back! The police are almost here too!"

Julius froze for a beat, then laughed louder.

"One lousy kitchen knife, and you think you'll scare me?"

He stepped back half a pace, hunched his shoulders, and rammed the door hard.

A clang. A hinge snapped.

The door hung crooked.

Julius turned sideways and forced himself into the gap, his face mashed flat with the effort.

His tattoo-covered arm shoved through, just reaching the latch bolt.

The next second, a burst of quick footsteps came pounding up the stairwell.