Blood Stained Read Online Free PDF Page A

safe haven of her family.
    Tonight as she pulled past Taylor sitting in a gray Taurus, blending into the rain and mist, she felt anything but tranquil. Her teeth ground together while she turned the ignition off, searching the premises for any danger before leaving the vehicle. 
    Megan, of course, had no such anxieties. She bounded from the car with her usual noise and energy. Lucy lunged across the seats to stop her, but it was too late. All she could do was grab the pizzas and hustle after her daughter, one hand on her weapon.
    Not exactly the homecoming she'd envisioned when she left for work this morning. She walked inside the kitchen, following the trail of discarded clothing and soccer equipment Megan left in her wake. Megan made it as far as the hallway before succumbing to the need to fall on the floor and play with Zeke, her new Australian shepherd puppy. Boots, the orange tabby Megan had adopted, looked on in disdain.
     "I still don't get why I couldn't go with everyone else. Just because I'm the youngest shouldn't mean I can't hang out with everyone else on the team," Megan said when she came up for air.
    "Please come clean up your mess." Lucy sidestepped another argument as she deposited the pizzas on the counter and put her guns away. She used to safe the Glocks first, but after September, she now left one loaded on top of the refrigerator and the other in her bag. She kept another in the nightstand upstairs. Nick hated having loaded weapons in the house, but Megan was a better shot and more responsible about them than he was. He refused to do more than learn how to handle a pistol safely, so he suffered in silence.
    "In a minute." Megan's voice was muffled by puppy slurping.
    "Now, please. Your dad will be home in a few minutes and he's bringing company."
    "Company? Who?" 
    "Walden."
    "Cool. I like his stories." Everyone Lucy worked with fascinated Megan, although she acted terminally bored if Lucy dared to mention work herself. Megan appeared in the kitchen, puppy in arms. "He really misses his wife, doesn't he?"
    "Yes. She died over Thanksgiving, so this is a tough time of year for him."
    "Then he should come to dinner more often. He promised to teach me how to make sweet potato pie." She reached for the top box of pizza but Lucy shooed her away.
    "Feed the animals, pick up your clothes, and get cleaned up."
    Now came the inevitable eye roll. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
    "Homework?"
    "Done." Megan poured food and fresh water for the animals, then scooped up her discarded items on her way past Lucy, shoulders slumped as if the dirty shin guards and sweatshirt weighed more than Sisyphus's boulder. 
    Lucy couldn't resist. She grabbed Megan from behind, planted a loud kiss on the top of her head before she could escape. "Love you, sugarloo."
    "Mom." Megan pulled free. "I'm not a baby anymore." 
    "I know," Lucy whispered as Megan clomped up the stairs, leaving Lucy alone with the gobbling puppy and the cat eying the pizzas.
     
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    "Exactly how serious is this?" Nick punctuated his question by waving his slice of pepperoni-sausage-onions in the air. "All this was just routine precaution, standard operating procedure, right?" 
    Lucy exchanged glances with Walden. He shoved another bite of pizza in his mouth, leaving her to break the bad news. Probably better that way, anyway. 
    "Nick, Megan," she began. Megan looked up, still sulky from being forced to skip the after-practice get together with her soccer teammates. "I'm not trying to scare you, but we need to take this seriously."
    "But you guys get threats all the time," Megan protested. "Like you always say, the world's filled with crazy people." She caught herself. "Sorry, Dad. You know what I mean."
    "This one's different. I think we should go away for awhile—"
    Megan stood so fast she almost knocked her plate off the table. "No! Mom, I'm not missing soccer. It's not fair! You can't make me."
    "Megan Constance Callahan," her father admonished in a voice