One You Never Leave Read Online Free PDF

charge you for coming out.”
    “Well, I’ll try to avoid having coyotes wander over my property.”
    “No reports of coyotes tonight,” said the other office, a baby-faced man who looked like he wasn’t two seconds out of the academy.
    “When you get that alarm off, we’ll walk the property with you,” said the other.
    Luke flipped up the hinged cover and punched in the code, and the alarm fell silent.              
    “Check the front,” the older officer said to his partner, and they both pulled their flashlights off their thick uniform belts. “Mr. Wade, please come along with me to see if anything is out of place. What’s in the back?”
    “The entrance to the garage for the bikes we store, and our clubhouse.”
    “Clubhouse?”
    “Yes, for the Hades’ Spawn.”
    “Hmph,” said the officer, whose tag said Rawlings. “Any reason anyone is there now?”
    “No. Closed up for the winter. The last time I used it was last month for my wedding reception. I’ll reopen it in the spring.”
    “Wedding, eh? Well, let’s check it. Maybe a homeless person thought it was a good place to bunk.”
    That was possible. Luke had put in some mini-apartments, looking to rent them, but that plan didn’t work out; not since a deadly shootout had taken place there.
    The floodlight for the back switched on as the motion sensor caught Luke moving in to the back parking lot. He checked in the windows of the garage as the officer swung his flashlight in; everything seemed fine. He walked to the front door of the clubhouse, and it was secure. “There’s a door in the back,” Luke said.
    “Any floodlight there?”
    “No.”
    “Then walk behind me.”
    Rawlings walked swiftly toward the back of the clubhouse; the gravel at the side of the building crunched under his feet. Luke didn’t move as fast and soon lost sight of him in the nighttime gloom.
    “Stop! Police!” Luke heard. He doubled his steps and almost collided with the police officer.
    “Sorry, Mr. Wade. Whoever it was got away before I could chase him. But it looks like the lock’s broken here.”
    Luke inspected the lock and shook his head. Sometimes the things people did amazed him. “You mean the guy heard the alarm and stuck around anyway? Isn’t that weird?”
    “Yeah, it is. But since you did have a trespasser, this call won’t count against you for a false alarm. You might want to think about getting a guard dog to patrol the area.”
    “Thanks for the idea,” said Luke. But he seriously doubted he was going to get a dog to hang around the shop.
    “Do you have something to board up this door?” said the officer
    That wasn’t going to help Luke much, as the building and the door were metal. He went inside the clubhouse, pushed as many tables and chairs from the bar area as he could against the door to hold it shut, and exited by the front door. By the time he was done, the police were gone. A creepy feeling of someone watching washed through him when he climbed into his truck to go home. He shook it off and blamed it on the events of the night.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Emily's Encounter
     
    The next day, Luke sat at the desk across from Emily, on the phone with Matt Stone. He mentioned nothing to Emily about the night before except to say that the alarm had been a false one. He had no intention of worrying his wife or putting any unneeded stress on her. It had just been a one-off, so there was no need to worry. “Thanks, Matt. That’s great news.” His voice didn’t sound cheerful and he could see Emily’s eyebrows press together as he hung up the phone.
    “What did he say?” Emily played with a paperclip on the corner of the papers she was holding.
    “That we can get the Mexican passport application online, and send it to the Mexican consulate with the application fee.”
    Emily nodded. “Okay, I’ll get it off the Internet and print it. Here,” she said, holding up the result of her morning’s work. “Sign this.”
    Luke