Out of the Shadows Read Online Free PDF

the fear that had begun bubbling to the surface. "She's your  ex- wife. Just be done with it!" acquaintances at Gravediggers would say. But what they don’t understand is that she’s not just Sarah Bolton, my ex-wife; she’s the mother of my little girl, and that's a bond that will never be broken, as far as I'm concerned.
    I was in a pinch. Normally, I would have a partner that would be able to cover me while I swept through the entrance foyer, but without a second gunman, it seemed a little too reckless. I noticed that there were no signs of forced entry at the hinges or the lock bolt, which meant that the intruder was someone she trusted and for whom she opened the door willingly. Or maybe she flung the door open in a panic and ran out, away from something.
    Hell, I didn't have nearly enough information to have any idea why the front door had been left open, and I knew I was wasting time trying to think it through. I would quickly sweep around the back of the house for a safer way in. I stayed low to the ground and stepped down off the porch, headed to the right, using waist-high bushes for cover. I stopped under the first tall window, nearly stretching from floor to ceiling, slowly peeking inside. The lights were off. No signs of movement.
    I turned the corner of the house, keeping as close to the brick as possible, noting that in my heightened state of awareness, the grass felt sticky under my shoes. I focused on the chain-link fence ahead, taking care to purposely ignore the high window coming up on my right; it was Annie’s old room. The house’s foundation was raised due to the basement we had decided to add to the plans before the house was built, and as a result, her window was high off the ground, which made it easier for me to ignore and continue toward the fence into the backyard. But something alerted the edge of my vision, and I looked up.
    The light in Annie’s room was on.
    My breath caught into a lump in my throat. I had to force myself to swallow and keep breathing. I looked around at the surrounding houses and listened. This was no longer my home, to a much larger degree than only one day ago. I felt like I was standing in an alien world where up was down and blue was green.
    Moving quickly to the fence, I quietly released the latch and pushed it open just far enough for me to squeeze through. I didn’t bother shutting it behind me. Crouching, I scampered across the lawn, staying close to the house, careful not to activate the motion sensor spotlight I had installed a few years back. No other lights were on in other windows, as far as I could tell.
    I hopped up the two concrete steps leading to the double French doors and took cover to the side, slowly peeking through the divided windowpanes. The family room beyond was shrouded in blackness. I softly turned the faux-brass doorknob, but it was locked (as I had hoped it would be). I silently rejoiced when I discovered Sarah still kept a spare key under the potted plant to the left of the steps.
    I stealthily entered the family room through the back door, sweeping the darkness with my weapon. Most of the room was just as I remembered it: the fireplace and brown recliner, the ugly plaid-patterned couch made up of shades of burnt orange, the faux-wood paneling on the lower half of the walls, the tattered rust-colored recliner near the TV. But the walls were different; she had painted them a deep burgundy that really suited the space. It felt more homely than before.
    I crept toward the long kitchen, taking one step onto the linoleum before halting. I stared at the barstool near the counter to the right, the spot of flooring in front of the sink, the blue-carpeted hallway perpendicular to the kitchen at the other end…
    My hands shook, my heart raced, and my eyes slammed shut as the images blasted my brain like it had happened yesterday.
    I remembered being on the barstool, terribly drunk, with a lowball glass of whiskey and coke in front of me. Annie