Free Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #1 by Alison Stone, Lisa Phillips, Margaret Daley Page B

waitress, then he must have thought she saw something. Lydia probably saw it, too.”
    â€œYeah, let’s hope she did. There’s no guarantee.” Jesse strode to his SUV and settled Brutus in the back. On the way he called her again, praying he was overreacting.
    * * *
    Lydia pulled into the driveway and punched a remote button to raise the garage door. “We’re at my house, Mitch.”
    The German shepherd perked up on the seat beside her.
    â€œI’m going to take the food in first. I’ll be right back, then I’ll show you my house. I have a couple of cats I need to put in the bathroom until you all are properly introduced.”
    Mitch cocked his head as though he understood every word she’d said. Dogs were attuned to a person’s body language and tone of voice, so maybe he got the gist of it.
    She rubbed the top of his head. “Then I’ll take you for a walk out back.”
    Lydia slid from the backseat and grabbed the box of cans. When she lifted it, a pang of pain stabbed her chest. Her bruised ribs were healing but not fast enough for her. With the dog food in her arms, she fumbled to open the door into the house. When it swung wide, she almost fell through the entrance. She recovered her balance but not before the box crashed to the tile floor. Her actions only reinforced her earlier pain. She hurried to close the door to the garage before one of her cats got out and decided to investigate the strange dog in her car.
    As she picked up the dog food that had rolled from the box, she began to have reservations about Mitch. She hadn’t really thought about her two cats. Mitch could appease Kate but cause an animal war in the house.
    One of the cans landed under her kitchen table. She scooted a chair away and eased herself down to crawl after it. She grabbed it and backed out.
    A sound caught her attention. Footsteps? The cats? Where were they? They were always in here greeting her when she returned home.
    She rose slowly, her body already protesting the physical exertion. Her gaze swung from one end of the room to the other. Her cats weren’t in the kitchen. She needed to find them to lock them up. It would take time to acclimate Charlie to Mitch. Cheri wouldn’t have any trouble, so she would start with her.
    Lydia headed for the dining room that flowed into the living room, calling their names. They usually came when she called, but occasionally they would ignore her. When she stopped in the foyer, she heard a cry coming from the hallway to the bedroom. She didn’t want to leave Mitch alone in a new place for long, so she hurried toward the sound Cheri was making, like the cry of a baby.
    The noise continued, emanating from her room at the end. As she approached, she tried to remember if she’d closed the door. Sometimes she did. She’d been rushing this morning and—
    Her home phone rang.
    The ringing of the phone cut through the silence. She gasped at the sudden sound and glanced over her shoulder. She froze. A man in a ski mask emerged from her bathroom. All she saw was the long knife in his hand.

SIX
    J esse disconnected his phone and stepped on the accelerator. She didn’t even answer her house phone. Was she outside walking Mitch?
    He was still ten minutes out, and he couldn’t shake that something was wrong. What if the bomber followed her from the animal hospital and ran her off the road or...
    He shook the what-ifs from his mind. It would only distract him from getting to Lydia. He took a sharp curve ten miles over the speed limit. At least Thomas had called for a patrol car to go to Lydia’s. But what if there wasn’t an officer available in the area?
    He clenched his jaw, hoping to make her house in half the time.
    * * *
    Not taking her eyes off the knife in the man’s hand, Lydia lunged for her bedroom door, shoved it open, whirled around and banged it shut. She threw the lock in place, then backed away.
    Off