She poured herself a generous portion before carrying the glass carefully back over to the couch. Horror movies weren’t her cup of tea, but maybe a trashy reality show or a dumb rom-com would be good right now. Something she could just watch without really having to think about. Just as she was settling in to watch an episode of some dating show, she heard a small thump from the direction of her kitchen.
She sat straight up, immediately on high alert. For a moment, she didn’t move, too scared to even breathe, before she slouched with a small chuckle. Obviously, watching that movie with Esperanza had left her more rattled than she thought.
She got up to investigate as she remembered what Esperanza had said about Josh being cranky about having to go to bed. It would surprise her if it was just him, rifling around the kitchen for a late-night snack or a glass of water. She smiled to herself as she imagined him tiptoeing across the tiles in an attempt to sneak some cookies. Ever since he’d turned five and started Kindergarten, it was like he’d developed a whole new personality.
She stepped toward the kitchen as quietly as she could. Maybe she’d be able to sneak up on him and give him a little spook. Her smile slipped quickly off her face as she got to the kitchen and found it empty. She felt the hairs on her arms stand on end as she glanced around the empty space. She was certain that she’d heard something in here.
She scanned the kitchen in confusion and stopped suddenly as her eyes caught something. There, in the shadow of the refrigerator, she could have sworn she could see the shadow of a person standing straight up and staring directly at her. She blinked hard. The space was so dark that she couldn’t quite tell if she really saw something or if it was just her eyes playing tricks with the dark shadow.
She took a cautious step toward the spot, curiosity getting the best of her. Before she could make out whether the shape was really there, it lunged at her, the glint of a knife shining in her periphery for just a second before she felt a hot, burning pain tear across her chest.
She screamed and flailed her arms instinctively, knocking the knife out of the assailant’s hand in the process. For a split second, she wasn’t sure what to do, whether to fight back or turn and flee. In the end, her desire to get to her kids won out over anything else, and she turned on her heel to run up the stairs.
Before she got more than a few steps, the person was upon her. Whoever it was yanked hard on the back of her shirt and tossed her down onto the ground.
She resisted in whatever way she could, kicking, punching, and scratching every bit of her attacker that she could reach as the assailant rained punches down on her.
Alexis managed to throw the attacker off with a well-placed kick and rolled quickly away. She attempted to stand, but her vision was spinning, and she couldn’t quite get her footing. Then, as she was struggling to crawl away, white stars exploded in her vision as something struck the back of her head. The first thing she felt was a sharp jolt of pain, but it quickly faded into a dull ache and then into nothing at all.
As she lay on the floor, she couldn’t find it in her to feel relieved that the pain had gone away. For some reason, that seemed like a very bad thing. She tried to focus on why, but it was getting harder for her to focus on anything. The last thing she could recall as her eyes slipped closed was the face of her son, and she wondered if she was already dreaming.
2
Jase
Even though it was already September, temperatures were still creeping up towards the triple digits today. It wasn’t all that surprising, since the weather and Miami only ever varied from hot to slightly less hot. Though the humidity could get to be a bit much at times, it was, in my opinion, a sacrifice worth making for perpetually blue skies and never-ending bikini weather.
Of course, as lovely as it was, Miami was no Oasis. Once you looked past the surface, it became clear that it was more like a mirage. It might look dazzling and pretty when all you could see were the pristine beaches and kitschy shops and restaurants that lined every pier along the coast, but only a few knew about the kind of criminal underworld that lurked just beneath that glimmering veil.
The entire reason the Special Domestic Crimes Taskforce existed was to combat the kind of crimes that ran rampant throughout Miami and the metropolitan Florida area. Things like drug and arms trafficking, domestic terrorism, and even organized crime all fell under our jurisdiction. Organized crime in particular was a major issue for us, since the mafia seemed to have their hands in virtually every casino, hotel, bar, and club in the city. When it came to gambling, Miami was no Vegas, but the nightlife scene itself was a different story. Between the rapidly growing local population and the massive number of tourists that flooded into the city every year, there were limitless opportunities for the mafia to sink their fangs into unsuspecting victims.
“Hello,” a female voice suddenly sang into my ear. “Earth to Jase. Where’s your head right now?”
I blinked in surprise and looked up to find Agent Chloe Summers grinning at me. I’d been on autopilot as I walked and hadn’t even noticed her approaching me.
“Sorry.” I smiled sheepishly. “I think I zoned out for a minute.”
“What else is new,”
