CHAPTER 13
The knock on Lara Stella’s front door sounded again, louder this time.
“Come on, Lary. Open up!”
Lara Stella recognized the voice and smiled. “It’s okay, Brocc.”
But Brocc backed further into the shadows, his daggers drawn.
She opened the door and a rutabaga in a white tank top entered. He was pure muscle, and his hair was cut short. He wore jean shorts, crew socks, and yellow Chucks, and he carried a metal baseball bat with jagged nails on one side. He looked older than Lara Stella.
“What’s wrong, Rudy?” Lara Stella asked.
Rudy shut the door behind him. “Lary, we got trouble.”
“Brocc, you can come out,” Lara Stella said.
Brocc stepped out of the dark room and studied Rudy.
“Who are you?” the rutabaga asked.
“He’s okay,” Lara Stella said.
“I’ve never seen you before,
