The ember flared once in the darkness, then disappeared.
Every instinct I had screamed that whoever stood beyond the fence wanted me to see that cigarette.
I slipped my boots on without turning on the light, eased my bedroom window open, and climbed out into the cold dawn air. The grass was wet beneath my feet, soaking through my socks. Somewhere in the distance, a motorcycle engine rumbled before falling silent.
Whoever had been watching me…
They weren’t gone.
They were waiting.
I moved along the side of the clubhouse, keeping low, the damp earth clinging to my boots. The faint smell of rain-soaked leather and old oil hung in the air from the yard. My heart beat steady as I approached the fence line, hand hovering near the small knife I’d tucked into my boot.
A shadow shi
