What the…
She dropped to her knees and spun around on the tiled floor to face the set of white double doors. Reaching out, Raegan pulled on one of the small, matte black knobs and opened the one on the left.
As she did, the low gurgle came a second time. It was a bit louder and with a touch more force than the first, and when it happened again…
She closed her eyes and hung her head with a sigh. She didn’t have to see the inside of her sink to know a decent amount of water—and who knows what else—had just erupted out of the drain connected to her garbage disposal.
Not again.
Her second day in the house, Raegan had experienced a similar issue. So naturally, she’d promptly grabbed her small tool kit, removed the P-trap, cleaned it all out, and voila! Everything was back in perfect working order.
Until now.
Guess my little meet and greet with Mr. Muscles will have to wait.
With a groan, she opened the door on the right and pulled out the small plastic box containing a set of essential hand tools. She inwardly cursed the malfunctioning drain and began removing the few items arranged inside the cabinet…
Dish soap. Window cleaner. Furniture polish and rag. Bug spray.
After flipping up the twin set of plastic tabs that had been keeping the tool kit secured, Raegan opened the lid and grabbed the wrench. At the last minute, she remembered a very important step in the sink-unclogging process and scooted to a nearby lower cabinet to retrieve her largest mixing bowl.
Once that was in place beneath the plastic P-trap—to catch whatever nastiness would assuredly leak out—Raegan tucked her upper body halfway inside the cabinet. She had the wrench in place, and her wrist was just starting to turn when an unexpected thought suddenly popped into her head…
You could ask him for help.
She froze; the slip joint nut she’d been about to loosen remained secured as the idea began to fully form.
Think about it. As far as this guy knows, you’re merely some random, single woman who just moved in next door. It might work to your advantage if he thinks you’re one of those girls who doesn’t know a wrench from a pair of needle nose pliers.
Raegan pulled herself out from under the sink and sat resting on her knees. Maybe she was on to something. If she could convince this guy she was the average, all-American girl next door type—as opposed to the government-trained killer she was—he might be less suspicious when she started asking more about him.
Make it seem as if you’re interested in getting to know him better, and he might open up about all sorts of things.
Things like whether he knows there’s a monster living right down the street.
As her sink attempted to regurgitate more of the watery goo, Raegan followed her gut and placed the wrench back into the tool kit. Closing the lid, she snapped the plastic tabs back into place before returning it and the other items she’d pulled out back under the sink before shutting the doors.
Praying this worked, Raegan began crawling—yes,crawling—out of the kitchen and into the rental’s modest living room. If she could see him as clearly as she had, he could easily have seen her, too. But if she stayed down and away from the windows, the stranger next door may just as easily convince himself he’d been seeing things and go on about his day.
Once she’d made it to the small hallway in the back half of the house—where she didn’t have to worry about being seen through a window—Raegan pushed herself up to her feet and walked the rest of the way to her bedroom.
Since she always kept her bedroom windows shut and the curtains pulled, she moved around freely as she contemplated what she should wear.
The whole girl-next-door look wasn’t exactly her go-to style. Give her a pair of comfortable jeans, her boots, a T-shirt, and her favorite leather jacket any day. But, thanks to her current job’s dress code, Raegan did have a small selection of dresses and other more girlie options.
Deciding it best not to look too obvious in her efforts, she went with a plain, light-pink tank top, cut-off shorts, and a pair of slip-on white canvas shoes. After a quick look in her full-length mirror, she went into her en suite bathroom to run a quick brush through her hair and apply the tiniest bit of makeup.
Raegan stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Less was definitely more for the kind of look she was aiming for, and the simple mascara and lip gloss suited her well. Rolling her lips inward, she rubbed them together to evenly disperse the shimmering nude lacquer.
The low, one-sided braid was a last-minute add that gave the look the one thing it was missing.
There. You look as innocent as an angel and sweet as pie.
Not giving herself time to change her mind or second-guess the plan, she flipped off the light on her way out of the bathroom before making her way back to the home’s front entrance.
Decide. Commit. Do.
It had been three years, and still, Chief Tupper’s voice was as clear as day in her head. And just as she would if he’d been standing right beside her, Raegan followed the man’s mantra and reached for the locks.