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Chapter One

Shayna Curtis stared at the locked door, debated for about ten seconds, then decided to pick the lock

Rain pounded down on her as she fished the kit fro an overprotective big brother who’d decided his little sister needed survival-skills lessons before his first deploy as she’d done at the time

Now, to break in before one of her new neighbors called the police Being arrested for breaking and entering probably wouldn’t be the smartest way to kick off her fresh start here in DC or to h, since said roo his phone, she thought that earned her a pass

She inserted the tension wrench, raked the pins, and twisted the wrench until the lock gave way

“Annnd I’ as she opened the door and stepped in out of the rain “Thanks, bro” No doubt Ryan would get a kick out of knowing she’d picked her way into his best friend’s townhouse Hopefully the best friend would find it humorous, too

She dumped her purse on the hall table and then dashed back out into the downpour to grab her laptop, toiletries, and one bag of her clothes The rest would have to wait until the rain let up, though she wasn’t happy to leave her camera equipment in the car

Back inside, she du a space that was surprisingly modern compared to the old red-brick rowhouse’s exterior

Gray hard woods stretched throughout the first floor, connecting the open living roolea door with transom s above at the back of the space looked out on a fenced-in brick-paved patio with a hammock that had her name written all over The property backed up to a narrow road and a tree-lined field beyond

She turned away froers over the smooth surface of the silver quartz breakfast bar The kitchen was spotless—not a dish in the sink or a cru roo was neat as a pin with nary a pillow askew

That was going to , wasn’t it?

Perhaps the coolest—or freakiest?—feature was the floating staircase that connected the first and second floors The stair treads were stone rectangles that protruded from the wall but weren’t otherwise connected, and the hand rail was nothing lass, which added to the illusion of being suspended in thin air

“This thing is a trip,” she said to herself as she made her way upstairs, each newly explored part of the townhouse offering only the barest clues about the man who’d be her roommate for the next two months