Next to Die by Marliss Melton Read Free Book Online Page A

pillow.
    But then strange noises seeped through the window she’d cracked to counteract the higher thermostat setting Ophelia preferred. Thuds and shouts snatched her from her sleep. She slitted an eye and realized that, in contrast to the previous nights, her neighbor was keeping the lights off. What on earth was going on with him?
    It was out of character for the SEAL to make any noise. Certainly he’d thrown a couple of parties that got loud, dragging on until three in the morning. But the commander by himself was so stealthy that Penny never noticed his comings and goings.
    Until tonight. Something was terribly wrong. Penny had dealt with wounded soldiers too long not to sense it. And she couldn’t sleep because of it.
    Another thud reached her ears, followed by a sound like a roar.
    That’s it
. Throwing back the covers, she rolled out of bed. What if he was hurt and shouting for help? Her professional role would not let her turn a blind eye.
    She snatched up her bathrobe, wriggled her feet into slippers, and left her room.
    A peek into the guest room showed that Lia was sleeping soundly. Penny went downstairs, fetched her house keys, and locked her sister inside.
    The keys jingled in her pocket as she crossed the lawn toward his dark house. An early frost crunched beneath her slippers. Her breath came out in a snowy vapor. She arrived at Joe’s door, chilly in her night attire, and knocked.
    What am I doing here? Penny wondered, hearing nothing but silence coming from inside her neighbor’s house.
    She reassured herself that she had every right to be concerned. If he rebuffed her, she would at least tell him to tone it down.
    She raised a hand and knocked again.
    Nothing. Perhaps he’d finally gone to sleep.
    Lovely. She could go back to her own bed. But as she turned to go, the sound of shattering glass wrested her attention. A lurid curse followed.
    Not only was her neighbor still awake, but he sounded like he’d just hurt himself. Penny swiveled toward the door and knocked more loudly, calling, “Commander? Are you okay?”
    She put her ear to the door and overheard a loud thud followed by a moan. She reached for the doorknob and found it locked.
    Okay, she had a choice: help herself to the key that she’d seen Barbara, the cat-sitter, use, or walk away.
    She started to leave. Three steps from the door, she sighed and doubled back. Retrieving the key from under the third flowerpot, she let herself in.
    “Commander?” she called with a shiver of uncertainty. “It’s your next-door neighbor, sir. I’m coming in.”

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    Penny slipped inside Lieutenant Commander Montgomery’s front door and shut it quietly behind her. Not only was the foyer dark as pitch, but his house was bigger than hers, the layout unfamiliar. She pocketed his key alongside her own and waded into shadow.
    A light, shining from deep within the recesses of the home, was her only beacon. As she felt her way past a flight of stairs, something silky rubbed against her calf, emitting a yowl. “Felix!” she breathed, her heart hammering.
    The hardwood under her slippers transitioned into steps that descended to a sunken family room, a space scantily illumined by the light, which she now saw was coming from the kitchen. Across the distance, she spied broken bits of glass glinting on the countertops amid a spattering of blood. The potent scent of whiskey reached her nostrils. “Commander?” she called in consternation.
    A shackle seemed to close around her right ankle. It startled a hoarse screech from her throat as it yanked her off her feet. She threw out her arms out to break her fall and landed across the hard body of a man lying concealed in shadow.
    He wasn’t content to bring her down, either. He grappled and rolled her to the floor. In the next instant, she was lying on her stomach with her right cheek embedded in the carpet and her left arm locked behind her back. A heavy weight pressured her spine. Her