The Enforcer - Kelli Callahan Page 0,2

under the opalescent foam.

The only thing that kept me from doing so was Holly. The idea of Holly growing up without a mother, because that monster of a man, broke my heart. Though she’s a little wild, she’s the light of my life and the person that’s got me out of bed every morning. Smiling at a thought of her round brown eyes and bob of blonde hair, I close my eyes. I practice my grounding exercises which came from encouragement from my therapist. I need to think of something positive to get rid of these moments where Michael seems to burn brightly in my head.

The air is thick as I jerk forward in the tub coughing. Did I go under in my sleep? Water splashes around me as I claw my way out of the tub. Gasping for air, I fall hard onto the tile floor. I force my eyes open then scan around the room. No, I didn’t go under the water. There’s― What is that? Smoke. Staring up at the thick cloud of gray hanging in the air, my eyes burn.

“What’s happening?” I croak, looking around. I start crawling on all fours as my hands slip across the tile. I fall forward onto my face and nose on a crack. I cry out in pain as blood trickles to the floor. Gasping sobs escape my lips as I crawl to the back bathroom door and place my hand on the knob. I cry out in pain, jerking my hand away at the touch that feels of hot metal beneath my hand. How was there a fire outside my door? It didn’t make any sense. I don’t like candles, and I don’t leave them in rooms. We haven’t cooked anything today to leave the stove on.

“Somebody help me!” I shout beneath the crack. “Hello? Is anyone there? Someone help!” It’s useless. Why would anyone be here? Holly isn’t home tonight, and I live alone now.

My eyes burn as I gag and try not to vomit at the smoke surrounding my body. I have to get out of here. Turning around and crawling on all fours across the marble tile, I reach for the window on the second floor. I press hard but it doesn’t budge. No goddamnit! It can’t happen this way. Not like this. I just found my freedom. I’m just now getting my life back together and making it on my own. I can’t die!

Shoving hard as hot tears flow down my cheeks, I lean my head against the glass. It’s useless. It’s not going to open. Looking around, I grab the closest thing to me, a wooden hairbrush. I don’t know if it’ll be strong enough to break these double-paned windows, but it’s worth a try. Raising my arm high above my head, I smack the brush down into the window. It reverberates through my arm and sends shooting pains through my body. The window doesn’t even shudder.

Looking behind me, I search the room for anything that could be used. There’s nothing. Only glass shampoo bottles that would sooner shatter than the window and fluffy towels. Sweat trickles down my forehead, and I feel my head become light. The room spins around me. I’m going to die here. There’s nothing I can do about it. I will never see my beautiful daughter again.

Raising a shaky arm above my head once more, I slam the brush against the window and collapse to the floor. My vision fades on the edges as I feel the panic slipping in on the way to defeat― a sensation I was all too familiar with for seven years.

Chapter Two

Jake

Turning down the elegant road, I narrow my eyes in the darkness. A low glow brims through the neighborhood as smoke saturates the sky.

What is going on? Is there a fire nearby? I’ve been in the neighborhood already running surveillance on a couple of things. I like to keep tabs on what’s going on but when I see the smoke, I instantly know that I need to investigate it further.

Lowering the volume on the stereo, I roll down the window. Fuck. It’s the mayor’s house... the ex-mayor’s house; I correct myself before parking my car and staring up at the home in flames. Christ is anyone in there?

Opening the door and running into the yard, I look around for signs. The vehicle to my left is the Mercedes that belongs to the lovely Diana. Dammit. That means she’s home.

Jogging forward across the lawn,