Shadow of Death Read Online Free Page A

the gym manager had probably come in and out unnoticed, Troy attempted to deactivate his alarm only to find it acting up again. For several weeks now, the alarm to his truck had been giving him problems. He’d turn it on; it would automatically turn off. He’d leave it off and somehow it would turn on. It was driving him crazy, and when he got a chance, he would take his truck to the shop. He’d had his Navigator well before he and Natalie ever met and it was high time for an upgrade. “You’ll have to do for now,” he said aloud as he hastily threw his duffel bag across the front to the passenger’s side of his truck and peeled out of the parking lot.
    He hadn’t been on the freeway for thirty seconds before a figure sat up in the back, pointing a gun at his head. “Get off at the next exit.”

Chapter 2: Simple Life
    A fter getting off the phone with her husband, Natalie tended to the crying storm of her one-year-old twins who were eerily connected beyond simply sharing the same birth date. The only thing they didn’t share was gender and skin color. Ebony had taken a darker tone like Troy and Nate; Ean had taken after his mother. Other than different parts and complexions, they embodied every meaning of the word “twins.” If Ebony got sick, so did Ean. If Ean pooped in his diaper, his sister did as well. If Ebony wouldn’t eat her food, neither would Ean. It came as no surprise then that, when Ean started crying after Nate snatched the tiny kids’ meal toy away from him, Ebony felt the need to imitate though nothing had been taken from her. For several minutes, Natalie was in need of a “Calgon, take me away” moment while she was trying to calm the twins. She even said as much under her breath, forgetting that the five-year-old human tape recorder picked up everything.
    â€œMommy, who’s Calgon?” Nate asked after the cry fest had ended.
    â€œNo one, honey. It’s a brand of bath soap.”
    â€œWhat’s a brand of bath soap?”
    Knowing that this could inevitably lead to a never-ending Q&A session, she was able to redirect his attention with another statement. “Honey, Mommy needs your help while she finishes dinner. I’m going to put your brother and sister in their playpen and I need you to babysit them, okay?”
    â€œâ€Šâ€™Kay!” His face lit up as she knew it would. Nate liked being “in charge.”
    Natalie wasn’t crazy enough to solely leave her youngest children in the care of her oldest son. She put the playpen in the middle of the walkway between the kitchen and the living room where she could clearly keep an eye on everyone. The twins cried for a split-second when they were moved into the confined space, but their attention was quickly diverted by the lights and sound of one of their noise-making gadgets.
    Things went smoothly while Natalie whipped up dinner. The twins laughed heartily at Nate who would put his face against the net of the playpen and make silly faces and call them “monkey babies.” It was something he’d picked up when Natalie had been pregnant, thanks to Troy’s mother’s crazy superstitions. Natalie usually tried to discourage Nate from referring to his siblings as such, but she let it slide this time; she was concentrating on finishing the task at hand. Besides, the kids were all having fun and she didn’t want to impede on that moment with unnecessary verbal correction.
    It brought sheer joy to Natalie’s heart to witness moments like this when her children interacted with one another. It also stung a little when she thought about all the times she’d missed similar occasions with her oldest daughter, Corrine, whom Natalie had at the tender age of thirteen and gave up for adoption. It wasn’t until Corrine was in college that Natalie learned she’d been adopted by a family member and the two of them reconnected. Now, several