All Chapters of REBORN: 60 days before doomsday : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

THE FIRST SECRETPOV: SIENNAI woke up the next morning with one thought sitting at the back of my mind, heavier than anything else.Nobody can know, not Ethan, not Victoria, not Rachel, even though she was helping me legally.Not anyone.Whatever had happened to me inside my apartment the night before was mine, and until I understood exactly what it meant, I wasn't going to give another person the chance to take it away from me, use it against me, or decide that because I had something valuable, they were entitled to a piece of it.I stayed in bed for several minutes, staring at the ceiling while the memory of the chair disappearing replayed in my head, followed by the strange feeling of reaching into that empty darkness and feeling the object waiting for me somewhere I couldn't see.It should have terrified me more than it did.Maybe part of me was still too focused on December to be properly frightened by anything else.Sixty days.That number was more frightening than a disappeari

THE MAN ACROSS THE STREET 1~ ADRIAN ~Three types of people bought commercial-grade, high-capacity reverse osmosis water filtration systems in bulk.They were industrial contractors working on new projects, doomsday preppers influenced by television shows, and military procurement officers setting up bases.The woman on the concrete loading dock of Apex Wholesale & Supply did not belong to any of these groups.I sat in the driver's seat of my unmarked car with the engine off, holding a cup of black coffee that was cold from sitting for twenty minutes.I was not here to investigate.I had come to the industrial area to check on a delayed shipment of strong fiber-optic cables for a private security system that my company was installing.My business was finished. I should have been back on The highway.But I hadn't turned the key in the ignition.I was watching her.She was wearing a fitted beige wool coat, dark jeans, and pricey leather boots. From what she looked like, she seemed

WRONG WOMAN~ADRIAN~Sienna Vale was the wrong woman.That was the first thing I figured out, and it pissed me off.I sat at my kitchen table at eleven at night with a laptop, cold takeout, and a license plate I had no business running. A guy at the DMV owed me a favor. Now he didn't.The name came back in two minutes.Sienna Vale. Twenty-seven. One address, downtown, a nice building with clean hallways and a lot of cameras.I knew that building.Three days ago, I'd walked past it for a client's security bid. A woman almost walked into me at the entrance. Dark hair, keys in her hand. She looked at me half a second too long, like she was saving my face for later.I hadn't thought twice about it then.I was thinking twice now.I started digging.Her record was clean. No arrests. No liens. No debt worth mentioning. She paid her taxes on time, and her car was paid off. One parking ticket in six years.Boring. I liked boring.But boring people don't buy enough water filters to keep a smal

THE OFFER~SIENNA~I had the offer ready by eight the next morning.It was for the full asking price and would be paid in cash after the probate process was complete. No inspection contingency, because I didn't care what was wrong with the house. I cared about the well, the cellar, and the thirty-one acres nobody else wanted.I emailed it to Mr. Pruitt at eight-oh-two.He called back at eight-eleven."That was fast," he said."I don't like waiting.""Well, you might have to." There was a pause. "The other buyer's agent just called. He wants to see it today instead of Thursday. Says he's ready to close in cash too."My stomach tightened."Today.""This afternoon. I figured you'd want to know, seeing as you were so eager yesterday.""Who is he?""Didn't say. His man handled everything. Real quiet about it." Mr. Pruitt sighed. "Look, Ms. Vale, I will take the higher offer, whoever it comes from. That's just business. But you got there first, and that ought to count for something.""I'll

THE FIRST JEALOUSY~ETHAN~I saw him before Sienna did.I'd driven back to the apartment to grab the golf clubs I'd left in the hall closet, and I was pulling into the lot when I spotted her car. Parked crooked, like she'd been in a hurry. Next to it, a black truck I didn't recognize.And leaning against that truck, arms crossed, was a man who looked like he'd been built in a lab somewhere to make other men feel small.Tall. Dark jacket. The kind of still that made you nervous just looking at him, like he was always one second from doing something you wouldn't see coming.Sienna stood in front of him, talking. Not nervous-talking, the way she talked to strangers. Comfortable-talking. The kind of talking she used to do with me, back before she turned into a woman who changed the locks without telling me why.I parked two spots down and got out slower than I needed to."Sienna."She turned. If she was surprised to see me, she didn't show it."Ethan. I thought you had your golf thing."