Silent Night Threat. Michelle Karl

I can’t breathe,” Hayley said, her voice muffled. When she pulled away, the girl’s eyes flicked to the side and back again. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be away overnight? It’s not on our calendar. The Kaifs said you probably just forgot to write it down, but I know you don’t forget that kind of thing and I was freaking out. Who’s that?”

      “Who?” Natasha followed her daughter’s gaze to see Chris, standing back and staring at the two of them. He looked pale and shaken, but she suspected she looked even worse for wear. “Oh, that’s Agent Barton from the FBI. He helped me when—You know what? It’s a long story and I’ll tell you after we get this all figured out.” The poor Kaifs and their lovely home. A week from Christmas, no less! Could it have been a natural-gas leak? But she didn’t smell mercaptan, the odorant that gas companies added to natural gas so that even the smallest leak could be immediately detected. Ruling that out, could it have been wiring gone wrong? She thanked God that the children hadn’t been inside. She ushered Hayley, Chris and Fin into her own home, where they could keep an eye on Rania’s children. The house felt strange and yet familiar at the same time. She needn’t have worried about having a tree, because she’d clearly gone all out decorating for the holiday. A Christmas tree sat in the corner of the living room, tall enough to touch the ceiling, the branches so filled with lights and a random assortment of handmade ornaments that they bowed toward the floor. She didn’t remember making them, but at the same time, they felt...right. As she took in the rest of the room, it was bizarre to see some things she recognized but others that looked out of place. She was a stranger in her own skin, with nothing to grasp on to but thin, random memories like wispy strands of tinsel.

      A bulletin board next to the refrigerator listed emergency contacts and neighbors’ phone numbers—and a large calendar listed all of hers and Hayley’s appointments in detail. She used her landline to call Rania while Chris made his own calls to the FBI and local police. With help on the way, Natasha sank into the living room’s tan suede couch. Hayley returned to the floor to play with the children, who were oblivious to everything but the brightly colored plastic blocks and noise-making toys around them. Fin jumped up and placed her head and paws on Natasha’s lap. She stroked the dog’s shiny silver coat, grateful for her neighbors’ intelligent pet.

      “Fin must have known there was a problem,” she murmured. “Dogs can sense danger that our limited human senses can’t. Labradors are particularly intelligent.”

      Chris half stood and half sat against the arm of the couch, not fully committing one way or the other. It was similar to the pose he’d taken next to her hospital bed, as if he was preparing to bolt at any moment.

      “I’ve heard that, as well. If she hadn’t pulled you away from the door... Well, as it was, the blast sent you both flying down the rest of the steps, but she took the hit for you. It’s probably why you’re not unconscious from another blow to your head. Fin deserves an entire bag of treats, if you ask me.”

      “Maybe two.” She sighed, grateful indeed. “I just can’t believe it. I’ve heard of natural-gas explosions happening without much warning, but the entire area would smell like rotten eggs from the mercaptan if that was the cause. Whatever it actually was, I thought newer homes like these would be more secure, less prone to issues.”

      “When did you say you switched apartments?” Chris’s voice was soft but carried an undercurrent of tension. “Recently?”

      She nodded. “Right before I left on the Orion mission.”

      “And the move is on record?”

      “No, not yet. It was a bit of a last-minute decision since the Kaifs had only just started telling people about their pregnancy and I was leaving the following week. We figured we’d fill out the official paperwork when I got back, and got approval from the homeowner’s association for the whole thing. It’s been easy enough to simply hand off mail to each other, but I don’t see why that’s important right now.”

      “Don’t you?”

      She shook her head, then winced. It still hurt. She might be running high on adrenaline from what had happened, but both her mind and body had taken a massive beating today. She needed to take it easy.

      “Natasha,” Chris said impatiently. “Think about it. How many attempts on your life have there been today? You’re on record as living next door. Someone thinks that’s your home. That was no natural-gas explosion. That was a bomb, and it was intended to kill you.”