Chapter 5 - The Broken Lock
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Night fell over Southridge Avenue with a heavy, suffocating silence. Brier double-checked the deadbolt on the apartment door, sliding the rusted chain into place. It felt entirely inadequate.
She put Posie to bed early, kissing her forehead. Brutus immediately took up his post on the worn rug at the threshold of the girl's room, his amber eyes wide and alert in the darkness.
Brier sat at the kitchen table, a kitchen knife resting near her coffee cup. She didn't turn on the lights. She simply waited, listening to the hum of the refrigerator and the distant sirens of the city.
At 2:14 AM, the heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
There were three of them. She could tell by the shifting weight on the creaking floorboards.
"Brutus," Brier whispered into the dark. "Guard."
The massive dog stood up silently. The fur along his spine bristled into a ridge of coarse spikes. A low, vibrating growl began deep in his chest, a sound that shook the floorboards.
The deadbolt didn't stand a chance. A heavy boot kicked the door exactly where the frame was weakest. The wood splintered with a deafening crack. The chain ripped completely out of the drywall, flying across the kitchen.
The door swung open, hitting the wall.
Silas stood in the doorway, flanked by two men holding heavy catch-poles and thick leather muzzles. He wore a sharp, expensive leather jacket and that same, terrible, empty smile Brier remembered in her nightmares.
"Hello, Brier," Silas said smoothly, stepping over the shattered wood. "You're a hard woman to find. But I have to admit, you have excellent taste in livestock."
"Get out," Brier said, grabbing the kitchen knife, her hands shaking violently.
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"I'm not here for you, sweetheart," Silas laughed, his eyes locking onto the massive shadow standing in the hallway. "I've got a buyer in underground pits down in Mexico who will pay fifty grand for a beast that size. Stand down, and I won't have my boys hurt the crippled kid."
Brutus let out a roar that sounded more like a lion than a dog and launched himself forward.
