The Dark Hour by Robin Burcell

two electricians who came to your door.”
    “Electricians?”
    “From the utility company. Storm was growling at my door, and when I looked out the peephole, I saw them standing in front of your place. When I opened up to tell them you weren’t home, Storm lunged at them. He’s not usually a barker, but man. He sort of went nuts. Good thing I had him by the collar.”
    Sydney’s gaze flicked to the door, then back down at the dog, who seemed inordinately interested in the scent on her threshold. She walked up, bent over, and scratched Storm behind his ears. “Good dog.” Then to Tina, asked, “They say anything?”
    “Not really. Just wanted to know when you’d be home. That was maybe a half hour ago? The one guy said he’d leave a card, and that was it. They took off.”
    “I wonder what they wanted.” Sydney shrugged, acted as if it were no big deal. “Thanks, Tina.”
    “No problem. Storm, come,” she said, tugging on his leash when he didn’t immediately follow her down the hall toward the elevator. Once Tina was out of sight, Sydney examined her front door, but couldn’t tell if it had been picked. Seeing no sign of a business card, she closed and locked the door, then called the utility company, asking if they’d sent anyone by. They hadn’t.
    Next call was to Tex. “You guys dispatch someone by my place disguised as utility workers?”
    “Not us, darlin’.”
    “I was afraid you were going to say that.” Tucking her cell beneath her ear, she told him what happened, while she grabbed her small, soft-sided suitcase, then started rummaging her drawers for clothes, wondering if three days’ worth would be enough. “It seems my neighbor interrupted them before they got in. But my door was unlocked, which means they were that close to entering.”
    “What are your plans?”
    “I figure I have two choices. Scotty’s or a hotel.”
    “Or catch a flight to Europe.”
    “No way. This mess is clearly a result from my last trip there.”
    “And you think staying in a hotel is going to make them go away?”
    She glanced toward the window, suddenly wondering if they had actually left. “Hold on,” she said, turning off her light. She strode across the room, parted the curtain, looked out to the lot below, and saw a vehicle that stood out, mostly because it was backed into the space. “There’s a white van parked with a view of the entry gate and the drive leading into the garage.”
    “You ever seen it there before?”
    “No.” And the coincidence of its presence right after the sighting of the false utility workers was enough to set her alarm bells ringing. Tex was right. It didn’t matter where she went, or whom she stayed with. If they’d found her apartment this easily, they’d have no trouble tracking her down through her friends, maybe even her family. It was that last thought that spurred her to action. The farther away from them she was, the safer they’d be. “How soon can you be here?”
    “Give me ten minutes.”
    She dropped the curtain, disconnected, then turned the light on to finish her packing. That done, she put her suitcase by the dining room table, turned a chair so that it faced the door, then sat there with her gun in one hand.

Chapter 16
    December 7
    Washington, D.C.
    T ex finally called. “I’m parked in front of the lobby doors. You want me to come up?”
    “I’ll meet you down there.”
    She grabbed her bag and keys, tucked her gun in her coat pocket. She did not turn off the light, in case they were watching her window from outside. Checking the hallway in both directions before stepping out, she locked the door behind her, then walked to the elevator, her hand in her pocket, finger on the trigger guard. Healthy paranoia seemed the wisest of courses right now, and before she even pressed the down button, the elevator bell signaled its arrival on her floor. She stepped to the side, her concealed gun aimed directly at the door. Tina and Storm stepped