Page 1 of Objection to Love
Chapter 1
Em
Thiswouldbeagreat place to kill someone.
Em tightened her grip on the wheel, her knuckles growing white as she navigated the thunderstorm. Couldn’t the rain have held off another twenty minutes till she got home from the office? Then her mind wouldn’t be creating delusional scenarios of what could happen outside, where her headlights were cutting through the dark, blurry view.
Sheets of water fell hard against the windshield as the wipers waved frantically back and forth, and the silence inside her silver sedan was anything but, thanks to the noise of the storm. The canyon walls rose up on either side, looming down on her.
This would be a great place to kill someone.
She clenched the wheel even harder. Honestly, it wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed Em’s mind during one of her daily drives home from the office, but tonight felt especially ideal for some sort of horrific murder.
Of course,allmurders were horrific. But with the pouring rain, dark sky, and the murder case she’d stayed late at work for, it was all a little too perfect. There was even a small stretch on the drive between Greenbank and Woodcastle where cell service cut out in the canyon.
Again: perfect.
Em drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. Maybe the Clayton case was entirely to blame for her macabre mood. It was taking up way too much of her time lately, but her boss wanted her to offer a plea, which she didn’t think was the right option. So she was left pulling late nights compiling evidence for a first-degree murder charge.
Her phone vibrating in the cupholder made her jump. For half a second, she ignored it. The call would cut out in a couple of minutes anyway and it wasn’t exactly the safest conditions to be answering her phone. But then she saw the name flashing on the dashboard’s screen. She couldn’t ignore her sister.
Correction: she couldn’t ignore her sister for thethirdtime that night.
She pushed the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel. “Hey, the call’s gonna drop in about two minutes, so you’d better talk quick.”
“Nice to hear from you too—I’ll jump to it then. Want to come to dinner tomorrow?”
Em grimaced. She hated disappointing people, but this couldn’t be helped. “I’ll probably be working late.”
“Too late for dinner? We could eat around seven or so if that’s better?”
“Sorry, but this case is killing me.” Pun unintended. “I doubt I’ll get home any sooner than I’m going to tonight.”
“Wait. You’re only just heading home? Em, what is this—a personal record?”
Em let out a single laugh the moment before the tires of her car hit standing water and sent it spraying. She eased off the gas. “I know it’s crazy, but after this week, it should get calmer.”
There was a pause. Em glanced in her rearview mirror and moved to the right lane. She hated going fast through the canyon’s turns, even though there were hardly ever any cars on this road. Especially at this time and in this weather.
“I’m about to lose you, April. Sorry about tomorrow.”
“It’s fine. Just… Em?” Her sister’s voice was hesitant.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know that you’ve had a calm week since you started. You don’t need to be perfect at your job to be valuable, you know? There’s a lot more to life than work. And busyness does not equate to life satisfaction.”
Em shook her head. “I know, April. But I love my job. I promise to make time for dinner next week. Sound good?”
April didn’t answer, and Em glanced at the screen to see that the call had dropped. She focused back on the road. What had possessed her to live in Greenbank instead of Woodcastle, where the county offices were? The twenty-minute drive was starting to wear on her. She could be in a bath by now. She could be asleep.
Well, she could be reviewing the Clayton case. Which was the responsible thing to do.
The steering wheel pulled hard to the left.
Em startled and pulled it back, trying to recorrect. A loud, rhythmic thumping reached her ears.
“No, no, no, no,” Em groaned.
