Elena’s POV

The key turned with a soft click that felt louder than it should have.

I stepped into the narrow entryway and closed the door behind me. The rain had lightened to a fine mist, but my blouse still clung to my shoulders and the sling, and the dampness of my hair dripped slowly down the back of my neck. The house smelled the way it always did at this hour,coffee gone cold, something savory from earlier, the faint trace of Lucas’s cologne that never quite left the hallway.

I expected the usual noise. Samantha’s voice rising from the kitchen, teasing me for being late on my first day....