Banging the Superhero Read Online Free Page B

had seemed so simple when the inspector had shown her how when she'd bought the house. Now, however, she couldn't think straight.
    Just as quickly as the lights flipped on, they turned off, and she shouted her frustration. This wasn't working. Even if she could find her flashlight, could she manage to flip it on before whoever was doing these things made the damned thing attack her also?
    Just what she needed —Death by Flashlight— splashed across every newspaper headline. Of course, she wouldn't be here to see it. Well, she damn well wasn't going to stand in her basement while there was a risk the house would burn down around her.
    Taking the stairs two at a time, she rushed out the backdoor, not even stopping to see if anything was aflame.
    Barefoot, she ran across her yard, wishing for the first time that she lived closer to her neighbors. God, she needed help. Someone had to call the police. Out of breath, she rounded the corner and banged on her neighbor's door. She'd never met them.
    Working in the city all day, commuting home, and having constant appearances to attend, did not make her particularly interested in house parties or neighborhood gatherings. She'd always sent her regrets and a bottle of wine.
    Dancing from one foot to the other, she rang the doorbell a few times when her banging didn't work. These people—if she remembered correctly from all the times she'd seen them pulling in and out of their driveway—were elderly. They should be home, god damnit.
    Finally, the door swung open. Both in bathrobes, her geriatric neighbors stared at her, their mouths wide in wonder. She couldn't blame them. She was, after all, naked except for her apron and standing on their doorstep at ten o'clock at night. She'd probably gape at herself too.
    "Please, can you help me? I need to call the police."
    The man reacted first, pulling her into the house. "What's wrong? Has someone attacked you?"
    His wife spoke over the end of his sentence. "We saw you on television being attacked by appliances."
    "They're attacking me at home now. Please, call the police." And then, when the police showed up, she'd phone Grayson. This had to stop. He had to figure out who was doing this to her.
    "Come, dearie, sit down." The woman pulled Alice gently into the front hallway, wrapping her in her soft cotton bathrobe before showing her where to sit. Her husband called the authorities.
    A sudden thought occurred to Alice. She glanced into the room off the hall, noting the electrical devices here, inside this house. Someone who could make machines do bad things was stalking her. Gnawing on her lip, she stood.
    "I'm going to wait outside. I don't want anything to happen to you."
    She apologized again and went back out into the night, this time clad in a robe.
    Her entire body shook. Bad enough this was happening to her, she wouldn't be responsible for bringing it on anyone else.
    A loud pop behind her made her whirl around. "Oh no."
    The engine of a white Mercedes, parked in the driveway, turned over. All the lights flipped on and the car roared angrily like someone had revved up the gas with the transmission still in park.
    She gulped as she searched for someplace to hide. Where could she go out here where the car couldn't get to her? Spotting a tree on the other side of the lawn, she ran hard for the oak.
    With her legs taking her as fast as she could pump them, she hoped beyond hope that she had enough strength to make it up to the lowest branches.
    As she heard the car take off behind her, she scrambled up the trunk and grabbed the edge of the one branch she could reach. She struggled to haul herself up, using only her upper body strength.
    For one brief moment, she thought she wasn't going to make it. She closed her eyes and poured every ounce of energy she had into giving one final tug. Her upper body came over the top of the branch and she hung there, lifting her feet as high as she could. Clinging to the tree for dear life, she said a