Darkness Follows (22 page)

“I brought you here to tell you I was sorry for being so scared of us.” He was inches from my face, his eyes full of confidence. “I know I left scars, but I love you, Emily. I love you so much that when you’re not around, I physically hurt. I need you to be mine, I need you to forgive me. I need you to see I’m lost without you.” He closed his eyes as he bit down on his bottom lip. This was a rare moment into Seth that I had never seen. “If there is no you, then there’s no me. I can’t be me without you.” He shook his head, then slowly raised his face to show me how raw he was at that moment. “Please tell me you love me like I love you?”

The last few months flashed in front of me. So many times I’d wished this moment would happen. But his scars ran deep. I didn’t want to break up, but I needed him to see I wasn’t doing this again.

“Seth, things are so—” He suddenly grabbed my head and slammed his lips to mine. He forced my mouth open and kissed me with so much force I forgot how to stand. One hand slid under my dress and slipped between my legs.

“Jesus,” he panted into my neck as his fingers rolled about. He made my skin break out in a thin layer of sweat that cooled me with the ocean breeze.

Seth leaned down and ran his tongue from my collarbone to my jaw. My entire body went weak. He lifted me off the ground and urged me to wrap my legs around his waist. I dropped my shoes, reached around his neck, and threw myself into it, matching his passion. Who was I kidding? He was made for me, and I knew it. I just needed to know he did too. He freed himself from his pants and let them drop to his ankles as he slid my panties to the side and slowly used my weight to slip inside me.

“Ah…” I sucked in a deep breath at the force. Then everything went quiet as he slowly moved in and out. I could feel every inch of him, every groove, and every spot he hit was intense.

“You feel that?” He panted as he shot me upward. “See how you fit me, how perfect we are together?” He picked up the pace, as my legs squeezed him tighter. “Oh my God,” he groaned into my neck. His chest vibrated against mine, and I nearly lost it. The ocean pounded the shore with as much force as Seth possessed me. He consumed every part of me.

“Seth, I’m so close,” I cried into his shoulder. He sucked my earlobe into his hot mouth. That was it, I lost it. I screamed and held on as my orgasm ripped through me. I didn’t care at this moment if the entire restaurant heard us. Nothing was better than this, right here, right now. He followed soon after, his forehead pressed into mine as we both sank down from our high.

“I know I’m not good at this, but if you give me another chance I will prove how much I love you.” I started to answer him, but he slammed into me again, which immediately silenced me.

I barely remembered him spreading out his jacket for us to lie on. We stared up at the stars, our hands entwined.

***

“Morning, Garrett, how are you today?” I felt very peppy this morning. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sipped it as I attempted to hide my ridiculous smile.

“Oh, I’m good, and I see you are too.” He shoveled a spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth. I shook my head and decided to ask one final question before I tucked away this little box forever.

“Did we ever find out who Julia was to Lasko?”

“Yup, she was his sister.” My jaw dropped. So he was telling the truth! “Yeah, pretty messed up. His own sister took his virginity at seven, and it continued until he killed her himself. No wonder the guy was a mess of personalities. ”

“So Jamie wasn’t real?”

“We spoke to a psychologist in Palm Springs who worked with Lasko for a bit. Jamie Wayne was an employee there. Lasko was obsessed with Jamie and took on part of his personality. Who knows why? Maybe he wanted to be like him, experience empathy. After all, he was robbed of ever feeling anything but pain and lust in his own life.”

“Wow,” I whispered as I turned to look out the window and remembered Matthews. His death couldn’t be ruled a homicide, but we knew better. We knew the truth. His death weighed heavily on me. I just wished I had more answers. Did Matthews work for Lasko and have a change of heart? I shook my head at that last thought. Maybe the way he should be remembered was as someone who did choose good over evil in the end. I hoped wherever he was, he was finally at peace.

With a glance at the clock, I noticed I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it to Martha’s Thanksgiving dinner with the amount of errands I had ahead of me. I was rather excited to see them again, and beyond touched that they invited me.

“You good, baby?” Seth asked as he wrapped his arms around my stomach.

“Yeah.” I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah, you know what, I think I am.”

***

Later That Night

The Voice/Mastermind

I sat on the wooden steps of our cabin and nursed a bottle of Jack. The moon shone brightly, casting shadows through the trees. I wiped my cheeks dry with the sleeve of my blue work shirt. Things were different now. Some things were going to have to happen. Justice had to be served, and it was up to me to do it. This was never in our plan.

I thought about the last time I’d spoken to him. Jimmy had sounded so excited that his second chance at love was about to happen. Then
they
got in his way again.

My hand was flipped up, and it landed on a hard head. “I know, Adler,” I whispered and rubbed the dog’s ear. “I miss him too.”

I looked up at the sky and made a silent promise to my brother that all would be right again soon.

My phone pinged, and I cursed at the text.

Seth: Where are you, Avery? Drinks at the Triangle in fifteen.

The End

COMING OCTOBER 2015

Darkness Falls

October

Seth

Boom! Boom!
Rice flew in all directions as I ducked to get a better view of the shooter. My shirt was drenched in wine from when the fucker decided to try to remove my head. My ears still rang from how close the bullet came. My vest was sticky against my skin, but it was the least of my worries.

The sales clerk’s wife had a death wish if she didn’t shut the hell up.

“Hard left, Connors,” Garrett hissed over the radio.

Shit! I scrambled to my feet and made the turn before he saw me. I spotted Garrett off to my left, and he pointed to our backup, who had just arrived.

“Hey,” the woman screamed from behind the counter, “you have a gun! Do something!” I put my

finger to my mouth, but she was too far gone to care.

“Oh, officers,” the shooter yelled. I saw his reflection in the fridge door, which only meant…

Boom! Boom!
His shotgun blasted inches from my head.

“Fuck!” I dove one row down and tumbled into a display of Gatorade. Two more shots were fired. That was it; he should be out. I heard his shotgun fall to the floor, then the cock of a handgun.
Shit!

We got a call there was a robbery at a convenience store. Little did we know the shooter was hyped up on Flakka. He was fifty, with the strength of a twenty-year-old. Two shots to his shoulder, and he was moving like the fucking Hulk. I’d encountered his brother before, although his choice was a machete. I would prefer that right now.

“Stay down, Connors,” Campbell rang through the radio. “I have a clear shot.”

“Ten-four,” I mumbled. I didn’t want to draw attention to my location.

A bullet broke through the glass door, just missing the shooter.

“You,”
bang,
“want,”
bang,
“a piece,”
bang,
“of me?” The shooter stopped right by my side.
Now or never
. I jumped up, wrapped my arms around his waist, and hauled him through the market with a driving force. We slammed into the wall and fell to the ground, our fists fighting for flesh to hit. Garrett head locked the shooter and pulled him off me. He gave me just enough time to get to my feet and reach for my gun.

“Oh, look at the piggy now,” he spat at me. I waited until he stepped a little closer, then twisted my body and swiped my leg along the floor and under his feet so he fell backward. It gave me a moment to grab my gun, but I was too late. The sound echoed around inside my skull right before the pain registered. It wasn’t a deep ache, just a wicked burn. Three pops, and the shooter went down.

Garrett appeared above me. He ripped open my shirt and checked me out.

“Knee,” I hissed as the pain sunk in, “fucking knee.”

Just as quickly as it started, it ended. That was when my brain could separate the fact I was moments away from being blown to shit, to going back to station and having a hot shower, then going home to my girlfriend. It was how I operated. It was how I survived.

***

Emily

“Why kill someone? Is it to get your fifteen minutes of fame? Revenge? Love? Or maybe it’s a mental illness? An obsession with the opposite sex? There are so many possibilities why someone would take someone else’s life, it’s terrifying. For the average person, the thought can cross our minds daily, but actually following through with the act is something else. Most have a conscience—the inner sense of wrong and right. But imagine for a moment not having one, not having any form of empathy. You murder someone over a bowl of Frosted Flakes and show up dressed for Mom’s Sunday dinner. Well, Tony Lace did.” Professor Dean turned to the screen, clicked a button, and showed a mug shot of the man. “Tony was hunted by the police for eleven years, until at the ripe old age of forty-five, he got sloppy and killed his boss in the middle of the office in the middle of the day. Just snapped and lost it.” Small gasps could be heard from a few people.

“When they interviewed him later, he felt nothing for his crimes. He killed twenty-three women over eleven years, without even so much as a glossy eye. So,” he sat up on his desk in his normal casual manner while we all clung to his next words, “the point of all of this is don’t piss people off. You never know if the person sitting next to you might actually be plotting your murder.” He winked as he clicked the screen off. The class erupted in some nervous laughter, everyone secretly eyeing one another.

“Drink?” Scott asked as he snapped his laptop shut. “Or maybe a light sedative, ’cause, wow.” He laughed as he packed up his bag. We both decided to take this class again. There was something about Professor Dean that made you think outside the box, then want to run the hell back in. His class was fascinating, and every year he had new material to teach. He was excited to see we returned for a second year. We sat in the middle where the rest of the repeaters generally gravitated.

“Yes, to the first,” I answered, pulling out my phone and giving Seth a quick call. It went directly to voicemail, which was unusual, considering he never turned it off. I shrugged it off and followed Scott to The Goose.

Erin and Alex were sitting at our table, and Ronnie the bartender was already nodding as I came through the door, knowing I’d want my normal four o’clock drink and snack.
I come here too much
, I laughed to myself.

I stole a fry from Erin before she started in on her normal banter. “How was the sexy professor’s class this afternoon? Who done it today? Mr. Green in the library?”

“Nope,” Scott quickly thanked Ronnie for his beer, “today we learned what makes people kill.”

“Oh.” Erin’s face scrunched up, looking disinterested.

Alex piped up. “So, Scott, what would make you snap? And who would you kill?”

“Mr. Wittgenstein from last semester. That man nearly killed me from boredom.” He made the table laugh. He was so quick to lighten the mood.

“Are the guys joining us?” Erin asked. She saw me checking my phone. Sadly, it was still a habit, thinking I should check in a few times a day. Seth wanted me to, but since there was really no reason to, I’d been trying to pull back. I needed to remember that everything was fine.

My phone rang, and it was him. I held up a finger to Erin while I answered it.

“Hey,” I smiled like a fool in love, “how are you?”

“Hey, babe.” He sounded tired. “It’s been a long day. Are you at The Goose?”

“I am.”

“Umm, okay, I’ll meet you at home.”

“Oh.” I felt a pang of disappointment as I headed toward the door for some privacy. “Is everything all right?”

There was a pause.

“Yeah, just going to be here for a little longer. I’ll get Johnnie to come to the house and—”

“No, you won’t, Seth Connors,” I scolded. “I do not need those men babysitting me anymore. I lived on my own in that house for many years without any of you. You know I’ll be fine. Jimmy Lasko is dead, and Hank Wallace is behind bars. I’m not in danger anymore.” I used his work therapist’s words at him, knowing they were true.

He sighed heavily, but didn’t push it. We went through this same discussion at least twice a week now. He was so damn controlling and protective that he couldn’t let the past go.

“Fine, I won’t be long, then I’ll work from home.”

I groaned a little, just wanting him to relax. “Seth, you can’t be with me at all times. Life has thrown us some shit, and we fought through it. Now it’s time to move on and be normal.” I lowered my voice, lacing it with a husky undertone. “I’ll meet you at home later, and if you think you’re going to get any work done, think again.”

He did his frustrated, sexy growl. “Fine,” he relented, “just text me when you get there.”

“Only if you say please,” I joked.

“No.” The phone went dead. A moment later, a text came through.

Seth: TEXT ME!

I laughed. Seth would always be Seth. It was simply in his DNA.

***

The ocean was calm, and only a small breeze could be heard through the long palm leaves. The moon was full and hung brightly over the water, casting its endless orange path to nothingness. I loved my home, though to be honest, I wasn’t comfortable on my own yet, but I wouldn’t let Seth know. It would only fuel his fire. So I tried to focus on repairing myself on my own. Therapy was not something I was interested in. It didn’t help when my father died, and it wouldn’t help now. I just tucked everything away neat and tidy inside my head.

I wove throughout the crosses and spider webs, past the coffins and Dracula, and hit my porch, thinking this would be the last year I gave Pete free rein of my house when I wasn’t home. That man was obsessed with decorating, no matter what holiday. He convinced me to let him do Halloween with no limits, since last year we didn’t even celebrate due to the fact we had just closed the case on Lasko. It was those damn eyes of his; they got me every time.

I stuck my key in the lock and smiled when I saw he’d set up two pumpkin men sitting on my porch swing. Then I saw it! “Oh my God, Pete!” I gasped, removing one of their hands off the other’s private parts. I did a quick scan and saw all of the decorations were involved in some kind of rude act. “I’m going to kill him!” I hurried over to the orgy of witches, removed Dracula’s blow-up doll, and snatched the Grim Reaper from the moaning ghost. I quickly texted Pete, but rolled my eyes when I saw he’d once again changed his name in my phone.

Emily: You’re so dead!

Sensuous Pete: What? My theme was a haunted brothel house.

Emily: Travis has nephews!

Sensuous Pete: Who do you think helped?

Poor Travis. I glanced at his house, seeing he was home. Maybe I should go speak to him.

Sensuous Pete: You have to admit, Michael Myers is funny!

I quickly scanned my property, trees, balcony, and roof, then I saw him over in the shadows being bent over and smacked on the ass with a paddle by a drawn-on blow-up doll. Wow, he left nothing to the imagination with his drawings. I jammed the doll into the trash can, not letting on that I could hear her deflating. I’d laugh at the irony of it, but I was too damn embarrassed.

Emily: I hate you.

Sensuous Pete: I love you too, love.

Travis’s kitchen light was on. Better address it now.

“Knock, knock,” I said through the open patio door a few minutes later. Travis was cooking something that made my stomach grumble.

He didn’t turn as he told me to come in. “Sorry, my hands are covered in batter. Help yourself to a drink.” He nodded to the open wine bottle on the counter. I poured myself a little, knowing if I didn’t, I’d have to hear about how when he was little, if your company didn’t take the drink, it was a sign of disrespect. “You just get home?”

“Yes.” I shook my head, almost blushing at what Pete did.

He smirked. He knew why I was there. “They love him, you know, my nephews.” He started to laugh. “They had a ball.”

I covered my face with my free hand. “I’m sorry, Pete is a breed all his own.”

“Emily, the boys are fifteen. Sex is always on their mind. They came up with half of those ideas themselves. Besides, Pete kept them busy while I got some work done.” He washed his hands, after he coated the pork chops. “Now I have the weekend to relax.”

I laughed through a sigh, moving to look out his grand, open window. A cool late October breeze washed over my face. “Well, thank you for not being upset.” I sipped my wine and watched the water lap at the shore.

“Seth working?” Travis asked as he came up next to me, leaning on the door frame and watching the specular view.

“Yes.” I nodded, wishing he wasn’t.

“You hungry?”

I smiled and thought how lucky I was to have him as a neighbor. I could have gotten another couple like the Stones; I’d barely even seen their faces. I was sure I ran into them at the supermarket and never knew it was them. I patted my pocket and realized I’d left my phone in my purse on the porch.

“Thanks, but I should get back.”

“You know, it’s all right to spend more than fifteen minutes here at time.” He flashed me a smile. Travis really was a good looking man. I wasn’t entirely sure why he was single. Lord knew all of the women in town had tried to make their move, but he didn’t seem to bite. He reminded me of a taller, thicker Jude Law. “What are you thinking about?” He pulled me from my thoughts. I guessed I was staring.

“Sorry, I just realized who you remind me of.”

“Oh? Enlighten me, please.”

“You ever see Sherlock Holmes, the newest one?”

He rolled his eyes. “Jude Law, right? I get that a lot.” He studied me for a second. “I used the English accent once to get a girl in bed.” He chuckled into his glass. “Not my finest moment, but the ladies sure love the British.”

I covered my mouth in fear I might spit my wine out. I wasn’t expecting him to say that. Once I regained my composure, I cleared my throat. “I guess we kind of do.”

He turned to look at me better; he used this look on me sometimes. “Look, I know something big happened to you last year. I don’t need to hear the details, but you should know I’m always here. I keep a spare key in the planter by the garage if you don’t want to be home, and I keep the guest room ready for company. This is not me hitting on you, just me being a concerned neighbor and friend. You have a big house, and more than half of it is surrounded by woods. I can imagine as a woman living by herself most of the time, it would get a little scary.”

It did. “Thanks, Travis, that really means a lot.” I headed back into the kitchen. I went to the sink and washed out my wine glass and dried it, putting it back where I found it. I turned to find him watching me. “What?”

He shook his head like he was debating telling me. “You want to me walk you back?”

“No, I’m all right. Thanks for the talk.”

“Anytime.”

I needed to stop wearing heels when I decided to visit Travis. The woods were taking a toll on them—and my ankles. I followed the glow of my house where it peeked through the thick branches. I really should have taken the road. A snap from a twig behind me made my spine stiffen. I turned to try to see around me, but it was pretty dark. I squeezed my eyes shut at the sound of another snap. “Stop,” I whispered, forcing the images back.

“Emily?” His voice cut through my fear. “Speak so I can get to you.”

It took me a moment to find my voice. “I’m here…you’re close.” His huge body stepped in front of me. He reminded me of a panther sometimes, like he could just pounce from a treetop without even a sound. “You scared the hell out of me, Avery.”

“Sorry.” He looked above my head. “Just saw someone walking through the woods and thought I better see who the mystery guest was. Didn’t think it was the host returning from…Travis’s.”

I rolled my eyes, hating that all the guys disliked him. They didn’t see he was only trying to be a friend. I moved around him, only to have his hand grip my upper arm, helping me through the heavy brush. Once we hit my lawn, he let go.

“You looking for the guys?” I asked, sitting down on the porch steps to remove the dirt from my shoes.

He took a seat next to me. “No, just didn’t want to go home, I guess.” He glanced at me. “I’m guessing you didn’t want to either?”

“I had other reasons for not staying home tonight.” I leaned back and stared at the clear sky. “Has the sergeant assigned you a new partner since the last one didn’t work out?” Poor Avery lost Matthews last year, then his last partner decided to transfer back to Arizona for some unknown reason.

“Yeah,” he dug his sneaker into the dirt, “actually, Riley.”

“Seriously?” I was thrilled to hear this! Riley was thinking of going back to San Francisco, but I guessed he’d changed his mind. “Are you all right with that?”

Avery shrugged. “Could be worse. They could have given me Davis.” He smirked at me, knowing my weak spot for the little charmer.

“As someone who spent a load of time with Riley, I’ll tell you he’s good people.”

Headlights blinded us momentarily, and I saw spots. A slam of the door and heavy footsteps made Avery mutter that I was in trouble.