Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (16 page)

Sunlight burned my tired eyes, and my back ached from the odd position I was in. A sound from the kitchen told me she was up. I pulled myself off the couch with a yawn and rubbed my morning scruff. I should shave, but I knew Emily liked it this way. I opened the door and stopped as a set of eyes ran down my bare chest to my morning woody.

“I looove my life.” Pete grinned then went back to the stove. “Morning, pumpkin.”

I muttered a curse under my breath and moved to the fridge. “When did you arrive?”

“Right around the time you started talking about flowers.” Pete laughed. “Are you aware you talk in your sleep?”

“What I should be more aware about is you watching me sleep.”

Pete batted me aside just as Emily always did and removed a carton of eggs. “Don’t flatter yourself, Officer Connors. My man crush for you ended long ago.”

I grinned before I chugged the orange juice from the carton. “I think I may be a little disappointed.”

“That’s what they all say.” He winked and cracked an egg into the pan. “Every man wants a piece of this.” He dragged his hand down his front and flicked his wrist at his hip. “Now, how is our love this morning? Judging from that,” he pointed to my erection, “I’d say you didn’t get any?”

I leaned back into the fridge with a sigh. “She doesn’t believe it was nothing.”

Pete set the spatula down and looked at me. His normal playfulness was gone. “It
was
nothing, right?”

“Yes,” I gritted out. “She came on to me.”

His lips twisted as he thought. “I believe you, but I can see why she’s pissed. You don’t trust her with anyone.”

“I do trust her.” I ran a hand through my hair. I felt annoyed that I needed to defend myself again. “I do, I just don’t like how naive she is when it comes to men falling all over her.”

“Scott showed interested in her—hell, he still does—but has she ever slept with him? Ever kissed him? Ever once made a pass at him? No.” He rested his hand on his hip. “I get she’s a fucking catch. Hell, I’m gay, and there’s still a part of me that’s attracted to her. But don’t embarrass her in front of them when she’s done nothing wrong.”

“I’m not trying to embarrass her, Pete, but if you’re trying to tell me to change the way I love her, that will never happen.”

Pete flipped the eggs. “Trust me, Seth, no one in their right mind would want you to change your alpha ways. I wish all men were like you.” He gave me a dramatic sigh. “I’m just warning you that she needs to see you trust her.”

I poured myself a cup of coffee and stood next to Pete as I stared out the window. Travis arrived home from somewhere.

“She likes him, you know,” Pete said quietly. “She thinks he’s harmless.”

His tone made me look over at him. “And you?”

He shrugged. “If there was anyone in Emily’s life who makes me uncomfortable, it would be that man. I can’t decide if he’s homophobic or he doesn’t like how affectionate I am with Em.”

“Have you talked to her about this?”

He gave me a look. “Not yet. She’s quick to defend him since everyone else is always complaining about him. Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Maybe it’s everything.”

***

Avery

I hated it here. Grandmother had more evil running through her veins than Father did. She drank and smoked a lot of pot. To say she was violent was putting it politely. I now understood why I was home schooled. No one could ask questions about my bruises and cuts if they didn’t see them. I was sixteen years old and still beaten by my seventy-some-year-old grandmother. It was pathetic, but she was all I had. What could I do?

She claimed it was the Lord commanding her to punish me for my mother’s sins. I was not allowed to watch the television and only read supervised books. Little did she know after she passed out at night, I’d sneak outside and head to town to meet up with friends I’d made at church.

There was a club where my buddy’s sister worked as a stripper. Needless to say, she was no longer welcome at the church, but she’d sneak us in and give us drinks just so she could spend time with him. Most of the strippers were cool. They let me touch their boobs, and one even gave me a handy. One had her eye on me. I thought she was about three years older, and her name was Misty. She had great tits, and the perkiest ass I’d ever seen. She was sexy in all the right ways, and she was working that night.

I checked one last time that Grandmother was asleep, then slipped out my bedroom window and shimmied down the drain pipe. I hit the ground and ran to the gate and slipped into the darkness.

As I ducked behind a bush, someone put a hand on my shoulder and my entire body went stiff.

“So this is what Grandmother has been teaching you?” I whirled around to find my eyes looking back at me. “What, no love for your big brother?”

“Holy shit,” I hissed and nearly jumped into his arms. “Jims!”

He patted my back. “Shit, does the bitch even feed you?”

“Barely.” I pulled back to take him in. “How did you find me? How are you here?”

He scanned the property. “All that can be answered on the way to my place. Go get your things.”

I could hardly comprehend it. “We’re leaving?”

He smirked. “You wanna stay with the Lord’s bitch?”

I laughed. “Hell, no. Give me ten.”

“Do you know where she hides her cash?”

I nodded and headed back into the house.

Jims was quiet on the way to his place. I asked some questions about Julia, but he had little to say. I assumed they’d parted ways once they were old enough. She was an awful person, so I didn’t blame him.

I could see Jims was different than I remembered him. His mannerisms were odd, he seemed a little weird, but I didn’t care. I was out of that hellhole.

“You smart?” he asked.

“Yeah, straight A’s. I’m set to graduate in two weeks. Well, I was.”

Jims let out a little noise in approval. “When we get you settled, I’ll arrange for you to take the test you’re going to need to graduate.”

“Yeah, sure, okay.”

He checked the time. “I got plans for you, Alexander. We have some things to set right. But first I need you to start filling out these.” He reached to the back seat and handed me a large white envelope. I peek inside, confused.

“College?”

“Not just any college.” He looked over at me as I dumped the paperwork on my lap. “The police academy.”

“Hey,” Riley called out as he knocked on the squad car window. “You wanna get back to work or sleep?”

My gun pressed into my hip and begged me to stick it in his mouth and pull the trigger. I could hide the body. We were in a back alleyway. The dumpster was full, so I could bury him well.

I unlocked the doors and let him in.

“Thanks for locking me out, dude,” he muttered. I blinked a few times at him, then started the engine. It took a moment to wake up. “I’m starting to think I should ask for a transfer. You and I really aren’t working out well, are we?”

I must not kill him, I must not kill him.
The chant didn’t help. I knew my eyes were dilated at the thought, and my heart started to rapidly pump blood through my veins. I got excited and I watched as his heartbeat drummed in the side of his neck. I could make that stop. I could hear the snap that made my body tingle. It was the control I needed. Control was everything.

He set his coffee down, and some splattered on the gearshift. He wiped it off, but there was still some residue left. Did he really think that was clean?
Disgusting
. I leaned over and opened the glove box to remove some Lysol wipes and cleaned the spill
properly
.

“OCD much?” he mumbled, and I flexed my hands. That was it, I needed him dead. I was about to reach for his neck when a call came through and stopped my thirst.

“Shit,” Riley hissed as he responded to the station. “10-4, en route.” He glanced at me and waved a hand. “Are we going, or do you need me to drive?”

“So close, dude, so close,” fell from my mouth as I jammed the car in gear.

After work, I decided I needed a quick upper, so I headed to The Brick. I needed to feel grounded before I hung out with them all for Johnnie’s birthday.

“You look awful,” she said with her tiny hands on her waist. I stopped when I got to the front desk and noticed her chest.

“Nice necklace,” I muttered.

Her hand flew to the chain and lifted it briefly to her lips for a quick kiss. I pretended not to notice. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.

She batted a tear away and plastered on her normal smile. “She’s been waiting since you called fifteen minutes ago.”

I started to walk away, but I stopped myself and remembered my manners. “It’s really pretty.” I pointed to the chain. “Looks good on you.”

She half smiled, and I could see the loss in her face. “Yeah, well, you know,” as her posture changed. “I can make anything look good.”

I chuckled and waved over my shoulder, happy she was back to our normal sarcastic behavior.

CHAPTER FIVE

Emily

Three hours at the library proved to be a bad idea. Nothing sank in. I went over Professor Dean’s assignment information three times and got zero done. Scott was oblivious to my mood. He wore his headphones in an attempt to reenact the scene he wrote, but he didn’t have much success either.

So I opted out and decided a walk along my beach was a better idea. I just wanted to be alone so I could feel any way I wanted and not have to explain myself.

The sand was cold, and the nip in the air kept my mind in the loop. I knew Seth didn’t have a cheating bone in his body, but the images from that day kept flickering in front of me. What was bothering me the most was he didn’t pull away fast enough. Avery did get me out of there pretty quickly. Was that what was gnawing at me? Or was it that I didn’t know Ronnie was a woman?

Something moved in the trees, and it caught my attention. I squinted but couldn’t see anything.

“Hey, neighbor,” Travis called out with a wave. He was sweaty from his run, his chest glazed over with it. “I was wondering when I was going to see you next.”

“Hey.” I scanned the tree line. Okay, now I was just being paranoid. No matter how hard I tried, Jimmy Lasko still haunted me.

“You all right?”

My head snapped back to him. “Yes.” I managed a smile. “Just been a day, that’s all.”

He nodded toward his house. “Come, I have the perfect remedy for that.”

I didn’t want to visit, but I didn’t want to be rude either. I could probably use a little distraction.

“Sure.” I followed him to the kitchen.

“Give me ten minutes to shower. Meanwhile, here you go.” He handed me a glass of wine, then shot off down the hallway.

His house was quiet, with only the crash of the surf to break the silence. I scanned the photos on his wall, but stopped at one of him and a woman. They looked happy. Funny, I hadn’t seen this woman around yet. I noticed she was in a few more, and she didn’t look like a sister. I spotted an old family photo. His parents were spitting images of him, and again this woman showed up with him and his mother. I leaned in to get a closer look, and when I did, I saw a flash of red in the reflection. I jumped when I felt him behind me. His chest was slightly pressed into my back.

“Didn’t mean to scare you.” His voice was quiet. “I see you found my childhood friend.”

I couldn’t help but notice they looked more than friends, but I wasn’t going to point that out. “She’s very pretty.”

“Yes, she was.”

I felt uncomfortable with how close we were. “Was?” I turned to look at him as I moved back, only to hit the wall.

He nodded and leaned against the back of the chair. “Yes. Sadly, Sandy passed away a few years ago, cancer of the liver.”

“I’m sorry, I had no idea. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

He pushed off the chair so he was directly in front of me. “You’re not, Emily, I like having you here.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out quickly, happy for the distraction.

Seth: Are you at home?

Oh, great. I rubbed my head and wished I weren’t here.

Seth: Please just answer me, baby.

“You don’t have to answer him, you know.” Travis eyed my phone. “You can just ignore him.”

“I should go.” I went to turn, but he reached for my arm. “Please don’t leave.”

“Travis—”

His face flashed with sympathy. “I hate seeing you hurt, Emily.” He released his hold with his hands up. “Sorry, I’m just worried about you. You’re young and are heavily involved with a controlling man. Does he even love you?”

“Yes.” I suddenly felt defensive.

“Why would he kiss another girl if he loved you?”

My eyes snapped to his. “How…?”

He sighed and looked a little guilty. “I went to check on you a while ago and heard Garrett and Seth talking about what happened. I left before they saw me.”

Christ, who else knew? I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I returned to the kitchen, grabbed my bag, and headed for the door.

“Em, wait,” Travis called after me. He gently gripped my arm and tugged me back around to look at him. “Please don’t leave.” His face dropped. “It’s lonely over here sometimes. Please just stay and have dinner with me.”

I knew how he felt. It could get lonely here, so against my better judgement, I agreed. “I’ll stay for thirty, but I really can’t stay longer.” I headed outside to the patio.

I called Seth’s cell, but he didn’t answer. I tried one more time, but it clicked to voicemail. I decided to send a text to Seth and Garrett.

Emily: Going to be a little late, but I am coming.

“Barbecue chicken all right?” Travis asked behind me with a huge grin.

***

Seth

The Triangle was packed, and Johnnie was more than buzzed, which was great because he’d been worried about his partner. We all were. Something wasn’t right with him. Davis never just left and headed home before. He emailed and said he needed time off, but hadn’t returned any of our calls, and that was very unusual for him. Sarge left a message for him, saying he had till the end of the week to contact the station before he started the process of sending someone to his parents’ house to see what was up.

“Heads up,” Garrett whispered over my shoulder and nodded at Ronnie, who stood inside the door. She spotted us and headed over.

“Hey, guys.” She smiled. “Happy birthday, Johnnie.” She gave him an awkward hug. Word had already spread about what happened between us, and the guys were pissed and on high alert as to what she was like. Most of us had someone, or families, so people like Ronnie were dangerous. No one wanted to be alone with her. Who knew what she’d pull? However, I could see Johnnie was interested in her. She was a pretty woman, but a little rough around the edges.

“Thanks, Ronnie.” Johnnie beamed. “Have a seat and join us.”

She glanced over at me and took the open seat—which was intended for Emily—and bumped my arm. “Hey, you.”

I gave a curt nod and leaned back with a long sigh. This was not going to end well. I checked my phone and saw Em had called twice, and there was a text from thirty minutes ago. I wondered what was keeping her.

Seth: What are you doing?

Holding up my phone to Garrett, he checked his phone and showed me he got the same message. He texted her back to see if she would answer him.

Nothing.

“So,” Campbell stood at the head of the table. “I have a timeshare in Palm Springs. Who wants to join me and Vanessa two weekends from now?”

Loud chatter and cheers erupted from around the table. It seemed some people were on board. A man with a Gibson started to sing Ed Sheeran’s “
Don’t
.” I was lost in thought when a hand slipped around my arm. My head snapped over to Ronnie, who leaned over.

“Wanna get out of here?”

“Like I’ve said a hundred times, Ronnie, I’m not interested, and will never be interested.”

Garrett suddenly straightened in his seat, and out of the corner of my eye, he gave me a look and cleared his throat. I looked up to find Emily by the door, wearing a shocked expression. I yanked my body free and cursed.

“Happy birthday, Johnnie.” Emily forced a grin and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“You’re here, and that’s all that matters, McPhee. Here, take a seat.” He looked over at Ronnie, then plastered a smile on before he looked back at her. “I’ll grab you a chair.”

“Let me get a drink, and I’ll be right back.” She patted his shoulder as she headed to the bar.

Ronnie started to laugh. “So, who’s the blonde bimbo in the red bottom heels?”

The entire table went silent. “That woman is our family, Ronnie,” Riggs explained with an icy chip to his tone. “She also happens to be Connors’s girlfriend.” Ronnie looked over at me, then the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. Shit, she was gonna cause trouble.

I pushed my chair away from the table and went over to the bar where Emily waited for her drink. I leaned in behind her and trapped her with my arms the way I always did.

“Hi,” I whispered and resisted the urge to kiss her shoulder. “Did class run long?”

“No.” She thanked the bartender, then turned to face me. “I came home early, went for a walk along the beach, and ran into Travis. He invited me over for a drink.”

I closed my eyes and tried to remember to be fair and not judge. “I see.”

“I was going to leave earlier, but he asked me to stay because he gets lonely over there by himself. So I stayed thirty extra minutes then went home, changed, and came right here.”

I could tell she was proving to me that she has nothing to hide. “Well, that was nice of you.”

“Yeah.” She sipped her drink. I hated how we were right now. I missed her and hated to feel so on edge with her. “So, that’s Ronnie?” I nodded and kept my eyes locked with hers. I had nothing to hide either. “She’s pretty.”

“She’s crazy,” I shot back. “I don’t trust her.”

“That makes two of us,” she muttered into her glass.

I reached for her waist and pulled her closer to me. I needed to touch her or I was going to burst. She rested her free hand on my chest. “Look at me, baby.” I put my finger under her chin and slowly raised her face, but it was impossible to read. “I miss you.” Her eyes closed as if my words hurt. “I hate this.”

“It hurts when the person you love doesn’t trust you, doesn’t it?”

“Are you trying to punish me?”

“No.” she shook her head. “I would never do that to you, Seth. It’s just interesting that you’re in my shoes for once.”

I grabbed her hand and led her to the back of the bar. I pointed at my buddy, and he nodded at his office knowingly. Once inside, I pushed her up against the door, then my hands flew to either side of her head and locked her in.

“What is happening to us?” I whispered and kept my eyes on hers. “Whatever this is, it needs to stop.” She suddenly stepped forward, grabbed my shirt, and pulled me down to her lips. I wanted to get lost in her, toss her over the desk, and remind her of all she’d missed out on since she’d left me. Instead, I pushed her gently off me, which was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, as emotions battled inside me. “Please, Em, we need to talk about this.”

“Why?” She untied the rope that held her dress together and let it fall to her sides. I blinked at the new red and black lingerie that pushed her plump breasts upward. It was a beautiful sight…Oh hell, she had garters on. My tongue darted out and licked my dry lips. I felt hungry for her. She lowered my hand and placed it between her legs, and I nearly crumbled with the heat that poured off of her. She was wet, turned on, and ready to go. I couldn’t help when my fingers twitched at her opening. Her lips quivered with anticipation as one finger slipped past her lace panties and between her soaked folds. Her eyes closed as her head flopped back against the door. I stepped closer and hooked her leg over my hip and ground my erection into her. Her hands were everywhere, but mostly at my belt, and she undid it in record time.

I let her have her moment but my head was in a fog. I needed to clear it. I didn’t want to have sex until I knew we were okay. The only progress we’d made was that we were two horny adults who needed release
now!

“Two,” she demanded. She wanted more. I slipped three fingers in, only to hear her to moan louder. “Yes!” I couldn’t take it anymore. I removed my fingers and held myself at her opening. “Seth!” she begged, nearly in tears.

“Do you believe me that nothing happened with Ronnie? That I never kissed her back?” She nearly bucked with frustration. “Answer me,” I demanded.

“Yes!” She pushed on my shoulder, which made me let go and step back. “Yes, dammit, I believe you!” She ran her hands through her hair, then she pointed at me. “Do you trust me with Travis? And don’t say you don’t trust him, because if you truly did trust me, you’d know that nothing would happen, and if he did try anything, you have to trust that I’d tell you.”

“I do, baby. I have an odd way of showing it, but I do.”

“All right,” she said quickly as she paced the room. “Now what?”

I grabbed her waist, picked her up, and sat her on the desk. I pushed between her legs and fisted her hair. “Now I take back what’s mine.” I snapped the fabric on her panties and thrust inward until I was fully in the woman I loved.

***

Avery

They’d been gone a while. I could see the door to the office from where I was. Ronnie eyed the door too. Little did she know that Seth was more than likely banging Emily on the owner’s desk. Fuck! I’d need to step up my game. Obviously, they were stronger together than I thought.