Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (19 page)

Once the door shut, I moved to stand next to my father in front of the fireplace. The light flickered off his face, which seemed suitable because he did walk within the flames.

“I need you to take care of something, boy,” he muttered, like it killed him to ask me. I nearly laughed. Like I’d ever help the devil. “Someone has something over me that could destroy everything.”

“And what am I supposed to do, Jack?”

His eyes flicked over to mine, and I could see him for what he was—evil. “I need him taken care of. This won’t only affect me, boy, it will hurt all of us.”

Amazing. Just fucking amazing.

I removed my badge. “This,” I held it up, “means more to me than you ever have.” His eyes flinched. “This allows me to bring people like you down.” I snapped it back into place and turned to look him straight in the eye. “Don’t ever ask me for help again.” He muttered something. I went to turn, but stopped. “If you really care about Mom and Maddy, you need to leave. Don’t bring any of this on them.”

“Too late,” he hissed as I closed the door.

I wanted to punch the wall. My father was always pissing off his clients, and I was done hearing about it!

Garrett was in the kitchen with a plate full of food. Gretchen, our housekeeper, who under no circumstances would allow you to leave without eating, had obviously gotten to him. Maddy flew out from around the corner and wrapped her small arms around my waist.

“Thank you for coming, Seth.”

I hugged her and reassured her I would always be there if she needed me, and that she could contact me anytime, ever. She hugged me again and went to look for Mother.

After some food, we headed back out. O’Brian didn’t say a word for the rest of our shift. It wasn’t until we pulled in and grabbed our bags from the trunk that I decided to say something.

“Hey, man, thanks for today. My father is—”

“An asshole.” He shrugged. “Yeah, I have one too. My mother is one as well.”

I smirked. “Well, in that case…”

He extended his hand and shook mine. “Partners watch each other’s backs, and keep things private. I don’t do gossip. I have just as fucked up family as you do, and my time will come.” He shook his keys. “See you tomorrow.”

Cold hands slipped into my shirt and pulled me from my thoughts as she kissed my neck. “I wondered where you went.”

I took her icy hands in mine and kissed her fingers one by one. “I needed a minute.”

“You all right?”

I pulled her around to sit on my lap. “Yeah, just need to figure out my father. Something is going on. He’s in some kind of trouble.”

She moved to straddle me, then took a sip of my beer before she gave me a soft kiss. “Can I help?” My hands slid up her thighs and around to her ass. God, this woman was perfect for me.

“You can do this.” I grabbed her head and pulled her back to me. I swiped her mouth and took charge, needing to feel I had control over something. My father’s situation rattled me to the core. I knew in my gut something bad was about to happen. She squeaked when I ground myself into her; she nearly panted with need. Christ she was sexy when she was turned on, her eyes wild and her nipples begging to be sucked.

“Wow,” he said behind us, “sorry.”

I cursed as Emily pulled back and fixed her shirt.

“Hey, Travis,” she whispered and tried to regain her composure. She started to move off me, but I held her in place.

“I was just heading home and wanted to say thanks for the invite.” He glanced at me. Well, it was actually a bit of a glare.

Emily smiled. “Of course, anytime.”

He waved over his head as he walked back to the tree line. I watched Travis until he disappeared into the darkness.

Emily shoved my shoulder, but I grabbed her tightly as I stood and lifted her with me. “Now, where were we?”

“Nothing like a late night workout.” Pete grinned from the doorway.
Shit!
Emily shook her head like she wanted him to shut up. “What?” Pete grinned at me. “All I need is a cig and stiff drink.”

I looked over his shoulder and saw Philly fix his pants. “Such a man whore,” I muttered and sat Emily on her feet. “I should go talk to Nicholas before he leaves. I’ll see you in a minute.” I tapped her ass before I left.

Pete licked a finger as I walked by. “Mmm…yummy.” I heard him yelp behind me, and I was sure Emily punched him.

***

Avery

Flowers, check.

Panties, check.

Package, check.

Letter, check.

I continued through my list three times and made sure everything was in perfect order. The scratching noise from the patio door had me reaching for a steak knife. I had to talk myself down and remember why I still had the fucking mutt. I glanced at the calendar and saw I would only have him for a few more weeks, then he wouldn’t be my fucking responsibility anymore. I dumped the shit-smelling food into a dish, slid it outside, and slammed the door in his face. Fuck, his eyes always freaked me out. You would have thought after all this time I’d be over them, but I wasn’t. I wondered if they still haunted Emily’s dreams. Oh, that thought spread a lovely warmth through me. I made one more quick call, then called it a night. I needed some sleep since, happily, tomorrow I had decided to step up my game a bit.

I showered, changed, washed my hands, and then slid into bed, delighted with the feel of the sheets that were tucked in tightly and the blanket neatly folded so it was snugged under the sheet flap at the top. I stared up at the ceiling, silently enjoying the shadows that bounced over it as the wind played outside. I closed my eyes and remembered.

“So this is it?” I looked over at Jims, who checked the address again.

“Yeah,” he squinted into the sun, “24 Victoria Drive.”

The house was huge and sat at the end of a lane. We watched as a little blonde girl chatted with an elderly lady who looked to be the housemaid. I could see the look on Jims’s face, and I knew what he was thinking. He had money, lots and lots of money.

“But he’s only here about ten times a year. His office is in San Fran.” Jims pulled out a camera and snapped a few photos of the house and the little girl. “Let’s go check out the city.”

We drove around a bit and ended up at a nearby beach, where a group of women were in the middle of a yoga class. Jims pulled out a bottle of Jack and continued to drink while the women bent, flexed, and stretched for our enjoyment.

I felt him twitch when he spotted a sexy blonde in conversation with a brunette. Jims quickly held his camera to his right eye and started to snap photos of her.

We spent the next few hours in the chilly car, and Jims watched her every move. He couldn’t seem to focus on anything else.

He made me follow her the next day while he made a pickup. I really wished he would lay off the blow. I turned the heat up and sipped my coffee while I watched her return to her car with her date. She seemed annoyed with him. The guy had the balls to grab her head and start kissing her. I didn’t feel any compulsion to help, but it was fun to watch what happened. I knew I was probably missing the ‘empathy’ gene, but whatever. I leaned back in my seat and settled in and hoped for a good show.

Suddenly, her attacker was ripped off of her and thrown to the ground like he was weightless. I sat forward; this was getting interesting. Her rescuer was blond and looked huge as he shielded her with his body, and he made the other guy leave quickly. She didn’t seem that scared and was okay about chatting with the blond guy. I could tell by her expression she was relieved, and she was smiling. He led her to his car…wait…I snatched up the camera and zoomed in on his face. “What the hell?”

My fingers felt around the seat for the phone and press redial.

“What?” Jims barked across the line. He hated it when I bothered him when he was high. He got pissed at my disapproving tone.

“She’s with him.”

“You mean she’s with the cop? Are you sure?”

I snapped a few pictures. “Yeah, she’s with him, Jack’s son.”

There was a moment of silence. “Well, well, well, this just got a bit more interesting for us, didn’t it?”

The sun shone through my window and woke me instantly. I hurried to the shower, excited to see my plans fall into place and delighted to think how strange the world really was. I was almost giddy when I arrived at work. I saw Riley glance at me funny. I knew I was normally the quiet, aloof white man in the room, the man people should statistically fear, but they didn’t. Because I had the ability to play many roles, I could play the ‘loss of my partner’ role almost perfectly. No one had any idea I was the one who ended his life. Sometimes I surprised myself at how talented I really was. Jims may have been bat shit crazy, but at the end, I controlled him too. Though I missed my brother dearly, I didn’t miss cleaning up his mess. He got sloppy toward the end, and that was why they caught him. But I was a mastermind. I didn’t make mistakes. I almost chuckled. Maybe I’d better watch myself, then.

I checked my phone and saw the flowers would arrive at the right time. Perfect. I tucked the last piece of my plan into a folder and tossed my jacket on top of it on the back seat as I saw Riley walking my way.

“Ready?” I beamed at Riley.

He nodded and sipped his coffee as he slid into the front seat. I knew he didn’t like me, and that was fine. I’d rather not make nice with him either. I’d already placed him; he was nothing but my shield.

Our shift went by fast, and the sergeant asked us to swing by Davis’s sister’s place in Fullerton since he was MIA now for a few weeks. I nearly laughed out loud at the irony in this, but I pulled on my concerned cop face as we headed on over.

Knock, knock. My fist met with the cool steel. I waited with Riley, who snapped his gum like a fourth grader. Fuck me upright, I wanted to take that little shit out back and deal with him ‘Old Yeller’ style.

A tall woman opened the door. She looked confused. “Can I help you, officers?”

I gave my very best comforting smile and placed my hand on Riley’s shoulder. “Hi, Gloria, I’m Officer Avery, this is my partner Officer Riley. We’re with Orange PD and are friends of your brother’s. He has been out of touch lately with the station. Ah, that is to say, he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth, actually. We’re worried about him, so we were hoping to ask you a few questions.”

She studied our badges, saying nothing, then waved us in.

I needed a goddamn drink after that conversation. Who would have thought the chatty Davis would have such a dull sister? If I was alone, I would have offed her myself.

“So, after a three hour conversation, we learned nothing, but she doesn’t see her brother all that much and she likes cats.” Riley sighed and sagged into his seat.

I turned the corner and spotted a man smashing in a window on a BMW. Riley called it in as I switched on the lights. As predicted, the man took one look at us and bolted down the alley. I slammed the car in park and we both jumped out and split up to cut the guy off in the front.

Most officers’ hearts sped up at this point. The chase, the hunt, it was always fun, but my adrenaline rush wasn’t for the same reason. It was just the exercise, more practice than anything, really. The echo from my boots bounced off the brick walls and filled my ears, which made it hard to hear the guy’s footsteps. I stopped and listened hard and heard a fence rattle. I ran toward the sound, only to find myself face to face with a dead end. The guy was running full speed on the other side of the nine-foot fence.

I cursed and thought there was no way I would climb that fence. I wasn’t that invested. I made my way back to the squad car where I found Riley leaning against his door drinking a bottle of water.

“Good?” I asked with my best friendly face.

He glanced over at me and clicked his seatbelt. He was a moody bugger, so I ignored him and headed back to our beat.

I decided to shower at the station instead of The Brick. I didn’t have much time, and I needed a quick fix before I enjoyed the shit storm tonight.

Footsteps caught my attention, and I looked around the corner and freed my towel from the hook. I headed out to the lockers where I heard someone moving about. I hid behind the scale and saw Campbell with a little tool trying to pick the lock on my locker.
What the hell?
He quickly went through my things, checked my phone and papers. I squinted as the anger rushed through me. Who did he think he was? He quickly closed the locker and left.
I see I may have to change some of my plans.

My eyes were glued to the rearview mirror. I was certain I had seen Campbell’s pickup truck. Though I was sure I lost him, I knew he couldn’t be far. My hands rubbed along my jeans. I didn’t like the paranoid feeling. I didn’t enjoy the role of prey. I was the predator. After a mini pep talk with myself, I parked and headed to the front desk.

“You look happy.” I grunted and felt a headache coming on.

She rolled her eyes but looked me up and down. “What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s been a day.” A car door closed, and I moved back to the window. She leaned over the desk and pushed her breasts up. She knew she was pretty, but she should know it wouldn’t work with me.