Denouement (The Darkness Series Book 3) (12 page)

West stood to give the paramedics more room to work and the put an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. She immediately struggled, trying to rip it off.

“Hey, hey sweets, leave that on for me okay?” West got in her line of sight, hoping to calm her. “You’re safe. You’re okay. But you inhaled a lot of smoke and I just need you to keep that on for me. Can you do that, please?” She stopped struggling and gave a slight nod.

“How is she, Karen?” he asked the paramedic. Karen removed the blood pressure cuff and pulled off her stethoscope.

“Vitals are strong, but we’re going to need to take her to the hospital to monitor her. She inhaled a lot of smoke and a doctor needs to check her over,” she explained.

The crew was getting ready to enter the library; Chief Watson barking orders left and right. West needed to grab some gear and get in there with his men.

“Aubrey, I’m going get them to call Autumn and she will meet you at the hospital, alright, doll? You’re gonna be fine.” He kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand, the look of fear in her eyes eating away at him.

“Karen—” he began but she cut him off.

“I got her, Lieutenant. Get your ass in there and save what’s left of that library.” West nodded his thanks and with a last comforting look at Aubrey, left to join his brothers. Fury boiled inside him that he’d almost lost her, someone had deliberately trapped her in there and left her to die.

Picking up his fire axe, he swung through the doors, ready to extinguish the fire that had nearly stole the future he hadn’t known he’d wanted from him.

“Alright, boys,” he yelled into his walkie. “Let’s take this bitch down.”

Several hours later, West stood in the locker room trying to process everything that had happened. He wrenched his helmet from his head and sent it flying across the room in frustration. She’d almost died. If he’d been five minutes later, she’d cease to exist. A close call like that struck deep within him, rattled nerves that should have been made of steel. Instead, his hands shook with the realization that Aubrey meant more to him than he’d admitted to himself.

This fucker had Aubrey in his sights, and if he succeeded, she’d be his next victim. “Not on my fucking watch,” he swore out loud. “He’s gonna have to go through me first before he ever lays a finger on her.” The fear he’d seen in Aubrey’s eyes was enough to have his blood boiling. One way or another, he would end this psycho’s reign of terror once and for all.

S
heriff Brady James
finished reading the report that the Stockton Crossing Sheriff’s department had sent over and closed the file with a heavy sigh. This serial arsonist on the loose in a town not that far from Durham Heights was a growing concern. With each victim he was growing more cocky and courageous; not afraid to up the ante when he wasn’t caught. Sheriff Moore was in over his head with this case and the longer it went without a resolution, the more the citizens would be at risk of losing their lives. His conscience wouldn’t allow him to sit back and do nothing, the time to act had come.

There was a loud rap on his office door and it swung open to reveal Gabe Thornton and Theo Barrington—two men that had become like brothers to him. Gabe was a good friend from years back, but he had only just recently met Theo in the past couple of years when working on a case that had threatened to ruin them all. Marcus Drake. Marcus and his band of lowlifes, in Brady’s opinion, were the worst criminals he’d ever encountered. His operation of kidnapping women, forcing them to become pregnant and then stealing those infants from them over and over—it was sickening. What those women had been forced to endure haunted him every night. His only salvation was the fact that they’d been able to rescue Gabe’s son before it was too late.

“Sittin’ down on the job again. I think I need to talk to someone about our tax dollars going to waste while you sit behind that desk eating donuts,” Theo joked as they came in and shut the door. “Yep, I can see the weight gain from here. You’ve really let yourself go, Sheriff.”

Brady got up and gave Gabe a one-armed hug. “Shut up, you ass,” he said to Theo. “Gwyn doesn’t even let me touch donuts anymore. She’s on this health food kick; turkey bacon. Who the fuck eats turkey bacon? Sarah has to sneak me in the real stuff when I know she’s not working at the diner,” he complained, taking his seat again.

Gabe laughed as they took a seat in the two chairs in front of Brady’s desk. “You’re in trouble with that one, man. Already changing your diet and you’re not even married yet.”

“Nah, she’s worth it. I don’t mind sneaking a bit of bacon behind her back if it keeps her happy. I’m damn lucky to have that woman.”

Theo stood up and looked around as if searching for something. “People! We have a situation here—Brady has lots his balls! Organize a search party, stat—”

Brady tossed a pencil at his head. “Sit your dumbass down. Jesus Christ, what do you two want?” he demanded with an aggravated sigh.

Theo finally turned serious. “There’s a situation over in Stockton Crossing. Gabe’s buddy, West is a Lieutenant with the fire department there. We’re thinking it might need some “extra” assistance.” Their eyes met and Brady knew that they were all remembering the day they skirted the law to rescue Caleb, and ultimately baby Hope and Greta as well. Their actions may not have been on the straight and narrow, however none of them would change a thing. Anything that ensured the safe return of Caleb to his family and allowed Hope to be saved from being sold on the Black Market was a win in Brady’s book. They were just damn lucky that they had enough connections to keep their asses from being fried.

“I know all about it. Sheriff Moore sent me some reports to review. It’s a fucking disaster. This guy is upping his game with each victim. What can you tell me that isn’t in this report?” Brady was smart enough to know that there was more to the story than what was in the official reports.

“They think this fuck is some sort of inside man. He’s got knowledge of things he shouldn’t. He’s either involved in some sort of law enforcement job or he’s got someone feeding him information. At this point, everyone is a suspect. They can’t be too careful after…” Theo trailed off and looked away, uncharacteristically quiet.

“After Jed. I see. Well, I know you two have some sort of plan up your sleeves so go ahead and fill me in.” The reminder of Jed Rims and the torture he’d inflicted on Brady’s town left a bad taste in his mouth and a hard ball of rage knotted in his belly. The fact that he’d been right under Brady’s nose the whole time still burned him, the blood of those victims was on his hands—he’d failed to protect them. To make Durham Heights a safe place for its citizens.

Gabe sighed and answered. “Well with Nora being there—”

“Wait. What? What the hell is Nora doing in Stockton Crossing? Where are the kids?” he interrupted, looking around as if the children were going to materialize in the room at any moment.

“She wanted a few days away. She and Greta took the kids to visit her cousins. I’ve been in constant contact with her. She’s fine,” Gabe reassured him.

Brady ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, what timing. Alright go on.”

“We’re gonna get our shit sorted and head there this afternoon for a few days. See what we can do to help with the investigation, or better yet, see what we can find out that those bumbling fucks couldn’t,” Theo cut in.

“Hey, watch it. Not all small town deputies are fuckups.” Brady motioned to himself.

“Yeah, yeah, present company excluded. So will little Gwynnie loosen up on the reins enough to let you come with us?”

“I’ll make it work, this fucker needs to be put down—the sooner the better. Give me a couple hours to get things organized here. I’ll meet you at
Earl’s
.” Theo and Gabe agreed and left shortly after to prepare things at the ranch to be away for a few days. Bobby had really come a long way in just a few short years and both men were confident he could handle the added responsibility. Quinn was right next door and could be counted on to kick anyone’s ass that wasn’t pulling their weight. Gabe’s little sister was a firecracker and tended to detonate if she was unhappy in any way. The ranch would be fine for a few days.

Not long after Gabe and Theo left, there was another knock on Brady’s door. Assuming they’d forgot something, he called out for them to come in without looking up.

“And you two say I’m whipped, you can’t keep your shit together without your women around to pick up after you. What’d you forget?”

“Sheriff.” A familiar voice said his name, and at the sound of it his head snapped up. Speechless, he stared hard at the man standing in front of him. Several emotions moving through him. Shock. Happiness. Sorrow. Anger.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he snapped before he could stop himself. The other man shrugged and looked down at his feet. Brady slingshot himself out of his chair and closed the distance between them, enveloping him in a bear hug.

“Fucking hell, Sam. Two years. Not a fucking word from you in
two years
. I should kick your ass right here.” Brady pulled back to look at his friend. Gone was the nerdy deputy with thick curls and glasses. The man before him had changed. His hair was now kept in a short crew cut and his face and frame had filled out. He noticed his glasses stuck in this shirt pocket and nodded to them.

“Not wearing those these days?”

Sam smiled and patted them. “I have contacts now. But after a mishap of losing one, I carry these around just in case.” He was quiet for a moment. “It’s good to see you, Brady,” his voice was thick with emotion. “I know I should have kept in touch. It’s just after Hailey…” he winced when he said her name. “I was in a bad place. I really needed time and distance to work through the pain and get myself to a point where I didn’t want to die right along with her every day.”

Brady clapped his shoulder. “I understand. Gwyn and I just wanted to be there for you, to help you through everything. We’ve been worried sick. Your mother gave me occasional updates, but other than that I had no idea what the fuck was going on.”

“Not a hell of a lot, dude. I’ve mostly been a walking zombie. I’ve come to the realization though that it’s time for me to take my life back. To rejoin society and face what happened. Hailey wouldn’t want to see me pissing my life away the way I have been.” Sam sat on the corner of Brady’s desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, she’d have both our hides if she was here. Me for running off and you for not coming to check in. We both know you knew where I was.”

Brady propped a foot up on one of the chairs and leaned his elbow on his knee. “You’re right. I did know. And you’re even more right that we’d both be black and blue from the beating she’d give us right about now.” They both laughed, memories of Hailey floating between them.

“God, I miss her,” Sam whispered. He shook his head, clearing away the mental image of his beloved. “Look, I wanted to come by to see about getting my old job back. I know that it can’t happen straight away, but I want to take the steps necessary to get back on the force. I just need to feel like my life has importance again, instead of misery and pain.”

Brady was shocked. The day was not turning out as expected. First Theo and Gabe show up out of the blue and want to head off to work on a case, and now Sam was suddenly back in town and ready to come back to work.

“Jesus, Sam. Way to throw me a curveball.”

“Well would you expect anything different from me?” he asked with a chuckle. “I’m sorry, I know this is unexpected, but I didn’t think calling first was a good idea. Maybe just let me follow you around for a few days and get the feel for things again. I can take some training courses; take things slow.”

Brady considered him for a few minutes, unsure of what the fuck to say. Did he want Sam back on the force? Of course he did, the man was an outstanding cop and would have a long career ahead of him if this line of work was really what he wanted to do.

“Alright. Sure, let’s do it. Durham Heights is your home and I want nothing more than to have you back. I’m heading out of town this afternoon for a few days to Stockton Crossing to work on a case, but maybe when I get back—”

Sam interrupted in a hurry. “That sounds perfect. I’ll tag along; it will give me the opportunity to observe an active investigation without being involved. How soon are you leaving?”

“Uh, in a couple hours. I have to swing by the house and pack a few things; fill Gwyn in.” Brady wasn’t sure he agreed with Sam’s suggestion for several reasons, the main one being that this was another serial killer and that was sure to bring up unhappy memories for Sam. With him only just deciding to come back and try to get his life back, he didn’t want to expose him to something that would have him knocked out of the fight before it even started.

“Great, it’s settled. I’ll meet you back here. I have a few things I need to take care of in town.”

“Sam, wait. You need to listen to me. This case…it’s not the case for you to get involved in on your first day back in town. There’s certain…similarities and I don’t want to see this bring up any bad memories for you.” Brady’s eyes pleaded for him to understand without him going into any further detail.