Denouement (The Darkness Series Book 3) (6 page)

He kissed her cheek and rolled over as she got up to head into the bathroom to clean up. Looking in the mirror, she stared back at herself blankly. Something was wrong. She could feel it in the depths of her soul. If Gabe wasn’t the problem it was her. Her blue eyes locked on her neck where his mouth had been. Tiny bite marks had already formed and the area was splotchy and red. She might not feel connected to Gabe at the moment, but he’d certainly left his mark behind to show the world she was his.

*     *     *

The next morning,
Nora was mucking out a stall while keeping an eye on the kids as Greta played with them at the park they’d had built on the south side of the ranch. Hearing her children’s squeals of glee as they went higher and higher on the two-seater swing brought a small smile to her lips. They really were so precious and watching them both grow up together, she cherished every moment with them. Caleb had been returned to her and Hope had been rescued from a fate she couldn’t even fathom. That little boy and girl were a blessing she was thankful for every day.

Bending over, she scooped up another load of hay. A low whistle from behind her had her pausing and rolling her eyes.
Theo.

“Well, well darlin’. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he called out. She straightened, wiping her hand across her forehead before turning around.

“Hey no need to get up on my account…I was admiring that view just fine,” he winked.

“Don’t be an ass,” she replied. Theo Barrington was one of her best friends, but he was also the world’s biggest flirt. His ridiculous good looks weren’t lost on her; married or not, he had one of those bodies that women drooled over. Eight-pack, tanned and eyes that held a lifetime of secrets, he was Norton Springs’ most eligible bachelor. Too bad he was semi off the market due to his involvement with Gabe’s baby sister, Quinn—a fact that made a lot of the single ladies in town weep.

He grinned at her. “So, where’s the man?” he asked, looking around the barn. Nora’s face fell.

“He’s not here. Left early this morning for a meeting about setting up the new training sessions.”

Theo blinked at her. “He’s not here? Don’t we have a shit ton to do to get ready for the next wave of cattle coming in?” Nora had inherited her family’s longhorn cattle ranch a few years back when her father passed away. Running this ranch the way she wanted to had always been her dream; one that she was finally living.

“Don’t start, Theo. I had that argument with him this morning. It’ll be easier if just you, Bobby and I handle things since he was so dead set on not being here.”

Theo observed her, concerned at the way the fight and life seemed to have drained away from who she really was. Something wasn’t right and it’d been plaguing him for some time. Seeing Nora as dejected and defeated as she was, he knew it was time to act.

“Look, Nora. I think you need a break. Why don’t you give Aubrey a call? Maybe take a few days to go and visit her after we get the cattle settled,” he suggested, hoping she’d go for it. With her and the kids out of the way, he could do some digging on what the fuck was up Gabe’s ass lately.

“Leave the ranch?” she gaped at him. “I can’t, Theo. Who would take care of things?”

“Last time I checked I wasn’t chopped liver, doll. I can handle things here with Bobby. Take Caleb and Hope, even Greta if you want to. Things will be fine around here for a few days.”

She stared at him, considering. It had been quite some time since she’d seen her cousins Aubrey and Autumn. Maybe a few days away wasn’t such a bad idea. Give her time to put things in perspective and remember that a lifetime with Gabe is what she wanted. Get over the ridiculous notion that he’d somehow changed.

“I’ll think about it,” she answered, not wanting to let him know he’d won that easily. His ego was already too much to handle.

Several hours later, after a gruelling day in the mud getting the new cattle settled on the ranch, Nora collapsed in the chaise lounge chair with a glass of wine and her book. She’d sat at the dinner table for an hour after Greta took the kids up for their bath, waiting for Gabe to come home. When she realized that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, she packed his dinner away into Tupperware containers and opened a bottle of wine.

Rising from her seat, she walked over to the mantel and picked up the sterling silver framed wedding photo of her and Gabe. Caleb and Hope were in a red wagon at their feet and Gabe’s face was turned to her hair. It should have been a heart-warming moment captured on film. Looking at herself, her stance was stiff; her smile forced. There was no more denying it. Something wasn’t right and she would be smart to take the time to figure out what the problem was.

Sighing, she reached for the phone. “Aubrey? It’s Nora. How would you feel about some company for a few days?”

A
n annoying scratching
sensation on his face pulled West from the dregs of slumber a few days after his entertaining run-in with Aubrey at the library. Shaking his head to clear the fogginess, the scratching increased.
What the fuck?
He was laying face down on the carpet in his living room, still in the clothes he’d put on the previous morning. Rolling over, he sat up and rubbed a hand over his face, coughing when he inhaled the smell of ash. Inspecting his palms, he found them covered in black marks which he’d surely just rubbed all over his face.

“What the fuck?” he repeated his thoughts out loud. Looking down, his clothes were ripped in several places and his boots were streaked with mud. Mud that was currently leading a trail to his kitchen in the form of his footprints. Scratching his head, he tried to think of the last thing he remembered. He’d grabbed a sandwich from the diner down the street the night before and then settled in at home for a quiet night since he was due back at work in—“Shit.” He looked at his watch. He was due at the station in twenty minutes for his shift.

Stripping off his ruined clothes, he showered and was out the door in record time. One of the perks of living in a small town was that you were always only five minutes from everything. He pulled his 1973 Mustang into the parking lot of the fire department with three minutes to spare. Grabbing his bag from the backseat, he headed inside, pulling his timecard from his back pocket and punching it in the old school machine located by the large garage door.

Ignoring the calls and jeers from his fellow co-workers about being
just in the nick of time
, he entered the locker room and changed into his dark blue uniform pants and black t-shirt with the SCFD logo on it.

On his way to the station’s kitchen to grab a much needed cup of coffee, he again tried to solve the mystery of his missing chunk of time and why the hell he woke up in the state he did. He wasn’t that heavy of a drinker unless he got carried away with some of the boys from the fire house so a drunken blackout was quick to be ruled out as the cause. Maybe he was sleepwalking? He made a mental note to make an appointment with Doc Peterson and put the whole mess out of his mind for the moment.

Halfway through his first coffee, West was scanning the paper when Chief Nicholas Watson walked in. He looked around the room at his men. Some sprawled on the couch watching TV, a few at the large table playing a game of poker. The down time between calls was their own, as long as the daily chores to help with the upkeep of the fire house were completed; the Chief didn’t ride them too much. He was a fair and smart leader. He worked alongside them instead of above them and that went a long way in gaining the men’s respect.

“Lieutenant,” the Chief called out to him. West raised his mug in salute and turned back to the paper.

“I need to see you in my office. Now.” He commanded, leaving the room without waiting for a reply. As much as he was fair, he was also in charge and his word would not be questioned.

For the second time that morning, West left a room full of hecklers, ignoring the idiots that were calling out that he was
in for it.

He gave a brisk knock on the Chief’s door and entered, closing it behind him. Chief Watson was seated behind his oak desk, a formidable force. As the commander-in-chief of their fire house, a lot of responsibility rested on his shoulders. Stockton Crossing didn’t have a high rate of fires, but when the calls for emergency rescues came in, it was his job to ensure his men were prepared and ready to handle any situation.

“Have a seat, Lieutenant.” He nodded at the chair in front of his desk. West complied, crossing one leg over his knee.

“What’s up, Chief?” he asked, raising his eyebrows in question.

“These fires. The murders. This fucker is escalating with each one and we need to be sure that we’re prepared to respond to any type of call. The Sheriff’s department knows that we are ready to cooperate and assist in every way possible.” The Chief filled him in.

“Does the Fire Marshall have any useful information for them? Or for us? Anything we should know when heading out to these calls?” The more they knew about this psycho, the better.

“Just that he’s cocky and confident. A lethal combination. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how he chooses his victims, which has the Sheriff stumped.”

West nodded, taking it all in. An arsonist that thought he was untouchable, there wasn’t anything more dangerous than that and the longer it went without him being apprehended, the worse things were going to get.

“I understand,” he reassured the Chief. “Are there any leads at all that we know of?”

“Nothing that I can share at this time. Just keep on the boys and make sure they aren’t slacking on the job,” he said.

“You got it.” He uncrossed his legs and stood. Nick might be a friend, but he was the Chief first and foremost and West would be sure to carry out his orders.

As he turned the handle on the door, Nick called out to him.

“Oh and West?” He looked back. “Don’t cut it so close next time. The boys look to you as an example,” he reminded him what he already knew. “If there’s something going on, just know that you can talk to me about it.”

West nodded, leaving without answering. The truth was, if something was going on with him—he had no idea. And that was a scary fucking thought.

*     *     *

West drew the
short straw with the guys later that day, meaning it was his turn to do the lunch run for everyone. Pulling into a parking space outside
The Spot
, his favorite diner in town, he swung out of the car and headed inside. Behind the counter was Larry, the owner, chatting with a familiar looking red-head and another woman with two small children seated beside her at the long white vinyl counter.

Grinning at the thought of teasing a reaction out of Aubrey again, he strolled over to her and leaned his elbows on the counter, his left arm brushing her right in a deliberate manner.

Her green eyes looked up at him in surprise at his sudden appearance and if he wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw a hint of a smile play across her lips.

“Hey, sweets,” he greeted her. Her hair was in one of those bun type things, pulled back from her face and she was wearing another one of those high necked blouses and sensible skirts she loved so much. The more he saw her in them, the more he imagined what she’d look like when he was sliding it up and over her hips, freeing her long red hair from the constraints of her bun.