Meeting Danger (Danger #1) (5 page)

Autumn bit down on her lip, thinking of what Butch’s reaction would be. But it wasn’t like she’d be entertaining a guy; Kristen and Hale were practically family.

“That sounds great.”

Quickly she began planning a menu. She had the ingredients for brownies, and mac and cheese. Maya would probably like both.

When Kristen and Maya arrived that evening, Autumn had everything ready. The three ate at the kitchen table, and then Kristen laid Maya down on the couch along with a doll she’d brought.

Maya snuggled against her doll and closed her eyes. With dark curly hair and rosy cheeks, she was a miniature image of her mother.

“She’s adorable,” Autumn said.

Kristen walked back to the table and took her seat. “I hope you’re a mom too someday, Autumn. You’d be great at it.”

Autumn looked down at the floor. Why would Kristen even say something like that? She could barely take care of herself.

When she’d first come to Butch’s, she’d been as timid as a mouse, too afraid to even ask about birth control. As the months went by and she hadn’t become pregnant, she’d begun to suspect Butch had done something to ensure he couldn’t have children. And when she’d finally had the nerve to ask him, he’d confirmed it by muttering that they didn’t need to worry about brats.

It was for the best. Having kids with Butch would be a disaster, and even she was smart enough to know that. She already walked on eggshells as it was; there was no way a child should have to do that. After all, her own childhood with an angry, controlling father similar to Butch had been miserable. But she still couldn’t help the sadness she felt whenever she thought about the future.

“In the meantime, you need a hobby,” Kristen continued.

Autumn gazed at her friend. “Butch wouldn’t exactly go for something like that.”

“Fuck him.”

Autumn shook her head. “Just don’t ever say that to his face.”

Kristen shrugged. “I won’t.”

It was a wonder Hale had remained friends with Butch all these years; their temperaments were as different as night and day. Of course, Hale had been away in Alaska for quite some time.

Kristen seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “Hale has felt loyal to Butch ever since they were ten years old, and Butch defended them against some bullies. But the way Butch treats you? It’s the one thing Hale’s at odds with him about. He hates it.”

Autumn straightened in her seat. “I haven’t heard anything about bullies. Do you know what happened?”

“Yeah. It was teenagers picking on them. Four of them, I think. Butch scared them away.”

“How?”

“He had a knife.”

Autumn frowned. “At ten years old?” While it probably shouldn’t surprise her, it still did.

“That’s what Hale said.”

Autumn and Kristen chatted as they cleaned up the kitchen together, then sat down at the table again with cups of hot tea. A while later, Kristen glanced at her sleeping daughter and let out a sigh.

“I should probably get Maya home.”

“You’re welcome to stay the night. There’s a queen bed in the guest room.”

“I didn’t bring Maya’s antibiotics. I need to give her another dose tonight.”

“Oh.”

Kristen walked over to the couch. Maya grunted slightly as her mother lifted her up and tucked her head against her shoulder.

Autumn stepped over, picked up Maya’s doll, and handed it over to Kristen.

“Thanks,” Kristen said softly. “I hope you get to relax some this weekend. You deserve it.”

“I’m glad you both came. It was a lot of fun.”

“For us too. And thank you for cooking. It was delicious.”

Autumn tried to tamp down her disappointment as she walked her friend out. Tonight was the most fun she’d had in forever.

Scranton, Pennsylvania

“What’s got you so worked up?”

Camden rolled his eyes as Brian continued to pace the length of their cell. The repetitive movement in the cramped space was beginning to drive Camden insane. After only a week in Edgewater, small things had begun to bug him.

Brian turned to glare at him. “Nothing I want to talk to you about.”

Okay, then
. But it looked like steam was about to shoot out from his cell mate’s ears. It was clear that he needed to talk.

Camden remembered Brian’s name being called on the PA system that afternoon. “You had a visitor today, didn’t you?”

Brian finally stopped pacing and crossed his arms over his chest. “My father. He’s got cancer, but he still comes here every week.” He shook his head. “And today he had some news. My ex-girlfriend just got engaged. Andrea.”

Camden studied the other man. No matter what kind of person you were, it had to be torture watching someone you still loved marry someone else.

“My father’s the only one who’s ever believed me. He knows I didn’t kill anyone.” Brian blinked hard, as if he still couldn’t quite grasp everything. “We went hunting twice a year, maybe. I never used that rifle other than that.”

“Your rifle was the murder weapon?”

“Yeah. Not only was my gun used, but fibers from the carpet of my car’s trunk were found on Wells’s clothing.”

Camden frowned. What Brian was saying sounded like something out of a movie. “Who would do that to you?”

“My money’s on Josh Solomon.”

“Who’s he?”

“Andrea’s ex-boyfriend. And guess what? It’s Josh she’s marrying. He needed me out of the way so he could get back with her.” Brian grimaced. “Looks like he got his wish.”

“You’re saying he killed someone to get you out of the way?”

“Yeah.”

“Why not just kill you rather than frame you?”

“Good question.” Brian huffed out a breath and began to pace the tiny space again. “My dad’s doing his best to look into things, but he’s exhausted. He’s barely got enough energy to make it out here.”

Compassion stirred inside Camden. Things had to be hard on Brian’s family too. But that theory about being framed? It was kind of hard to swallow.

He changed the subject. “How’s the receiving job been going?”

“All right.”

“No more problems with Declan?”

When Brian didn’t answer, Camden asked, “If you weren’t doing receiving, what would you want to be doing?”

“Huh?”

“What job inside the prison would you want?”

“What does that matter?”

“Humor me.”

Brian sighed. “The computer room, I guess.”

“You know about computers?”

“A little.”

A minute later, the loudspeaker went off and Camden’s name was called to visitation. Pushing the conversation with Brian aside, he walked through the cell block and grinned when he entered the behind-glass visitation area. Grayson was sitting in the second booth.

Camden took a seat and picked up the receiver. “Man, I wasn’t expecting this. What are you doing here?”

“Thought you could probably use a familiar face right about now. You’ve been in here a week.” Grayson gave him a grin. “How’s it going?”

Camden shrugged as he studied his friend through the Plexiglas. Being here was beginning to take its toll, but it wasn’t anything he wanted to discuss.

“Will you be out soon?”

Camden gave him a half smile. “Parole hearing’s the week after next.”

“And the job in the gym’s going well?”

“It is.”

Grayson nodded in understanding.

“It’s strange being here,” Camden said. “Really makes you think, you know?” As a worried look crossed his friend’s face, he shook his head. “Listen, everything’s fine, I promise. So, what’s going on with you? Do you have a new assignment yet?”

“Still waiting. We’re keeping an eye on something, though.”

“At least you’re not having to travel now.”

“Yeah, it’s been nice. Miss your company at the bar, though.”

Camden laughed. “As if you ever have a problem finding company there.”

Grayson grinned. “I could say the same for you. So, is there anything you can use in here?”

Camden shook his head. “I’ve got everything I need.”

The bell rang a few minutes later, signaling the end of visitation. Camden said good-bye to his friend and left the unit with a guard, trying not to cringe as the door clanged shut behind them.

He sighed. If he never heard that sound again, he’d die a happy man. He’d never thought of himself as claustrophobic, but now he couldn’t help but mentally measure the size of every room he entered. Luckily, there were only a couple of weeks left of this.

As they entered the cell block, the guard pointed to a clock on the wall. “Want to finish your yard time?”

“Sure.” With fifteen minutes left, he might still be able to speak to Phillips. It was a Sunday, so they hadn’t worked together in the gym.

The heated tones of an argument became audible when Camden stepped into the yard. He spotted Brian exchanging words with Declan and ran toward them.

Just before Brian could throw a punch at the beefy inmate, Camden grabbed him. He held tightly as Brian swung again.

“Get the fuck off me!”

“Not until you calm down.”

“What’s going on here?” a guard demanded as he hurried over.

Camden glanced at the guard as he let go of Brian. “It’s nothing. Just a disagreement.”

“This better not happen again. You hear me?”

Brian and Declan each gave the guard a tight nod.

As the guard walked away, shaking his head, Declan glared at Brian.

“You both need to get past this,” Camden said.

Declan didn’t acknowledge the statement. He spat on the ground in front of Brian and then stalked away.

As he watched Declan’s retreat, Brian swiped a hand across his face. “Maybe now he’ll think twice before coming after me.”

Camden stared at him. “You started that? Do you have a death wish or something?”

Brian cast a harsh gaze at Camden. “What the fuck do you care?” he spat out before he stormed away.

Newburgh, New York

Autumn blinked her eyes open. It was a few seconds before she remembered why Butch wasn’t in bed beside her. Then it all flooded back—including the fact that Butch would be home soon—and a familiar tightening began inside her head.

It never failed. Having Butch out of the house was like a vacation for the first few hours. Then as his anticipated return approached, the band inside her head would tighten, reminding her of the hell she lived in—the walking on eggshells and the violence that was as much a guarantee as the change of seasons.

She rubbed at her temples, trying to keep the pain at bay. She gave up soon after. Throwing back the covers, she got out of bed with a sigh. It was time to get the day started.

• • •

Hours later, Autumn sat riveted as she watched the news. The woman being interviewed was sitting in the dark. Her voice was disguised but her message was coming across loud and clear. She and her two children had escaped an abusive husband and were living at a shelter in Albany. Through an outreach program, the woman had obtained her GED, since she hadn’t graduated from high school. She was now attending college online.

Autumn startled as Butch grabbed the remote and jammed the O
FF
button.

“What the hell is this?”

She’d been so engrossed that she hadn’t even heard him come in. How much of the program had he seen? Obviously enough to piss him off.

She swallowed hard. “I-I was just watching the news. This was part of it.”

Butch crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do you watch the news?” His eyes narrowed as he waited for a reply.

Autumn blinked rapidly. He hadn’t told her what time he’d be home from Philadelphia. She’d known it would likely be this afternoon, but with nothing left to do, she’d sat down in front of the TV. Clearly, that had been a mistake.

Hoping to distract him, she stood. “Are you hungry? I’ve got dinner ready. I just need to warm it up.” She forced herself to move past him and prayed his mood would improve as she walked into the kitchen.

But Butch’s mood deteriorated. Throughout dinner, he grew even more irritable, ranting about how it wasn’t just an open invitation for her to sit in front of the TV whenever he went away. And in bed that night, she found out just how deep his anger went.

Whether it was due to her sins of the day or a culmination of all her wrongdoings these past weeks, Butch’s anger was bottomless. He was on top of her, pounding into her, when he put a hand around her throat and began squeezing.

He’d done that before—several times, in fact. But he’d always released her once she’d batted his hand away.

This time, though, his grip tightened rather than letting up. Panic galvanized her as she tried in vain to pry his hand off, but Butch only squeezed harder. Spots danced in front of her eyes. Desperate for air, she clawed at his wrist.

When Butch finally let go, Autumn choked as she struggled to breathe. Sputtering and coughing, she turned onto her side and gripped at her throat. A minute later, still trembling and not fully recovered, she turned to look at Butch. Expecting to see anger on his face, she shuddered when she saw his lips twitch into a grin.

My God, he’s actually pleased with himself.
Scaring her to death had clearly made him happy.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned back to the wall and curled into a ball.

The bed creaked as he got up and walked out of the room. Sounds from the television filtered down the hallway moments later.

Tears left warm trails down Autumn’s face as she let out shaky breaths. Her panic had subsided, but it had been replaced by an all-too-familiar sense of horror.

Butch Cobb was a monster.

Scranton, Pennsylvania

The last two weeks had seemed like years, but Camden’s “parole hearing” with Warden Frake had finally taken place that morning. Camden had passed along the information he’d gleaned in the last three weeks he felt the warden should know.

Afterward he headed to the gym and found Colton Phillips there. Camden said good-bye and then left a pregnant pause, angling for the invitation he’d been working on for weeks.

“Where are you gonna go?” Colton asked.

Camden ran a hand over the scruffy beard he’d grown since arriving at Edgewater. “Not sure. I have to stay in Pennsylvania for the next year, so wherever I can find work, I guess.”