Devil Creek

by Bond, Casey L.

  Devil Creek

  by Casey L. Bond

  Devil Creek

  by Casey L. Bond

  ©Casey L. Bond 2013

  Copyright © 2013 Casey L. Bond

  First Edition

  Published December 2013

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not

  be copied or re-distributed in any way. Author holds all copyright.

  This book is a work of fiction and does not represent any individual

  living or dead

  Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the

  author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is

  illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement

  without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by

  fines and federal imprisonment.

  Author photo taken by Sarah Dunlap.

  Book cover designed by Once Upon a Time Covers / Stephanie Nelson.

  Edited by Anna Coy of AGC Editing and Services.

  Paperback and E-book formatted by Angel’s Indie Formatting.

  Dedication

  To each of us, God gives special people to fill our lives with joy. Some stay in our lives for a long time and some only pass through. I am thankful for them all. I appreciate my husband, Elton and our two beautiful little girls, Eris & Juliet. I want to thank my mom and dad for always believing in me, my ma maw for being a special part of my life. There are many family members and friends who mean the world to me. I appreciate all who read the words that I am fortunate enough to write. God bless you all.

  Acknowledgements

  A special thanks to cover designer Stephanie Nelson, editor Anna Coy & photographer Sarah Dunlap for the contributions to this book.

  I want to give a shout-out to my amazingfabulawesome beta-readers. Their insight and encouragement is amazing. Thank you Jo Michaels, Rachael Brownell, Delisa Lynn, & Nancy Byers. I appreciate you so much!

  On the home front, I want to thank my mama, Jill Holton, Lisa Lovejoy, Holly McComas and Heather Persinger for always reading whatever I throw their way. You girls rock!

  To all of the authors and fans who read my books! This one’s for you! Thank you for your love and support.

  †

  Truer Words...

  They say that the thing you least want to hear is the most important. It’s what you need to hear the most. Those sharp words pierce us, draw blood. They burrow in, take root in our souls. It’s important that we listen, that we win the battle over mind and thought. Let those words, the ones we fear the most, sink in deep. For the words we loathe and fear, most profoundly influence our lives.

  Chapter 1

  Aislin MacKinley Evans locks her apartment door and jogs down the three flights of Kelly-green-Astroturf-covered stairs that lead her feet safely to the ground, her mind mulls over the fight she had with Ty the night before. She doesn’t even remember what the argument was about. Nothing important, that much she knows. Her cell phone vibrates her pocket as she runs across the Marshall University campus toward the Recreation Center. Her best friend, Ella, teaches the advanced yoga class that had begun five minutes before. The message appears, and Aislin slows slightly to steady the words on the screen.

  Gabe: Hey, Mac. I need to talk to you. Can you Skype

  now?

  Aislin: Yoga. 8pm?

  Gabe: Sure. Talk to u then.

  Aislin: K

  Aislin sneaks into the back of the room and assumes the downward dog position that Ella demonstrates with ease up front. Fitting, she thinks, panting in a feeble attempt to catch her breath. An hour and several torturous poses later, Ella and Aislin walk back across campus toward their apartment building. Ella lives on the first floor; Aislin on the third. In their Freshman year, on the first day of classes, the two had met and become best friends. That’s why Ella felt entitled to demand that Aislin attend every yoga and Pilates class she had instructed over the past two years. To her amazement, though, Aislin often marveled at the new level of limberness and agility she’d been able to glean from Ella’s instruction.

  Sweat is pouring off of Aislin; from her brow, between her breasts. Her purple fitted t-shirt clings to the small of her back like a damp second skin. When Ella had first talked Aislin into attending her yoga class, Aislin had assumed there would be relaxation and “oohhhmmm’s” involved, that she would be able to breeze through without exertion. She was wrong. Very wrong. Ella pushed her best friend harder than anyone else in attendance, out of love, of course. Ella, or Antonella Elena De Luca, isn’t even sweating. She is a 5’1”, Italian bombshell, with dark brown eyes and matching long hair that swishes happily back and forth as she bounds down the sidewalk next to Aislin.

  Aislin is quite a bit taller at 5’6” and much more curvy than Ella. Where Ella’s hair hangs in long, dark chocolate waves, Aislin’s is naturally arrow-straight and auburn, stretching to her lower back when wet and combed. Ella’s eyes are a hypnotic dark-chocolate, Aislin’s are crystalline teal; a strange mixture of green and blue. Light freckles that at one time she’d thought would fade, still smattered her nose, extending daintily onto her cheeks. The girls are beautiful. Never had there been a lack of male attention for either of them. But where beauty often corrupts those who possess it, the two friends had always been humble and sweet.

  The two friends laugh, parting ways for the evening, both agreeing to meet after graduation tomorrow. Aislin explains her need to hurry, so that she can shower before Skyping with Gabe, earning a sly grin from Ella as she waves her fingers teasingly. “Is that what they call it these days?” Ella giggles and disappears behind her apartment door. Aislin takes the stairs two-at-a-time and unlocks her apartment door, locks the door behind her and rushes into the shower. Afterward, she throws on her normal bedtime attire of cami and boxers, sporting navy and lavender hues. She plops onto her twin size bed and boots up her trusty laptop. Excitement floods her limbs as she waits for Gabe’s face to pop up on screen, so she bounces on her knees and eagerly rubs her palms together. It’s been almost two weeks since she’s heard anything from him. She doesn’t wait long. At 8:00pm on the dot, the two connect.

  The grainy picture is replaced by the clear face of one of her dearest and best friends. A brother, who fills in where hers once stood. “Gabe!” she shrieks. “How are you?”

  “Hey, Mac! I’m great.” He smiles, making his elusive dimples show themselves, simultaneously making her heart flood and overflow with joy and gratefulness. He’s safe. Thank God! His close-cropped sandy hair and dark blue eyes are now framed by a hard-chiseled face that has traveled the journey from boyhood to manhood. A handsome man now fills the seat of the bright-eyed boy who had stolen her heart long ago. If only her brother could see him now. Aislin’s stomach plummets. Even the tallest roller coasters have nothing on thoughts of Declan. She missed him so much. The loss had echoed through the hollowness in her heart even more so recently, as so many important moments in her life were fast approaching. Graduation tomorrow, and in a few weeks, her wedding. She and Ty plan to elope in Vegas, maybe even get married by a cheesy Elvis impersonator. Gabe’s voice flows through the laptop speakers, jerking her back into reality.

  “I wanted you to be the first to know…” he says, smiling slyly. Teasing her with words that hang in the air, begging for an answer.

  “What? Know what?” she asks, bouncing a little, jostling her computer just a bit. Aislin could never stand suspense or surprises. He brushes his hand over his army-short hair from back to front and smiles again before saying, “I’m home.”

  “Home? Like home home? Oh my Gosh! You’re home?” she shrieks.
>
  His laugh echoes through the computer speakers, hearty and deep. “Yes. Home. Home.”

  As Aislin celebrates the fact that Gabe has made it safely home from his second, and hopefully last, deployment and is actually only a few miles away right now, a key turns in her front door, disengaging the lock. Ty quietly enters her apartment and stands, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. When Aislin realizes he is there, she turns the computer around so he can see, too.

  “Ty, baby. Gabe is home. Like home from Afghanistan home!” she tells him as she runs over and hugs his neck.

  “Great,” Ty answers dryly.

  Aislin releases Ty and looks back at Gabe, whose eyes now shift back and forth between Ty and Aislin. Gabe had never liked Ty. “Mac, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Wait!” she yells, catching his attention before he disconnects. “Gabe, wait. When can I see you?”

  “I’ll call you in the morning. Graduation’s tomorrow, right?”

  She nods. “Yep. At the arena at noon. Are you coming?”

  Gabe focuses only on her, ignoring Ty completely, nods and smiles. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Goodnight.” Two seconds later, the call is disconnected and Gabe is gone. But he’s home, she reminds herself. He’s safe.

  Looking back over at Ty, Aislin can tell by his posture that he’s pissed. Really pissed. She closes her computer and plugs it back in before making her way over to her fiancé. They both graduate tomorrow; earning Bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice. Ty’s degree’s emphasis is in law enforcement and hers legal studies. Having shared several prerequisite classes before their emphases split their class schedules, the two had become friends before he had asked her out. Ty surveys the room, taking in all of the cardboard boxes now filled with what little belongings Aislin will to take with her. Aislin’s lease runs out next Sunday and since the two will be married in a few weeks anyway, Ty had asked her to move into his apartment, until the two can save up enough for a down payment on their first home. She cautiously approaches and waves her arm out. “Almost done packing, babe.”

  He grunts a response and then crosses the bedroom, stopping in front of the window, looking down at the traffic below. She takes him in; his light blonde hair, long enough on top to touch his brow, but cropped short in the back and on the sides. Ty is tall and has the toned, thin body of the second string kicker he has been for the Marshall University Thundering Herd for the last four years. To say that Marshall doesn’t have the best team in the world would be an understatement and though Ty had only taken to the field three times in his career, Aislin is of the opinion that he had looked mighty fine in his Kelly green and white uniform. She had been to every single one of his games, whether he’d played or not.

  Aislin approaches him from behind and wraps her arms around his trim waist. The two had been engaged for the past six months. It had been Ty’s idea to marry in Vegas next month and although Aislin had always imagined having a small outdoor wedding, she had come to the realization that with Declan gone, she had no family to give her away or even to attend. And so, she decided that running off was as good a plan as any, and may even help her to keep her thoughts from turning to her brother. Declan had been killed at the age of 20, when he was first deployed to Afghanistan as part of his Army Reserve Engineering unit. An IED exploded as his convoy was traveling down a remote, sandy road. Declan was in the passenger seat and was killed immediately, the bomb detonating just as he was alongside it. Aislin was eighteen.

  When she turned sixteen, her brother had taken the role of parent, both legally and in spirit by taking the steps through the family court system to become her guardian. The pair had grown up in foster care, somehow managing always to be placed together, but when he turned eighteen; her big brother became her guardian in more ways than one. She’d never been more grateful for anything or anyone in her life. Declan had been her protector, shielding her from some really terrible things in a couple of those homes.

  At the last placement they would have, they were fortunate enough to befriend the boy next door: Gabriel Church. Declan and Gabe were accepted to Marshall University and entered the reserves together, both using the reserves as a means to pay for college. Neither had expected to be deployed, nor did they cower from it.

  After their first deployment, Gabe came home. Declan’s body was laid to rest at Arlington, as he had requested. He had died exactly one week prior to the day he was scheduled to return home, his first deployment having ended. Gabe could have ignored his best friend’s little sister and wallowed in his own pain at the loss of his brother, his friend. He could have put his nose into his school books and focused on his education. Instead, he had sought her out; stepped in to fill the empty void. In helping Aislin heal, he had managed to heal himself. Gabe was home for seven months before he was re-deployed to Afghanistan. Aislin had prayed continually for his safe return, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to bear it if she were to lose him, too.

  Ty turns around, his gray eyes cold and his jaw sternly set. “What’s wrong, Ty?”

  “What’s wrong?” He roughly removes her arms from him. “What’s wrong?” He roars. “What’s wrong, Aislin, is that I come to my fiancée’s house to find her giggling and flirting with another guy. It’s ridiculous.” As she opens her mouth to interject, he raises his hand to silence her before continuing his assault. “The guy is hot for you, Ais. I see how he looks at you. You’d have to be blind not to see it, and you look at him the same way. You were giggling like a little high school girl with a crush. It’s disgusting. I’m disgusted with you right now.”

  An audible breath escapes Aislin’s chest. No wonder. She feels as if he’s punched her, knocking the life-giving breath from her lungs. Ty backs slowly from the room, his eyes set on hers. Aislin hates it when he acts so angry with her, especially when she had done nothing to invite it. It doesn’t happen often, but Gabe has always brought out his green streak. Though Ty had never raised his hand to her in anger, Aislin is leery of any man with that particular gleam in his eye, having been struck before by a very evil man with a similar look.

  “Ty,” her voice soft. “I love you, Ty. Gabe is my best friend. You know how he helped me after Declan died. I can’t just ignore him. I was just happy that he made it home in one piece. My brother didn’t. That’s all.”

  “Yeah. You keep saying that. He’s your friend. Your brother died and I get how that was hard for you, but you can’t lean on another man forever. I’m going to be your husband. You need to lean on me.” He spat, jerking his thumb into his chest. His voice grows louder with each word and sentence.

  “This is ridiculous. I’m not going to stop being friends with Gabe because you are insecure or jealous or whatever you are!” she yells back, fire blazing through her turquoise eyes. She refuses to allow herself to back down from him on this argument. There is no negotiation. She will never turn her back on Gabe, not for Ty or anyone else.

  He looks at Aislin incredulously before rage knits his golden brows together. “Insecure? Jealous? You sure have a high opinion of yourself, Ais. What makes you think I’d be jealous of a slut like you?” And with that nasty comment lingering in the air between them, he stalks out the door, slamming it behind him. Aislin is both stunned and livid at the turn the evening had taken and the hateful words thrown at her from Ty—her future husband, and man who should respect and love her. Never under any circumstances, should he refer to her as a slut or whore or anything else that is disrespectful, she inwardly seethes. If Declan were still alive, he’d kill him for such a comment.

  Aislin takes a few deep breaths. If she were to speak with Ty now, things would be said in anger; things she wouldn’t mean, and could never take back. Forgiveness is one thing, forgetting is another, or so her brother had told her. Aislin walks over, locks her door and decides to sleep on it, vowing to talk with him first thing in the morning after they both have the opportunity to calm down. One of her foster mothers, Miss Brown, w
ould always tell anyone who would listen never to go to sleep angry. And while Aislin appreciated the sentiment behind her advice, some things are easier said than done. Tonight, she will go to bed angry. She will go to bed hurt, and pissed and sad.

  †

  The next morning, Aislin awakens with a renewed energy. She vows to make things right with Ty. It’s the first day of May; graduation would take place in a few hours. The birds dig through the neighborhood yards searching for their next meal. The sweet scents of the newly flowering trees permeate the air. It is a warm morning, probably 70 degrees, with a light breeze stirring the trees.

  Ty’s apartment is a two-bedroom, where Aislin’s is one, and it boasts an amazing view of the Ohio River. Aislin climbs the four flights of stairs heading to number 411. Ty’s black Dodge Charger sits cold in the parking lot. He must still be mad, she thinks, as she uses his spare to open his apartment door. The heavy wooden door creaks loudly on the hinges causing Aislin to wince and grit her teeth as she eases it open just enough for her to squeeze inside, and then back closed again.

  All the lights are off in the apartment. Padding quietly toward his bedroom to avoid waking him, Aislin slips through the wooden door of his room and sees the lumpy human form, still tucked tightly under the white and navy striped comforter. But, as she draws nearer, he rolls onto his back and stretches. That is the moment when everything changes. That is when Aislin can see that he’s not alone. Long blonde hair is splayed over the pillow next to his. The pillow she uses when she stays over. She gasps, trying to catch her breath and grasping her chest in the place where her heart had lay before he so viciously tore it out. Both of her hands cover her mouth and her eyes are wide and moist with gathering disbelief. She stands motionless, unable to believe what her brain is telling her that her eyes are witnessing. He wouldn’t do this to me. He wouldn’t. He loves me. Ty loves me. He said he would wait.