Echo Falls

by McDougall, Jaime

  “Sure is. Call me Elle. ‘Mrs. Peterson’ is way too formal.”

  Phoebe smiled and held up her camera. “I hope you don’t mind. I couldn’t resist.”

  “Not at all.” Elle shrugged. “Follow your muse.”

  With Elle’s blessing, Phoebe did just that. She easily fell back into habit despite all the time that had passed since she’d last picked up her camera. Echo Park made for the perfect setting as she took dozens of photos of baby Charlotte alone and many photos with both her and Elle. They moved around the park, Phoebe trying different things as she warmed up. As her first clients in Echo Falls, she wanted to make the best first impression possible with plenty of photos for the family to choose from.

  Yet she also felt as if she had reunited with an old friend and they were catching up. The real world melted away into thoughts of colors, the best natural lighting and beautiful smiles. Here she felt safe and predictable, observer to the world. Elle and Charlotte were wonderful, easily going along with Phoebe’s directions. She came back to the world reluctantly nearly an hour later and finally put her camera down. Her shoulder ached fiercely and sweat gathered on her forehead, but she felt great.

  They walked back to the table where they had started, tired but happy. Phoebe actually relaxed despite her protesting body and happily chatted with Elle about light, sometimes nonsense topics. She got out her laptop and began downloading photos from her memory cards. The digital age had certainly been a blessing for photography – and for photographers on the move.

  “I’m sorry my husband couldn’t make it,” Elle said, sitting down and giving Charlotte a bottle. “He said it’s important.”

  “That’s okay,” Phoebe said. “Work out a time that’s good for all three of you and I’ll count it as one session. Not a problem.”

  Elle shook her head and smirked. “I found your flier on the library bulletin board. It’ll be two sessions. You’re just getting on your feet.”

  In more ways than one, Phoebe thought. She wondered if she’d brought some painkillers with her. More movement had to be good for her, but sitting down after all that was downright blissful.

  “How are you finding Echo Falls?”

  She blinked and looked up at Elle, who put Charlotte in the pram next to the picnic table. Elle then looked back at Phoebe and chuckled.

  “You can be honest. I won’t tell.” She winked. “Client-photographer privilege.”

  Phoebe laughed, deciding she definitely liked Elle. “It’s been a bit of a rough start.”

  “Anything a local could help with?”

  She sighed, wondering if Elle and gurgling Charlotte knew anything about starting over. About having to pick up the tattered pieces and mash them back together into something workable. Perhaps she could suggest ways to get Phoebe to stop looking over her shoulder even though she knew he couldn’t be watching.

  Stop it, she thought. No need to spoil this lovely day with that kind of thinking.

  Elle didn’t look away from Phoebe’s long gaze. Instead she smiled, her face lighting up. “Have coffee with me. I’m meeting my husband and some friends at the best café in town. We’ll get some lunch and a list of the best places for everything in Echo Falls for you.”

  Phoebe chewed her bottom lip, her heart pounding, and looked at her camera equipment. She hadn’t been out of her apartment for anything except food and other necessities since she’d moved in nearly a month ago. Something beside her quickly diminishing refrigerator stash would be nice. She couldn’t depend on Aidan to keep cooking her breakfast, as much as she might like to.

  Charlotte squealed in delight at a couple dogs being walked nearby, breaking Phoebe out of her thoughts. Coffee, lunch and more time around an adorable happy baby? She looked at Elle.

  “I’ll help you pack,” Elle said, grinning.

  ***

  Liam Carter turned the page of his newspaper, watching the women from his seat on a park bench. He flexed his sore hand and gritted his teeth.

  So Phoebe had restarted her photography business. How confident of her. Even after everything, she still managed to keep her optimism.

  Silly little girl.

  He shifted, easing the ache just below his ribs on his left side. He would have to change the bandages soon.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “She needs to rest,” Aidan said quietly. “She did almost get killed less than a week ago.”

  Thomas shook his head. “You’ve lost your touch, old man. Shouldn’t you be going on your third date by now?”

  Aidan gave Thomas a tired look and then shook his head. When he was a few years younger, Aidan had been like Thomas: under the leadership of an alpha male, wild and willing to pursue any female who would give him the time of day. But leading the pack had tamed and calmed him – for the most part. But Thomas didn’t see Aidan’s status as any reason to stop all his past ways.

  The fact that Aidan’s ‘spirit’ had earned him a month’s long sabbatical from work despite the murder case being so fresh didn’t do anything to change Thomas’s mind.

  “What’s her name, anyway?” Thomas asked running his hand through his short-cut bleached hair. “Is she single?”

  Aidan’s eyes narrowed. “Phoebe Martin. Off limits.”

  Thomas sat back, frowning but not arguing. If the pack leader said off limits, he could push, but Aidan spoke as a pack leader and a cop. Even if Aidan was ‘on holiday’ for the moment.

  Will cocked his head to one side. “Phoebe Martin. That sounds familiar.”

  “She’s going to have to talk one way or another whether she likes it or not,” Thomas said, taking a half piece of toast from his plate and shoving it into his mouth.

  “I hate to say it, but he’s right.” Will tapped his fingertips on the table a few times and then looked at Aidan. “You’re going to have to stop being nice guy to her if that’s what it takes. At minimum, we can’t have her running around alone on the full moon. She’s probably already starting to feel it coming up.”

  Aidan nodded and looked back down at his coffee cup. He didn’t like the idea of being ‘less nice’ to Phoebe any more than he liked the idea of telling her that her life would never be normal again. Chance said she could have escaped the virus or whatever it was that passed from werewolf to human that made them into lycanthropes, but he highly doubted it given all the bites she’d gotten. His instincts told him that she also had information that he needed to keep his pack safe.

  “No,” Will said to Thomas, taking Aidan out of his thoughts. “I know her name from somewhere.”

  “Maybe your dreams,” Thomas said, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  “My wife is more than enough for my dreams.”

  The bells above the door into Sophie’s Café chimed and Will smiled as he looked past Aidan. Aidan didn’t need to look to see Elle, knowing the smile Will reserved only for his wife and child. The three men stood up.

  When Charlotte came into view in her pram to his left, Will turned and gave her a tickle that sent her squealing with delight. After Will greeted Elle with a hug and a kiss, Thomas reached over to shake her hand and then Aidan kissed her on the cheek.

  When the flurry of greetings died down, Elle reached behind her and urged another woman in front of her.

  “Everyone, this is Phoebe Martin. She’s new in town.”

  Aidan nearly spun around and then blinked. Phoebe’s eyes widened as she looked at him, her bottom lip dropping just enough for her mouth to make an ‘o’.

  Elle smiled, a glint of mischief hiding amongst her amusement. “You’ve met?”

  Phoebe finally tore her gaze away from Aidan and looked at the other two men at the table. The pair exchanged looks and then looked at Aidan. Had they been talking about her? They must have. Maybe she could make an excuse and leave without hurting Elle’s feelings.

  “Nice to meet you, Phoebe,” Will said finally, offering Phoebe his hand to shake. “I’m Elle’s husband, Will.”

  S
he hesitated and then returned his firm handshake. The younger blonde man followed suit as Elle motioned for Aidan to move further into the booth to give them room to sit down. He moved in and put his arm up on the windowsill. Elle maneuvered everyone around so she sat by Will, Phoebe sat by Aidan and Thomas pulled a chair up to the end of the booth next to Charlotte’s pram. Phoebe, without meeting Aidan’s eyes, put her laptop bag between them.

  “So is this the Phoebe Martin?” Thomas asked, leaning forward and giving her a winning smile.

  Aidan cleared his throat and gestured toward Thomas. “Phoebe Martin, Thomas Sinclair.”

  Phoebe tried to smile as a blush arose on her cheeks, but she only managed to look uncomfortable.

  “We were just talking about you,” Thomas said. “Only good things, I promise.”

  Aidan groaned, rubbing his forehead with his hand, and Will shook his head. Phoebe would have smiled had she not felt so sick to her stomach. The urge to run as far and as fast as she could rose up in her chest, threatening to choke her.

  “So, you’re all friends?” she asked.

  “We’re Echo Falls police officers,” Will said. “If you ever have an emergency -”

  “I think she’s already had one of those,” Thomas said dryly and then finished his coffee. “We need to know why it happened.”

  “Thomas,” Aidan said, his tone holding a warning.

  “Police.” Phoebe looked at Thomas, Will and then Aidan. “So that’s how you…”

  “Found you first and got you back to your apartment without any questions.” He returned her gaze. “We’re the only ones who know you were attacked, but it’s important you tell us about that night. There have been three murders in Echo Falls in the past month, all of them… linked.”

  Phoebe went cold. Three murders in the past month? Since she’d moved in. Surely they couldn’t think that she… No. She’d been attacked, which took her off the suspect list. But that didn’t take her off the ‘people we need to talk to’ list, obviously. She should have just faced up and told Aidan all the details of that night like a normal person. Maybe she would have, had she known he was a cop.

  Great. Just great. She might as well become a professional hole digger. She seemed to do well enough at digging them for herself.

  She put her hands on the table and began squeezing the tip of her thumb. Aidan poured her a glass of water.

  “Do you think you can talk about it?” he asked.

  She looked at their faces. They looked concerned, at least. If any of them were the least bit suspicious of her, it didn’t show. She sipped her water, trying to steady her shaking hands. Just the facts of the night and she’d be on her way home. To pack her things.

  “I live on the floor above…” She looked at Aidan, who nodded encouragement. She stared back down at her glass. “I was on my way up to my apartment when I heard something break, like glass. I was in the stairwell and I wasn’t really sure what I’d heard, so I opened the door to that floor.

  “I almost got to the other end of the hall when I saw one of the doors was open. Two people were arguing inside. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their voices…” Her voice wavered and she drank some more water. “Someone wasn’t happy.”

  She looked up and found them all studying her. Had she not been sitting in a booth, she would have sat back. Instead, she went back to telling the story to her glass of water.

  “I should have left.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “I should have left… I nudged the door with my foot. I could see a light and floor, but that’s it. Then I saw the blood. I nudged the door a little bit more. I saw a pool of blood. Then I saw the body on the floor. I could only see her head and shoulder; the rest of her was hidden behind a chair. But I could see the blood. On the floor. And coming out of her mouth.”

  Images of blood spatters invaded her mind. Blood everywhere, turned a dark reddish purple in the light of the moon. Screams. Wails. Her own wails and howls mixed together in the madness of grief. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to push away the memories – memories that weren’t from a few nights ago.

  Memories that haunted her nightmares.

  A warm, dry hand covered hers and she opened her eyes. Aidan gave her hand a gentle squeeze and nodded.

  She took a deep breath. Concentrate. Calm. “The door creaked when I pushed it open. The voices stopped. I didn’t stop to think. I ran to the stairs at the front of the building. I heard a shout and I knew they would come after me, so I only went down one floor and then I ran through the hall to the stairs at the back to confuse them. It didn’t work. In the alley, a dog knocked me down and knocked the breath out of me. I just curled up as he attacked me. I couldn’t think.”

  “Phoebe.”

  Memories merged again as she stared down, not really seeing her hands trembling in front of her. She couldn’t stop the memories this time, the images becoming confused into one stream of horror. “I didn’t think I would live. He had me there and he was going to kill me. It hurt so much.”

  “Phoebe.” Aidan reached over and placed his hand over hers and squeezed her fingers.

  She looked at him and blinked. “Then you found me. You fought him off, but you weren’t... You were a…” Her eyes widened. “I have to go.”

  She stood up and left the café so suddenly that no one could stop her. Instead of going to her car, she walked down the street. For some reason she couldn’t place, she needed the crowds right now. The people. The anonymity. Somehow that made her feel safe while her mind played back all the reasons she had to be afraid. She flexed her hands, calming herself and consciously sorting out the memories that threatened to overwhelm her if combined.

  This attack had happened too soon after the other one – though she couldn’t imagine a time that wouldn’t be too soon. She’d only just begun to relax after running for what felt like forever smashed into a few… Oh, lord. She didn’t want to do the math, count the days, because that would make things worse. As long as she could keep moving, she would be fine.

  “Phoebe!”

  She briefly paused but then pretended not to hear his voice and kept walking. Unfortunately, she underestimated how fast he could move and felt his hand on her shoulder a few moments later.

  “Phoebe.”

  Aidan didn’t spin her around or pull her; he waited for her to turn to face him. She closed her eyes, grateful for the moment, and took a breath before turning to him. She became all too aware that she wasn’t only facing Aidan the amazing maker of breakfasts and all around Good Samaritan; he had now turned into Aidan the policeman and werewolf.

  She didn’t know which one made her more uneasy.

  He’d stopped in front of another café, and he gestured for her to sit down at one of the sidewalk tables. He placed her laptop bag on the table in front of her and she sighed in relief. She hugged the bag to her chest as he walked into the café. Staring at his back through the window, she thought about leaving. Guilt swept over her and she sighed. He’d just returned a vital piece of her business equipment.

  I should at least buy him a coffee.

  He walked back out a few minutes later holding two steaming mugs. He placed one in front of her and sat down opposite her. She pulled some money out of her purse and held it out toward him, but he waved her off.

  “You’ve figured it out, then,” he said after taking a drink. “What I am.”

  She lowered her gaze and he waited. They had both drunk half their coffees by the time she resigned herself to the fact he wanted to talk. And why not? She’d figured out his secret, and he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t betray him. She would have done the same thing.

  “I think I knew before, but telling you what happened put it all together.”

  He nodded and said nothing more. They finished their coffees and watched people passing by. She wished he would say something. Ask her to swear to keep his secret or tell her about the murders in the possibility a new mind and set of eyes could help. No
t that she planned on being much help. Obviously she’d brought her curse with her, or at least a form of it, and she needed to move on.

  She looked across the street to the small storefronts. Many of them were historic, golden plaques on their doors marking their various roles over the decades. Her stomach roiled, resisting the thought of going back to life on the road. She didn’t want to leave.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  She shrugged with her left shoulder. “Better than I would have been if you hadn’t found me.” She looked at him. “I won’t tell anyone about you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “I’m worried about you.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “You were bitten, Phoebe. That means a lot of your life is going to change. Soon.”

  She took a deep breath, resisting the urge to squirm under his intense gaze. “It’s okay; I’m leaving Echo Falls. I’ll be out of your way soon.”

  He frowned and then opened his mouth, but she shook her head.

  “I’m only in Echo Falls temporarily. I’ll move as soon as I can pack.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “I do, really.” She patted his arm, her hand lingering for a few moments and trailing down his bicep. “I do, and it’s not a problem. Maybe I’ll see you before I leave.”

  She stood up, but before she could walk away, he grabbed her hand.

  He smiled. “You need to stop running sometime, so why don’t you stop with me?”

  Her eyes widened and he stood up, drawing her closer. She refused to look him in the eyes, though staring at his broad chest didn’t do much better for her with resisting his presence. She’d never wanted to hug another human being so much in her entire life.

  He tipped her chin up so she would look at him and he smiled. “You need to learn to trust me, Phoebe Martin. Whether you like it or not, I’m in your life now. I’m going to help you through this. I am going to be there the first time you turn. I will protect you from the demons you’re running from.”