Denouement (The Darkness Series Book 3)

by Brightmore, Cassia

  Aubrey pulled a full garbage bag from the bin and knotted it before lining it with a fresh bag. She looked around the library, they had a lot of work to do to get the place back in working order. It was her goal to re-open the library doors the following week.

  “I love you too, sis. We’ll figure this out. They must be close to catching this lunatic now. Hopefully they found some useful information from this disaster,” Aubrey said as she opened the windows. They needed to air the place out to rid it of the smell of smoke and fire. Nora was going to join them later to help and a few other townspeople had called, offering to do whatever they could to get things moving. By the looks of things, she was going to have to take them all up on their kindness.

  They had a long way to go to erase the damage. It was going to be a long few days.

  * * *

  West sat in the locker room of the fire station and stared at the wall in front of him. The past few days had passed in a flurry of worry and anger. He was so damn furious that Aubrey had been targeted by the psycho terrorizing their town. The fucker would have succeeded too, if he hadn’t been there to save her. Which was another worry in itself. What the fuck was he doing sitting in his car out front of the library? These blackouts he was having were becoming more frustratingly frequent. He had no idea when to expect them or what the cause was. And the bigger worry that he refused to let himself dwell on for too long—what did he do during those lost spaces of time?

  He scrubbed a hand over his face as the image of Aubrey laying in that hospital bed swam before him. She looked so small and fragile against those too white sheets. He’d had to fight the urge to scoop her up and carry her out of there. His fierce over-protectiveness of her was surprising. He’d never felt that way about a woman before. His feelings for her were growing bigger and stronger each day, the more he tried to deny it; the more he was attracted to her. It was a damn vicious cycle that was driving him mad.

  He’d heard that the Fire Marshall had cleared the scene. She was likely at the library now starting to sort through the wreckage left behind by the fire. He planned on stopping by after his shift to see what he could do to help out. He was determined to get her used to being in his presence, he needed her to accept the idea of him being in her life before he could make a move. Something told him that she would need a lot of convincing.

  “Lieutenant? There’s some men here to see you,” Martin, one of the candidates interrupted his thoughts.

  He got up from the bench and followed Martin down the hall, passing the framed photos and plaques of all the men and women that had fallen in the line of duty. Stockton Crossing didn’t have many, but they honoured the ones that lost their lives in service. His brother’s photo was the newest addition; his death plaguing him each time he walked down the main hallway to get to the common area.

  In the lunch room, West was surprised to see Theo, Gabe and two men he didn’t recognize. Theo came forward straight away and offered his hand. “West. Good to see you, man. Sorry to just drop in on you like this at work.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” West replied, clapping Theo on the back. “Gabe.” He nodded to his friend and then let his eyes fall on the two unknown men. “I’m Lieutenant Weston Hunt,” he introduced himself, curious about who they were. One was dressed casual and the other was in a Sheriff’s uniform.

  The Sheriff spoke first. “Sheriff Brady James. And this is Sam Ridley,” he jerked his thumb at the other man. Sam offered a smile in greeting.

  “Nice to meet you. Now what the hell are you all doing here?” West cut right to the chase. He had a feeling he knew what this little visit was about, but wanted to hear it from them.

  “We know about what’s been going on with this maniac on the loose. We all kinda specialize in these sort of cases so in a nutshell—we’re here to save the day,” Theo joked and Gabe groaned, elbowing him.

  “Cut it out and be serious for once, you dumbass,” he told him, turning his attention back to West.

  “Look you can tell us to fuck off if we’re out of line, but we thought it would be a good idea to come down here to see what we can do to help. Especially with Nora in town,” Gabe filled him in.

  “Well I’m not on the case or anything like that. I’m a firefighter not a cop.” West still wasn’t sure exactly what they were hoping to accomplish by showing up out of the blue like the damn A-Team or something.

  “We get that, but Theo thought that you might be open to a little side work with us on this case. He seemed to think that might be something you’d be interested in. Seeing as your Sheriff’s department has yet to come up with any concrete leads,” Brady answered smoothly. West could see how this guy held down the position that he had. He was diplomatic and authoritative at the same time. Some of his brothers were watching the scene curiously and he didn’t want them to be overheard any more than they had been.

  “Here, follow me,” he told them and led them out of the common area to the bunk room. Checking to see that they were alone, he closed the door and took a seat on one of the nearby beds.

  “I’m all for getting involved. We just had a call that was way too close for my liking the other day. The fucker attacked a woman in our local library. Trapped her inside and left her to burn to death. Thank fuck I got there when I did and managed to get her out. This incident was different than the others, it seems less planned out. I can’t believe Aubrey nearly died in there. If I’d been—”

  “Wait a minute, did you say Aubrey? As in Nora’s cousin, Aubrey?” Theo interrupted. His face showed how incredulous he was with that news and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

  “Yes. Three days ago she was attacked and left for dead. She’s fine, just a bit banged up, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse.”

  “Three days ago?” Gabe asked. “Why the hell didn’t Nora tell me about this?” Theo sent him a sidelong look.

  “You haven’t exactly been Mr. Available, dude. She’s been getting her ranch updates from me. But you’re right, she didn’t tell me about this either and we’ll be having a conversation about that,” Theo was unimpressed that the newest incident had been kept from him.

  “Maybe they just think the police here can handle it,” Sam spoke up. “I mean, I know it’s not really my business but that could be why they haven’t broadcast this newest attack everywhere.”

  Brady looked to be considering Sam’s words. West could tell there was more to the story about this guy Sam. He seemed on the straight and narrow, but how exactly did he fit in with the other three?

  “You could be right, Sam. But regardless, we’re here now and I do want to get a feel for what’s going on before we leave. If we aren’t needed—that’s completely fine. Checking things out isn’t going to hurt anything,” Brady said. The other men nodded their agreement, showing what a good team they were.

  “So how are you going to handle this then? And what do you need from me? I’m a firefighter as I said; not a detective. Do you plan on involving Sheriff Moore?” West wanted more details before he made a final decision on joining forces with them.

  “No. We’re doing this our way, which may skirt the law a little but that’s why we have Captain Straight Arrow over here with us. He’ll make sure we don’t do anything completely crooked as we work this case. You’ve been on the inside of all calls, right? Seen the victims?” Theo asked, ignoring the way Brady rolled his eyes at his comment.

  “Most of them. A couple happened when I was off shift. This guy is fucked, whoever he is. The things he puts these people through; well you might not believe me if I told you,” West answered with a grim smile. He couldn’t bring himself to say the gory details out loud, each time he thought of it he remembered how Aubrey looked laying on that floor in the library—it could have been her tortured that way so easily. Thinking about losing her helped him make up his mind. “I’m in. Whatever your plan is, count me in. This fucker needs to be taken out.”

  Theo grinned at him. “Good. So here’s w
hat we’ll do—”

  A walkie-talkie chirped, interrupting him. “All units respond, all units respond. Report of an unidentified female body discovered on Maple and 3rd. Request fire, ambulance and arson response units. Suspected homicide.”

  “Fuck,” West swore. “I’m not going to ask where you got that walkie. Sounds like there’s another body.” Panic filled him as he yanked out his phone and dialed Aubrey’s number. She answered on the second ring. Relief filled him at the sound of her voice.

  “Just me, Ms. Sinclair. Checking in on you.” He played it cool, not wanting to alarm her. She explained that she was indeed at the library cleaning up with Autumn, Nora and a few other ladies. Telling her he’d be by later that day, he ended the call and looked at the group.

  The alarm sounded, alerting the fire house that they’d been called to respond. “I’ve gotta move,” West told them, heading for the door.

  “We’re going to follow the truck. We’ll stay back, but I want to get a feel for the scene,” Brady said. “Sheriff Moore knows me, he won’t have a problem with it.”

  West nodded and left, calling to his men to get their asses moving. The fire house came alive as hats and jackets were grabbed, equipment already packed and at the ready. Swinging up onto the truck, West gave the okay and with sirens blaring, they pulled out of the firehouse on their way to witness the next act of horror in the madman’s game.

  A few hours later, the five men reconvened at the local coffee shop. Each wore the same grim expression after what they’d experienced at the crime scene. It was obvious the killer was furious about the miss with Aubrey. Unfortunately, this latest victim had beared the brunt of that rage.

  “He’s elevated once again,” Theo said what was on everyone’s minds.

  “That poor woman…” Gabe trailed off, he didn’t need to elaborate any further. The body was mutilated terribly, burns and slashes turning her skin into an unrecognizable mess.

  “I’ve never seen anything like that,” West said, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the vision of the body from his mind. “Rosie Jenkins. She was a real sweet lady. She didn’t deserve what this fuck did to her.”

  Brady cleared his throat. “Uh, we have,” he revealed, gesturing at Sam and himself. “We’ve seen something exactly like this before unfortunately. Your killer has just developed a lust for blood. This has just gotten a helluva lot worse.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Gwyn let out a strangled scream as Lawrence’s fist flew at her, connecting with her jaw in a sickening crunch. She felt her lip split and the bitter taste of blood filled her mouth. “Fucking bitch. Living here in this fucking house. You thought you could leave me?” His hands dug into the fleshy part of her upper arms; his fingertips cutting into her cruelly.

  “No. No, I—I—I was coming back,” she stammered out. Every part of her body was alive with terror. How did he find her? He was in a full on rage, she knew from past experience that when he was in that mood there was no reasoning with him. Still she had to try if she wanted to get away from him in one piece.

  “Don’t fucking lie to me, you fucking cunt!” He grabbed her left hand and shoved it into her face. “What the fuck is this then, huh?” he spit out, focusing on her ring. “Wearing another man’s fucking ring on your finger but saying you’re coming back to me? You really are a useless fucking whore.” He ripped the ring from her finger and threw it across the room as Gwyn watched in horror as it bounced off the wall and disappeared under the couch.

  “No,” she whispered before she could stop herself, cringing when Lawrence’s face turned beet red. His hand met her cheek in a thunderous slap, knocking her onto the floor. He was on her in an instant, his booted foot connecting with her ribs viciously over and over. She screamed and cried, throwing her arms up to protect her face as he kept up his punishment.

  “Lawrence, stop!” she yelled. Gwyn managed to gain some traction and scooted away from him. She knew she had to keep her wits about her. The only way to survive these moments with Lawrence was out outsmart him. She needed to find her courage and not slip back into the days when she was nothing but a doormat. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to be the canvas for Lawrence’s issues and she’d be damned if she was dragged back into hell with him after she’d fought so hard to break free. To let the person she really was shine through.

  He ignored her pleas and advanced on her again, unbuckling his belt with each step. Seeing this, Gwyn’s eyes widened in fear. Her face throbbed, her ribs were on fire, protesting at the mistreatment. Lawrence pulled his belt through the last loop in one swoop.

  “Tell me to stop. You don’t fucking tell me what to do. You don’t fucking say a word to me. I ought to cut out your lying tongue,” he seethed. Gwyn gained her feet and ran, ignoring the searing agony in her ribs with each step. Anything to get away from him and that belt. The bedroom. If she could just reach the bedroom she could lock the door and call Brady for help.

  She was halfway up the stairs when he caught her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled, she teetered for a moment before she lost her balance and fell—a scream ripping from her throat. The impact of the hardwood stairs felt like a bat hitting her. She rolled and bumped along all the way down the staircase, landing in a heap at the bottom. Dazed, she didn’t dare move a muscle for fear of what may or may not have been broken.

  Her gaze was locked on Lawrence as he descended, slapping his belt on the palm of his hand. She knew what was coming and fuck, it was going to hurt like hell.

  “Get up,” he ordered her, stopping a few feet from where she lay. She shook her head, she couldn’t move. Surely he must see how injured she was.

  “Get up NOW,” he repeated. Whimpering, she attempted to roll, gasping when a jolt of pain ran up her arm. Looking down, she noticed it was bent at an odd angle. Broken.

  “Lawrence. Please. I think my arm is broken,” she pleaded in a small voice. “I’m trying to follow the rules, but I need your help. Please help me,” she fell back into their old routine. He would occasionally show her mercy if she convinced him that he was the only one that could help her. The only one she would ever need. He thrived on having that power and control over her, he got off on being in charge of her existence.

  He let out a sigh and reached down and wrapped his hand around her uninjured arm, hauling her to her feet. The agony was a white-hot searing pain all through her and tears rolled down her cheeks as she fought to keep her balance.

  Forcing herself to meet his eyes, she plastered a smile on her face, ignoring the blood that dripped off her chin from her split lip.

  “Thank you, Lawrence.” She forced the words out, nearly choking on them in the process. He grunted in response and shoved her hard between the shoulder blades.

  “Let’s go,” he ordered, maneuvering her towards the door. Gwyn truly started to panic then, if he got her out of her house, if he took her from her home—she’d never come back. She knew this was the end of the line for her. She wouldn’t survive being in his possession a second time. She struggled weakly for a few minutes, but it only resulted in him lashing out once more. He pushed the back of her head and she stumbled forward, nearly landing back on the ground.

  “Don’t fucking test me, Gwyn. I should snap your neck right here and just wash my hands of you once and for all. You’re nothing but a pain in the ass. A waste of my time,” he bit out.

  “Just leave me here. Just leave me here and go, Lawrence. You’ve punished me. Prove—proved your point,” she stuttered. Her injuries were starting to settle in and it was difficult to keep herself upright.

  “Yeah, you’d like that wouldn’t you? You’d like me to just leave you here in your fancy fucking house with your new fucking life.” He opened the door and this time he didn’t take the care to not touch her broken arm. Yanking on it, he ignored her shout of pain and pulled her through the doorway. His car was waiting in the driveway and the sight of it had Gwyn springing into action once more. She slipped from h
is grasp and tried to limp back into the house, she had to lock the door. Lock him out. Be safe. Call Brady. Brady…Her thoughts of him were interrupted when Lawrence caught her once more.

  “Are you that fucking stupid that you’d rather die than get your skinny ass in the car?” Lawrence’s breath blew hot in her face as he leaned down, intent on intimidating her into going along with his plans.

  Her life with Brady, the job at the diner that she loved, her hopes for a family flashed before her eyes.

  Looking up at him, Gwyn forced steel into her voice. “Some things are worth dying for.” Lawrence let out a dry chuckle at her attempt at bravery.

  “Well you might just get your fucking wish.” He forced her into the driver’s seat of the car before climbing into the passenger seat. “Drive,” he commanded. “And don’t give me shit about your fucking arm,” he snapped when he saw her mouth open to protest. “It’s your own fault for having shit for brains and going up those damn stairs.”

  Gwyn refused, sitting still and silent. Losing patience, he slammed her face down into the steering wheel. Her face landed against it in a sickening crunch, her forehead aching instantly. Completely dazed, she lifted her head and let it lag to one side. She wheezed and brought her good arm up to prod her face. Was her nose broken? She didn’t think so but it was hard to tell through the pain.

  “Dumb fucking cunt.” He turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. “You have no idea what hell is coming for you here. You’re lucky I’m taking pity on you and allowing you to come with me. Once Mila gets finished with this fucking shithole, Durham Heights will be nothing. Blown off the map. Let’s see how fancy your new life is when it’s been turned into nothing but a pile of dust.”

  “Mila…” she repeated, shocked. “You know her?”

  “Don’t fucking ask questions. Just drive.” Left with no choice, Gwyn obeyed, cringing when she moved her arm the wrong way.

  “Where?” she rasped, breathing through the pain.