Darkness Follows

by J. L. Drake

  He spun me around. “Jenny, I’m glad you called me, and you were right. Hmm, I think about seven pounds too.” I looked down at myself. I didn’t think I’d lost that much. “No worries, the dress will be just fine. I have time to make some adjustments.”

  “Oh thank God,” Mom sighed. I rolled my eyes. My mother was so over the top with me being perfect that I wanted to show up in a burlap sack just to see her face drop. But I was also representing my father by being there, and I’d never do anything I knew he would have disapproved of. I still liked to please him, even though he wasn’t there anymore.

  “Emily?” My mother’s voice pulled me out of my daze. “Have you found a date yet?”

  Shit. “Um, no,” I muttered and thought of Seth. I only wanted to go with him.

  “Typical.” She sat down on my bed and fixed her shirt so it lay perfectly in place. “I figured as much, so I called a friend.”

  “A friend?” Marc ran his fingers down my hair as he thought of ideas.

  “Yes, my friend, Doug, has a son about your age.” She looked at me “He’s very handsome, and you will make a lovely couple in the photographs. He’s firefighter.” She winked at Marc.

  “Great,” I said flatly. I was sure a ton of security had been hired to be there. Seth had probably already made some calls too.

  Garrett walked by and peeked in. “Garrett!” I shouted out. He stopped and held onto the door frame. “You got plans tonight?” I gave him a helpless look.

  “Ha! Sorry, Em, your mom already asked me, but I’m on duty tonight.” He grinned widely at me. He enjoyed this.

  “Fine.” I focused my attention back to Marc. “So, my dress?”

  He flashed a glamorous smile at me, showing off his beautiful white teeth. “You shall knock ’em dead!”

  After three hours of pampering from Marc’s girls, everything that could be waxed and plucked was removed. A ton of aloe rubbed into me, I was slick as a Popsicle, and I felt wonderful. My nails were painted and my makeup flawless. The girls worked around the scar on my leg and never mentioned it; however, I did see one of them eye Marc once. He clucked his tongue.

  “Here, drink this.” He handed me a small teacup with some funny looking herbs resting at the bottom.

  “What is it?” My nose wrinkled. It smelled funny.

  “Trust me, you need it.”

  Marc had never steered me wrong, so I slowly sipped the hot tea. It tasted like you just dragged your tongue along the forest floor…Arggh…but after a few minutes I felt more alert and energized.

  “Hell, I gotta get some of this.” I smiled and took another sip. Marc rolled my hair in large curlers and sprayed on a half a ton of hairspray.

  “If you ate more, you’d feel better.” He gave me a look. Obviously, he didn’t buy the flu story.

  “Just been stressed. I lose my appetite when I am. I find it hard to stomach food.”

  “Close your eyes,” Marc said as he applied some more hairspray. “Well, I’m sure your mother showing up isn’t helping.”

  Marc, like few people, was very much aware of what my mother had been like over the years.

  “Yeah, that was a blast having a mother-daughter reunion at my college pub.”

  Marc let out a laugh. “Oh God, she didn’t.”

  “Oh yes, she did. I loved the part where she acted like she owned the place, snapping her fingers at the waitress.” I shook my head. “I just need to get through tonight.”

  “Well, when I’m done with you, you’re going to look fabulous. Oh, and those sexy muscles downstairs are going to wish they were escorting you to the gala, but, sadly for them, you get to hang off a fireman’s arm.” He paused. “Yup, I’m officially jealous.”

  “What?” I laughed. “You’re one to talk. Your lover is hot.”

  He shrugged. “That he is. However there’s something to be said for a man in a uniform.”

  I laughed. “Fifth and Charles Street. They have a great costume shop.”

  He leaned back and let out the loudest laugh. He had to brace himself against my desk to stop from falling. “I did not expect you to say that.” He wiped a tear away. “I know what he’s getting for Christmas.”

  There was a knock on the door. “Marc, are you almost finished with her?” Mom called out. Immediately, the light mood was sucked out of the room. “Ethan should be here soon, and the limo will be arriving in thirty minutes.”

  “Almost, Jenny, give me fifteen.” He glanced at me with a playful smile.

  He touched up my makeup and pulled out a long, black garment bag that he had hung in my closet. I felt like a kid at Christmas. Oh, how I loved clothes. He pulled out a stunning gold silk dress. I undid my robe and stepped carefully into it. Marc pulled it up over my waist and then made me lean forward slightly so he could get the halter over my curlers. The dress hung perfectly off my curves—not that I was overly curvy. The front swooped down to show off the perfect amount of cleavage.

  “Take your bra off.” He nodded at the dress. I undid it and tossed it on the bed. The bust area had a built in booster bra, which made my breasts look better than the push-up bra did.

  I smiled. “Impressive.”

  The back was completely gone and swooped down the same way it did in the front but stopped just above my behind. He pulled out a small strand of silver set with diamonds that had tiny clips on each end. He fastened them across the mid-section of my back to hold the dress in place. It was a stunning look with an even better purpose.

  “Now, la pièce de la résistance for the gown.” He hooked one finger into the dress and tugged at the front and revealed a huge slit that followed my left leg and stopped right before my pelvic bone. I hadn’t even noticed it because of the way the gown fell. I was thankful it wasn’t the leg with the scar. His eyes sparkled. “A sexy little touch, should you wish to use it, or not.”

  He let my hair fall in massive curls and pinned it up on one side. It looked sexy but elegant, just like the dress. He slipped on my heels and handed me a clutch that matched. “Promise me, Emily, you’ll have some fun tonight. Work that dress, sweetie. You owe it to that body of yours.”

  I tossed my arms around him. “Thank you, Marc. You are as wonderful as always.”

  “My pleasure, Emily. You know I love you.” He gave me a look. “I’m always here for you, any time.”

  “I know.”

  I took a deep breath and headed down the stairs.

  Garrett and Seth were deep in conversation. Garrett looked up and did a double take.

  “Seth,” he whispered. Seth looked up. His eyes locked with mine and then traveled down my body. Garrett stood up just as I stepped off the last stair. “Wow, you look…wow!”

  I smiled. “Thanks.” Garrett took my hand and spun me around slowly. He looked back at Seth, who stared too.

  “Where’s the rest of the dress?” Garrett pointed at my back.

  I rolled my eyes. “Hey, Mom bought it, not me.”

  The doorbell rang. Oh God, I wasn’t ready for this.

  Seth came closer. His eyes were dark. I knew that look. He was suddenly possessive of me, but I pretended not to notice.

  “I’m coming!” My mother burst through the kitchen door. “Emily, you look lovely. God, I have good taste. Go in the living room. You don’t want to look needy, dear.”

  “Mother!” I snapped as I moved past Garrett. Christ, the stuff that came out of her mouth!

  Seth stepped in front of me and made my heart flutter. He reached up and gently touched my cheek with the backs of his fingers. I closed my eyes and controlled my emotions.

  “Emily,” he whispered. My whole body hummed when he spoke.

  “Ethan, please come in.” My mother linked arms with him and pulled him toward me.

  Seth closed his eyes and took a step to one side.

  My mother beamed. “Emily, this is Ethan.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said sweetly, but I snuck a quick glance at Seth, who still had his eyes on me.


  “Emily.” He leaned in and kissed my hand. Well, I had to give my mother credit. He was one hot man. He screamed fireman in every sense of the word. He was tall and built with short black hair.

  “Gary will be here any moment, and then the two limos will arrive,” Mother directed. “Emily, listen for the doorbell.”

  “Okay…wait, who’s Gary?” I asked, confused. This was the first time she mentioned a man’s name in…well, maybe forever. Mom never dated, just hawked and shamelessly flirted.

  “My date, dear. You’re not the only one showing up with a hot piece of something.” She winked at Ethan.

  “My God, Mother,” I muttered under my breath as she went upstairs.

  And then there were three. Oh, how the tension built in the room. Finally Garrett moved beside me. “Hi, Ethan. I’m Garrett, and this is my partner, Seth.”

  Ethan smiled a little. “Oh, hi.”

  “Partners, as in police officers.” I corrected his thought.

  He abruptly changed his expression and nodded. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.” He pointed to Seth. “I feel like I saw you at the hospital. Where that whole case with the missing girl and Jimmy Lasko went down?”

  I reached out for Garrett. He wrapped an arm around my back. This was not what I wanted to discuss tonight.

  “Yeah, that was me,” Seth said, his eyes still burning into me and heightening my senses.

  “Did they ever say if the girl was all right? The media is keeping a pretty tight lid on it.”

  Seth cleared his throat. “Yeah, she’s fine.”

  “Just breathe, Em,” Garrett whispered. I let my body relax slightly.

  “Good to hear, sounded like he was surely going to kill—” The doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it,” Seth muttered, turning toward the door, finally drawing his gaze somewhere else and freeing me from his hold.

  “Hello.” Gary stepped in and shook Seth’s hand. “I’m here for Jenny.”

  The lean, silver-haired man dressed in a black tux came into the living room. He introduced himself, and we all waited for my mother to come down. No doubt she was at the top of the stairs counting to sixty to make him wait the appropriate amount of time. Mom had rules for everything.

  Ethan moved to my side. “That’s a beautiful dress.”

  “Yes, it is,” Seth added. He didn’t miss a beat. I looked at him, confused by his sudden flattery. You think I look nice, but you hardly talk to me or touch me. Hello, I’m your girlfriend. Or am I? Maybe he didn’t want this anymore. My head hurt.

  “Could you excuse me for a moment, Ethan?” I walked into the kitchen. I needed a breather.

  “Oh God, that dress is low in the back,” I heard Ethan say as I pushed open the kitchen door. “Gonna be an interesting night.”

  I leaned against the counter and embraced the cool tile and took a few deep breaths. Just a few more hours, then I could escape to my room and hide out a little longer.

  “Emily,” Seth said quietly behind me. I hated how my body reacted to him. My skin tingled and slowly awakened. “You need to be careful tonight.” And every time he killed my high and my heart stung a little more.

  I turned to face him, my anger sitting heavy on my chest. “Careful with the possibility of Lasko showing up, or careful with Ethan?” I shot back at him.

  Seth’s face hardened. “Both.”

  I shook my head and went to move past him. He stepped in my way. “Hey, I’m sorry,” he whispered. He reached out to touch my shoulders but stopped himself.

  “For what?”

  “For not going tonight. I really can’t, Em. Something came up.”

  I laughed slightly. “Well, don’t sweat it. At least I won’t be alone.”

  “What does that mean?”

  I stepped back. “I have to go.” I strode past him to the door. I felt my walls crumble around me. I stopped then and put my hand on the door frame, keeping my back to him. “You were the reason why I made it out of that basement, nobody else but you.”

  “Em, I’m—” he murmured.

  I pushed open the door and left.

  ***

  Seth

  I waited until I heard everyone leave. Then I found Garrett opening his garment bag. “Okay, so Riggs and Campbell should be here any moment, and Johnnie will meet us there. We’ll want to blend in and try not to let her spot us.”

  “All right.” Garrett buttoned up his white dress shirt. “You sure your head’s in the game for this, after—” I shot him a look. “Okay, okay, any word on any communication with Johnnie since he got that letter yesterday?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t get it, why Johnnie? Why send it to him? It’s always been through us.”

  “I’ve been asking myself that all day.”

  “You think Lasko will show?”

  I stared into the mirror as I fumbled with my bow tie. “Every time we’ve gotten a letter or a text from him, he’s always followed through. I think he’ll show, and when he does, we’ll be ready.” I pulled on my shoulder holster, and then slipped my jacket on over the top.

  “Em looked really pretty tonight, hey?” Garrett eyed me as he fastened his belt.

  I sighed and decided to go with the truth. “She looked beautiful. It was damn hard letting her walk out the door with someone else.”

  “He’s clean,” Garrett assured me. I knew he’d do a background check; we did one on everyone we surrounded ourselves with. We had a good reputation and we wanted to keep it that way. “I’m sure she’ll understand why you couldn’t go tonight.” Garrett opened the door and let Riggs and Campbell in.

  “Let’s hope.”

  ***

  Emily

  I felt like I was blind from all the camera flashes. Lord, wasn’t there anything else going on in the city? I made sure to stop for as many as possible so Marc would be proud of his work. I even dropped his name several times and hoped he’d be mentioned. Ethan was a great escort; he never complained once. He kept his right hand pressed gently into my lower back and smiled and did the occasional wave.

  A waiter walked by with a tray full of champagne. I reached for two and handed Ethan one.

  “You read my mind.” He tapped his glass to mine. “Cheers.”

  “Cheers.”

  The ballroom was massive, with gold diamond chandeliers casting a soft glow, with mini ones that matched running along the wall. A hundred tables covered in black linen staggered all the way up to the dance floor. Tall, rectangular glass vases with a single lily submerged under water sat in groups of three at different heights. Tiny white candles floated on top and made the white pebbles on the bottom sparkle.

  These events always seemed to outdo the last. I spotted my mother introducing Gary to some friends. I threaded my arm through Ethan’s and muttered an apology for my mother’s inevitable bluntness.

  We made our way to our table and listened to some very long speeches, and one of them was my mother’s. Dinner finally arrived, and we were all able to relax a little. Even my mother seemed to be a little less wound up than she had been earlier.

  An attractive couple started to play some light jazz as we were served crème brûlée and fresh raspberries with a tiny wedge of dark chocolate nuzzled in the middle.

  Conversation spread around the table, mainly about my mother and her work over in Africa. Gary seemed to be quite fond of her. A few times I caught him rubbing her leg or brushing her hair back from her neck. I couldn’t get a good read on him—something about him made me uncomfortable. My mother certainly didn’t seem to mind. She grinned from ear to ear.

  After a few bites of dessert, I pushed it aside; I wasn’t hungry. I caught my mother eyeing my plate, but Gary distracted her as he poured her another glass of white wine. Her flushed cheeks gave away how many she’d had. Though it didn’t help that Gary’s hand was permanently stuck to her upper thigh.

  Shortly after the tables were cleared, the Willow Band set up and people began to dance.

/>   Ethan was with some family friends, and I lost track of my mother. I didn’t even want to think about what she was up to with Mr. Busy Hands.

  The stem of my glass twisted between my fingers as I looked around at everyone. I couldn’t imagine the amount of money that went into this party. It always amazed me how they could come out on top with a charity like this.

  “Emily?” I turned to see a man who looked extremely familiar. He smiled. “I’m guessing that’s a yes.” He pointed to Ethan’s chair. “May I?”

  I nodded, still thrown by his looks. He undid a button on his jacket and leaned one arm on the table. His cufflinks caught my eye. The letters NC were engraved on them.

  He smile grew when he caught my gaze. A moment passed, and I started to feel strangely shy.

  “Forgive my stare,” he said. “I’ve just heard a lot about you, and I’m pleased to finally meet you in person. I work for San Francisco Police Department.”

  My face dropped and my heart started to race.

  “Oh.” I was confused. Why was he in Pasadena? “You are a long way from home. What can I do for you, officer?”

  “I wanted to meet you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  He leaned in and rested his weight on his arm. “You are beautiful.”

  I bent my head down. I didn’t want a compliment. Who is this guy?

  His hand gently lifted my chin and tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear. I flinched but didn’t pull away. I didn’t know why I let him touch me so intimately, except that he seemed so familiar. “You really are.”

  “Nicholas.”

  My head shot up, and I saw Seth next to me. He was in a jet black tux. His body was tense, and his jaw was clenched. I looked from one to the other.

  “Seth,” Nicholas addressed him as he leaned back in his chair and looked relaxed. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

  I stood and pushed my chair out of my way. “You two know each other?”

  “He’s my brother,” Seth hissed. I shook my head and tried to let the words sink in. Seth had never mentioned to me that he had a brother. Holy shit! Then I saw the family resemblance. Jesus, it was uncanny.