Darkness Follows

by J. L. Drake

  Erin and Alex were sitting at our table, and Ronnie the bartender was already nodding as I came through the door, knowing I’d want my normal four o’clock drink and snack. I come here too much, I laughed to myself.

  I stole a fry from Erin before she started in on her normal banter. “How was the sexy professor’s class this afternoon? Who done it today? Mr. Green in the library?”

  “Nope,” Scott quickly thanked Ronnie for his beer, “today we learned what makes people kill.”

  “Oh.” Erin’s face scrunched up, looking disinterested.

  Alex piped up. “So, Scott, what would make you snap? And who would you kill?”

  “Mr. Wittgenstein from last semester. That man nearly killed me from boredom.” He made the table laugh. He was so quick to lighten the mood.

  “Are the guys joining us?” Erin asked. She saw me checking my phone. Sadly, it was still a habit, thinking I should check in a few times a day. Seth wanted me to, but since there was really no reason to, I’d been trying to pull back. I needed to remember that everything was fine.

  My phone rang, and it was him. I held up a finger to Erin while I answered it.

  “Hey,” I smiled like a fool in love, “how are you?”

  “Hey, babe.” He sounded tired. “It’s been a long day. Are you at The Goose?”

  “I am.”

  “Umm, okay, I’ll meet you at home.”

  “Oh.” I felt a pang of disappointment as I headed toward the door for some privacy. “Is everything all right?”

  There was a pause.

  “Yeah, just going to be here for a little longer. I’ll get Johnnie to come to the house and—”

  “No, you won’t, Seth Connors,” I scolded. “I do not need those men babysitting me anymore. I lived on my own in that house for many years without any of you. You know I’ll be fine. Jimmy Lasko is dead, and Hank Wallace is behind bars. I’m not in danger anymore.” I used his work therapist’s words at him, knowing they were true.

  He sighed heavily, but didn’t push it. We went through this same discussion at least twice a week now. He was so damn controlling and protective that he couldn’t let the past go.

  “Fine, I won’t be long, then I’ll work from home.”

  I groaned a little, just wanting him to relax. “Seth, you can’t be with me at all times. Life has thrown us some shit, and we fought through it. Now it’s time to move on and be normal.” I lowered my voice, lacing it with a husky undertone. “I’ll meet you at home later, and if you think you’re going to get any work done, think again.”

  He did his frustrated, sexy growl. “Fine,” he relented, “just text me when you get there.”

  “Only if you say please,” I joked.

  “No.” The phone went dead. A moment later, a text came through.

  Seth: TEXT ME!

  I laughed. Seth would always be Seth. It was simply in his DNA.

  ***

  The ocean was calm, and only a small breeze could be heard through the long palm leaves. The moon was full and hung brightly over the water, casting its endless orange path to nothingness. I loved my home, though to be honest, I wasn’t comfortable on my own yet, but I wouldn’t let Seth know. It would only fuel his fire. So I tried to focus on repairing myself on my own. Therapy was not something I was interested in. It didn’t help when my father died, and it wouldn’t help now. I just tucked everything away neat and tidy inside my head.

  I wove throughout the crosses and spider webs, past the coffins and Dracula, and hit my porch, thinking this would be the last year I gave Pete free rein of my house when I wasn’t home. That man was obsessed with decorating, no matter what holiday. He convinced me to let him do Halloween with no limits, since last year we didn’t even celebrate due to the fact we had just closed the case on Lasko. It was those damn eyes of his; they got me every time.

  I stuck my key in the lock and smiled when I saw he’d set up two pumpkin men sitting on my porch swing. Then I saw it! “Oh my God, Pete!” I gasped, removing one of their hands off the other’s private parts. I did a quick scan and saw all of the decorations were involved in some kind of rude act. “I’m going to kill him!” I hurried over to the orgy of witches, removed Dracula’s blow-up doll, and snatched the Grim Reaper from the moaning ghost. I quickly texted Pete, but rolled my eyes when I saw he’d once again changed his name in my phone.

  Emily: You’re so dead!

  Sensuous Pete: What? My theme was a haunted brothel house.

  Emily: Travis has nephews!

  Sensuous Pete: Who do you think helped?

  Poor Travis. I glanced at his house, seeing he was home. Maybe I should go speak to him.

  Sensuous Pete: You have to admit, Michael Myers is funny!

  I quickly scanned my property, trees, balcony, and roof, then I saw him over in the shadows being bent over and smacked on the ass with a paddle by a drawn-on blow-up doll. Wow, he left nothing to the imagination with his drawings. I jammed the doll into the trash can, not letting on that I could hear her deflating. I’d laugh at the irony of it, but I was too damn embarrassed.

  Emily: I hate you.

  Sensuous Pete: I love you too, love.

  Travis’s kitchen light was on. Better address it now.

  “Knock, knock,” I said through the open patio door a few minutes later. Travis was cooking something that made my stomach grumble.

  He didn’t turn as he told me to come in. “Sorry, my hands are covered in batter. Help yourself to a drink.” He nodded to the open wine bottle on the counter. I poured myself a little, knowing if I didn’t, I’d have to hear about how when he was little, if your company didn’t take the drink, it was a sign of disrespect. “You just get home?”

  “Yes.” I shook my head, almost blushing at what Pete did.

  He smirked. He knew why I was there. “They love him, you know, my nephews.” He started to laugh. “They had a ball.”

  I covered my face with my free hand. “I’m sorry, Pete is a breed all his own.”

  “Emily, the boys are fifteen. Sex is always on their mind. They came up with half of those ideas themselves. Besides, Pete kept them busy while I got some work done.” He washed his hands, after he coated the pork chops. “Now I have the weekend to relax.”

  I laughed through a sigh, moving to look out his grand, open window. A cool late October breeze washed over my face. “Well, thank you for not being upset.” I sipped my wine and watched the water lap at the shore.

  “Seth working?” Travis asked as he came up next to me, leaning on the door frame and watching the specular view.

  “Yes.” I nodded, wishing he wasn’t.

  “You hungry?”

  I smiled and thought how lucky I was to have him as a neighbor. I could have gotten another couple like the Stones; I’d barely even seen their faces. I was sure I ran into them at the supermarket and never knew it was them. I patted my pocket and realized I’d left my phone in my purse on the porch.

  “Thanks, but I should get back.”

  “You know, it’s all right to spend more than fifteen minutes here at time.” He flashed me a smile. Travis really was a good looking man. I wasn’t entirely sure why he was single. Lord knew all of the women in town had tried to make their move, but he didn’t seem to bite. He reminded me of a taller, thicker Jude Law. “What are you thinking about?” He pulled me from my thoughts. I guessed I was staring.

  “Sorry, I just realized who you remind me of.”

  “Oh? Enlighten me, please.”

  “You ever see Sherlock Holmes, the newest one?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Jude Law, right? I get that a lot.” He studied me for a second. “I used the English accent once to get a girl in bed.” He chuckled into his glass. “Not my finest moment, but the ladies sure love the British.”

  I covered my mouth in fear I might spit my wine out. I wasn’t expecting him to say that. Once I regained my composure, I cleared my throat. “I guess we kind of do.”

  He turned
to look at me better; he used this look on me sometimes. “Look, I know something big happened to you last year. I don’t need to hear the details, but you should know I’m always here. I keep a spare key in the planter by the garage if you don’t want to be home, and I keep the guest room ready for company. This is not me hitting on you, just me being a concerned neighbor and friend. You have a big house, and more than half of it is surrounded by woods. I can imagine as a woman living by herself most of the time, it would get a little scary.”

  It did. “Thanks, Travis, that really means a lot.” I headed back into the kitchen. I went to the sink and washed out my wine glass and dried it, putting it back where I found it. I turned to find him watching me. “What?”

  He shook his head like he was debating telling me. “You want to me walk you back?”

  “No, I’m all right. Thanks for the talk.”

  “Anytime.”

  I needed to stop wearing heels when I decided to visit Travis. The woods were taking a toll on them—and my ankles. I followed the glow of my house where it peeked through the thick branches. I really should have taken the road. A snap from a twig behind me made my spine stiffen. I turned to try to see around me, but it was pretty dark. I squeezed my eyes shut at the sound of another snap. “Stop,” I whispered, forcing the images back.

  “Emily?” His voice cut through my fear. “Speak so I can get to you.”

  It took me a moment to find my voice. “I’m here…you’re close.” His huge body stepped in front of me. He reminded me of a panther sometimes, like he could just pounce from a treetop without even a sound. “You scared the hell out of me, Avery.”

  “Sorry.” He looked above my head. “Just saw someone walking through the woods and thought I better see who the mystery guest was. Didn’t think it was the host returning from…Travis’s.”

  I rolled my eyes, hating that all the guys disliked him. They didn’t see he was only trying to be a friend. I moved around him, only to have his hand grip my upper arm, helping me through the heavy brush. Once we hit my lawn, he let go.

  “You looking for the guys?” I asked, sitting down on the porch steps to remove the dirt from my shoes.

  He took a seat next to me. “No, just didn’t want to go home, I guess.” He glanced at me. “I’m guessing you didn’t want to either?”

  “I had other reasons for not staying home tonight.” I leaned back and stared at the clear sky. “Has the sergeant assigned you a new partner since the last one didn’t work out?” Poor Avery lost Matthews last year, then his last partner decided to transfer back to Arizona for some unknown reason.

  “Yeah,” he dug his sneaker into the dirt, “actually, Riley.”

  “Seriously?” I was thrilled to hear this! Riley was thinking of going back to San Francisco, but I guessed he’d changed his mind. “Are you all right with that?”

  Avery shrugged. “Could be worse. They could have given me Davis.” He smirked at me, knowing my weak spot for the little charmer.

  “As someone who spent a load of time with Riley, I’ll tell you he’s good people.”

  Headlights blinded us momentarily, and I saw spots. A slam of the door and heavy footsteps made Avery mutter that I was in trouble.

  Seth dropped his bag near my feet, and I noticed the bandage above his eye. I jumped to my feet, but he stepped back when I reached out to touch him. I saw he had a small limp too.

  “What happened?” I pulled up his shorts and discovered a large white bandage wrapped around his knee. “What happened?” I asked again, but directed at Avery, since Seth was not speaking.

  “Flakka battle.” Avery shrugged at Seth. “You know she won’t stop until you tell her.”

  My hand flew to my stomach. “Flakka, as in the drug that makes you invincible?”

  Avery nodded. “That be it.”

  “Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Seth asked, not listening to us.

  I shook my head and tried to catch up with the two of them. Flakka? Holy shit! “I had to go deal with something.”

  “Which was?”

  “Are you hurt anywhere else? What happened to your knee?”

  Avery gave a heavy sigh. “As much as I do enjoy watching the two most stubborn people butt heads, I can’t do it tonight. Seth got lured into an attack.” He pointed to Seth’s knee. “Bullet grazed his muscle, and he’s off for a week, but he’ll be fine.” Seth hissed something, but it didn’t stop him. “She was at Travis’s, don’t know why. I found her on her way back home and helped her through the woods.”

  “Avery!” I yelped, wanting to kick his ass for mentioning I was in the woods. The one place Seth couldn’t handle, since that’s where I was taken from him. “Really?”

  He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m just speeding things up.”

  “Avery, could you give us a moment?” Seth flicked his head toward the door where my keys were dangling from the lock.

  “I think I’m going to go.” Avery turned toward his car. “I know how your bickering ends.”

  Seth started up the stairs slowly. I wanted to help, but also wanted to play catch-up with what I just heard. Gunshot to the leg? Really? I sank back down and let my bottom hit the wooden step hard.

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank you to:

  Sergeant Che Chonnolly Heron

  XL and Lauren Schöenherr

  Adam Treat

  About the Author

  J. L. Drake was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, later moving to Southern California where she now lives with her husband and two children.

  When she is not writing she loves to spend time with her family, travelling or just enjoying a night at home. One thing you might notice in her books is her love of the four seasons. Growing up on the east coast of Canada the change in the seasons is in her blood and is often mentioned in her writing.

  An avid reader of James Patterson, J.L. Drake has often found herself inspired by his many stories of mystery and intrigue. She hopes you will enjoy her books as much as she has enjoyed writing them.

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