Deep in Your Shadows

by Darien Cox

“That’s great, Christian. That’s just fucking great. Not a care in the world, have you?”

  “Hey! I took one night off. One fucking night.” He glanced over his shoulder, then turned and pointed at Elliot. “This better be important.”

  “Important?” Elliot laughed. “You even have to ask with all the shit going on? We need to talk privately. This is your job, for Christ sakes!”

  “Don’t pull that shit on me, I’ve been living that shit and haven’t gotten a break from it in months. Myles is here.”

  Elliot rolled his eyes. “I know that, I can see his car sitting there. Get rid of him.”

  Christian crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Why should I?”

  “Why should you?”

  “Did they move the thing yet?”

  “Not out of the marina,” Elliot whispered. “But they’ve moved it onto that transport house that showed up yesterday. The place is crawling with Captain Smiley’s creepy engineers, and they’re already constructing the containment. They’ve had Nolan helping them out, and he has some concerns. We figured you’d want to be clued in.”

  “That’s it? Nolan has concerns. Concerns that couldn’t wait until...” Christian looked up at the sky. “At least slightly after sunrise?” He leaned in to Elliot’s face. “Until I have a chance to take a piss and have a cup of coffee and maybe say goodbye to my lover?”

  “I’m so happy you spent the night playing naked cops and robbers, but some of us didn’t sleep so well. JT is over at Nolan’s right now, and he didn’t start whining that he had to pull his cock out of Rudy’s ass and do his job.”

  “Jesus Christ.” Christian closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “I thought we were all gonna meet for lunch today. Lunch is good. Lunch is the perfect time for a briefing because it’s after fucking dawn!”

  Elliot stared at him, huffing. “Right, Christian. Because what’s a few hours when you’ve been trapped in a tin can for days and are likely suffocating. Have you forgotten? Because they’re dying while you’re worried you might have to miss morning sex. And if they fuck up that containment, people are probably going to die. Real, human people. People we know. I have no great love for some of them, but I care enough about them dying to not have slept all night! What is wrong with you? Don’t you care?”

  “Keep your voice down! That is not fair, saying that shit, Elliot. There’s nothing we can do now, it’s been taken out of our hands. Just because I slept well doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

  “May I remind you that building that fucking thing was your idea, and if it fucks up—”

  “If it fucks up I’ll remind Captain Smiley that it was JT’s idea.” Christian smirked. “If it works? Then, it was my idea.”

  “You think this is a joke? You picked a hell of a time to check out. You can play house with the sheriff another time. We need you right now!”

  “Good morning.” They both turned at the sound of Myles’ voice. Myles stepped into the foyer, barefoot and shirtless in jeans, holding his tee shirt.

  Elliot stared at Myles. “Sheriff. You’re looking...bare.”

  Myles tugged his tee shirt on over his head. “Is there a problem?”

  “No problem,” Elliot said, then leaned in to Christian. “Need to speak with you privately!”

  “I can hear you.” Myles smiled coldly. “Even when you whisper!” he said in a hushed voice.

  “I need to speak with Christian about something, I’m sorry to intrude. I’m sure you have to get to work, anyway, Sheriff,” Elliot said. “And likely...take a shower. You both smell like vodka and sex.”

  “Elliot!” Christian wanted to throttle him.

  Myles laughed, but his posture was stiff. “I’m always at work, Elliot. Like now, for instance. What were you saying about someone suffocating? About people dying?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Elliot said. He kept his expression blank, but Christian knew him well enough to note the alarm in his eyes.

  “Sure you did,” Myles said. “They’re dying, you said. Then you said people are probably going to die. Who were you referring to, Elliot?”

  “Some fish,” Elliot said. “Not people. Just a problem at the marina, Sheriff. Nothing to be concerned about.”

  “Myles,” Christian said. “It’s fine. I just need to talk to Elliot for a minute.”

  “Didn’t sound fine, based on what I could hear from the bedroom,” Myles said. “You left the bedroom window open, Christian. Sound travels. Didn’t sound like you were talking about fish.”

  The sexy, passionate Myles who’d spent the night in Christian’s bed was gone. In his place stood Sheriff Murphy, eyes hard, hands on his hips, shoulders back, and Christian knew they were about to have a problem. Myles stared hard at Elliot.

  “I...” Elliot frowned at Myles, then turned to Christian, hissing, “Would you deal with this please?”

  “Yes, Christian,” Myles said. “Deal with me. It’s not like I’m the sheriff in this village. I’m just someone to be dealt with. Kept quiet. Out of your business.” He looked Elliot up and down. “Out of both of your business, apparently.”

  Elliot swallowed hard, tightening his lips. He gave Christian a hard look. “Sorry about this.”

  “I’ll meet you over there,” Christian said to Elliot. “Please, just go?”

  “Yes, go, Elliot,” Myles said. “So Christian can ah...deal with me.”

  Christian closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. Fuck.

  Elliot left quickly. Christian closed the door. He kept his back to Myles for a moment, not ready to face him.

  “What’s going on, Christian?”

  Christian turned around. “I’m sorry about this.”

  Myles stepped closer. “And what is this?”

  “Myles...look, it—”

  “If you say it’s none of my concern, I’m going to punch you in the face.”

  Christian went silent. Myles’ jaw was tight with anger.

  “Who’s suffocating? Who’s going to die?”

  “Elliot was speaking about fish getting caught in some nets one of my customers left in the water.”

  “I see.” Myles turned away and paced a circle. “And do you and your friends always refer to lunch dates as ‘a briefing’?”

  Christian could come up with nothing in response to that. He hated lying to Myles. It was painful enough just having to withhold information from him, and he’d even been honest about that.

  “Elliot is involved in a project I’m working on. It’s nothing to be alarmed about.”

  “And JT?”

  Christian flinched. “What about JT?”

  “I heard his name mentioned as well. JT didn’t start whining that he had to pull his cock out of Rudy’s ass and do his job. His job. I heard that part clearly.”

  “I thought you were sleeping,” Christian said, as though that simple statement would do anything to avert this disaster.

  “I’m sure as hell awake now. Awake enough to know you’re lying to my face. And that you’ve been lying to me all along. No danger to the village, huh? No one getting hurt? Who’s dying, Christian?”

  “It’s...nothing. I swear. You don’t need to worry.”

  Myles eyebrows rose. “I’m not an idiot, though you don’t mind treating me like one.”

  “What about all your declarations last night?” Christian said. “That you don’t need to know everything about me. That you have feelings for me, that you’ve determined to focus on that and stop trying to dig into my other business?”

  “That was before I overheard you and your friend discussing someone potentially dying. I get that you have a secretive job. But I can’t erase what I heard.”

  “I told you if there was any danger to the village I’d let you know. You said you’d stop digging.”

  “Yeah, I said I’d stop digging. Because I naively chose to believe that whatever shit you’re wrapped up in isn’t getting anyone hurt. Your pal Elliot’s visit this morning contradicts that. So tell me wha
t the fuck is going on.”

  Christian’s heart hammered in his chest. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

  Myles nodded. “Well at least that’s the truth.” He turned away and disappeared into the bedroom, returning with his shoes on.

  “You’re just gonna leave, all pissed off like this?” Christian said. “Can you at least stay for a cup of coffee so we can talk?”

  Myles tied his shoes quickly. “Talk? You don’t talk to me, Christian. You deflect. You manipulate. You handle me. And I can’t do it. It’s not how I’m wired. I tried, for you. I really tried. But I can’t. So until your definition of ‘talk’ changes, I can’t do this with you anymore.”

  “Don’t walk out on me! I tried to walk out on you the other night and you stopped me.”

  Myles paused and looked at Christian expectantly. “Then you’re ready to explain what Elliot was really talking about?”

  “I can’t.”

  Myles nodded, looking sad. “Then I can’t do this.”

  Then he left, slamming the door behind him.

  Christian went to the door and watched him get in his car and tear out of the driveway. He shook his head. “Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Cunt. Fuck!”

  He ran to the rear of his house and got his phone from the screened-in porch, then carried it to the kitchen before downing a glass of water. He simply stared at his phone for a long moment, rubbing his chin. His heart was breaking. Shattering into a million pieces. He was ashamed of lying to Myles, it didn’t matter that it was his job. It still felt like shit. And he was ashamed of his own selfishness.

  Myles wasn’t the only one acting out a fantasy last night. Christian was trying to pretend he could have something real. That he could ignore his responsibilities and try normal on for size. A quiet date night. Sex. Declarations of feelings. Hope. But Myles was right regarding what he’d said to Christian the other night. Christian had dragged Myles into the dark and left him there to stumble around.

  But Elliot had just thrown open the door and inadvertently let some light in, casting more shadows of doubt in Myles’ mind. And Myles didn’t like shadows. He’d no doubt seek to cast more light on them. He’d no doubt start sniffing around again, asking questions, likely more aggressively now. So on par with losing Myles was the fact that Ogden was probably going to kill Christian.

  He ignored all of Elliot’s messages, and dialed Ogden instead.

  “Christian. What’s up?”

  “Are you still at the marina?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Is the entrance secure?”

  “Yes. It’s blocked to the public, but you and the team can come down of course. Why?”

  Christian punched his fist down on the counter. “There’s a potential problem.”

  “We have a lot of problems, Christian. Please be specific.”

  “Remember when I said I could handle Sheriff Murphy?”

  Ogden went silent for a beat. “Yes.”

  “Well, I kind of fucked it up. With the help of Elliot.”

  “Come to the marina, Christian. Bring Elliot.”

  “Okay. Be there soon.”

  ****

  “I told you before. Size doesn’t matter. Neither does thickness.”

  JT’s statement was met with moody silence. Except for Elliot, who snorted. “Really? No one’s gonna make a sexual innuendo?”

  “We’re not in the mood,” Nolan grumbled.

  The four of them sat at Nolan’s house. Christian and Elliot had gone by the marina. He’d gotten to see everything happening there. His boathouse was now empty again. The craft had been moved to the shell of a small house on a flatbed truck, and the containment apparatus was being built around it inside, where ultimately it would be transported to wherever the hell Ogden and Wiley planned to take it. There were cranes and equipment and dozens of unfamiliar people running around.

  Christian had been briefly allowed to see the progress as the engineers scurried about the craft, which was surrounded on three sides now by thin, gray, metallic material, still open in the front and uncovered on top. Nolan had been concerned about the thin, flimsy appearance of the containment apparatus. But JT insisted that if the material had originally come from the Greys, it was a lot tougher than it looked.

  “You shouldn’t be agonizing about it anyway, Nolan,” JT said. “Christian and I pitched the idea. If it fucks up, it’s on us.”

  “That’s not true,” Elliot said. “I’m sure the concept was run by a lot of other brains before it was approved, it’s not on you guys if something...goes wrong.”

  “If it was run by other brains, it happened damn fast,” Nolan said. “Anyway, I’m skeptical there’s still anything alive inside that thing to cause any danger. We tried to communicate with knocks twice more, and there’s been no response from inside. Not a sound.”

  “Christian, you should eat something,” JT said.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Have you eaten anything today? I know your face, you get dark circles under your eyes when you don’t eat. Your metabolism is too fast to starve yourself.”

  “I’m not hungry, JT.”

  “He’s upset because Ogden didn’t yell at us,” Elliot said. “About the sheriff.”

  “Hang on,” Nolan said. “You’re upset because he didn’t yell at you?”

  They’d all been brought up to speed on what happened early that morning when Elliot showed up at Christian’s. But Christian was less concerned about Myles getting nosy, and more devastated that he’d walked out. And just like that, Christian had lost him. He could feel it, an aching hole inside.

  “We explained what happened,” Elliot said. “What the sheriff overheard. What he said in response. We waited for Ogden to explode, but he just got real quiet, and said ‘Don’t worry about it.’”

  “He does have other things on his mind,” Nolan said.

  “Plus the sheriff, and his deputy, Darwyn, have been busy with other problems all day,” Elliot said.

  “Yeah.” Christian huffed. “Which you know because of your spying on him.”

  “It’s not my choice, Christian,” Elliot said. “Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ogden created some of said problems to keep Myles busy while they finish their work. That old, abandoned cottage at Breakneck Point collapsing after all these years? And a robbery at Pickston’s Diner? Give me a break. We don’t have crime like that in Singing Bear Village.”

  “No one got hurt,” JT said. “I talked to the owner.”

  “Of course no one got hurt,” Elliot said. “Because it was a set up.”

  “Stop,” Christian said. “Just stop. I’ve got too much paranoia in my brain right now, I can’t fit any more in. When will the containment be done so they can move those cranes and...fucking everything out of my marina?”

  “At the pace they’re going, they’ll probably push out tonight.” Nolan glanced around. “Don’t you think we should be there?”

  Christian scowled. “Where? At the marina? We’ll just get in the way. Ogden basically told us all to fuck off.”

  “I mean we should be on the road with them when they transport it. In case something happens.”

  “What the fuck are we gonna do if the angry nasties tear through the containment and start taking out Ogden’s soldiers?” Christian said. “Think them to death? Have Elliot make jokes at them? I don’t care what happens once it leaves the marina. Good riddance.”

  “Christian!” JT stood and walked over to the couch where Christian sat. “What do you mean you don’t care? Someone could get hurt.”

  “I’m sorry. Forget I said that. I’m just...sick of everything.”

  “Get over it,” Nolan said.

  “Fuck you!” Christian looked up at Nolan.

  “You’re lashing out because you’re sulking about your sheriff boyfriend.”

  “So what? It’s none of your business, Nolan.”

  “It’s my business when you stop giving a shit about the work, and whether or not people c
ould get hurt. All because your boyfriend walked out. You’ve only been seeing him a couple weeks. Shit ends. Sometimes it ends before it even gets started. That’s life.”

  “Oh, project much?” Christian said.

  “I’m not projecting anything,” Nolan said.

  “Your little fling with Michelle ended. So everyone else should just give up.”

  “This isn’t about Michelle!”

  “Right.”

  “I kept working through my heartbreak. You should be able to as well.”

  “You know what?” Christian stood. “I don’t care, Nolan. I don’t care that you got your feelings hurt after you fucked your best friend’s wife.”

  “Christian!” JT said.

  Nolan’s brow lowered, and he pointed at Christian. “Brock wasn’t my best friend, Michelle was.”

  “Oh, my mistake,” Christian said. “You fucked your best friend while she was married to my best friend. You didn’t worry about Brock’s feelings. You just did what you wanted. So I don’t care about your so-called heartbreak. And I don’t care what you think of mine. And I don’t fucking care if Ogden and his whole team get fucked in the ass and murdered by angry, nasty, aliens!”

  “Christian,” JT said. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Christian glared at Nolan, who gaped at him. Nolan’s anger had been replaced by stunned silence. “Gladly, JT,” Christian said. “Let’s go for a walk. It fucking stinks in here.”

  Christian and JT left Nolan’s house and headed down onto the beach. They stood by the shore, and Christian waited for a lecture, or some words of wisdom from JT. But JT was silent. Christian turned and looked at him. JT stared out at the lake, his blond hair blowing back from his face, lips pursed. “Well,” Christian said. “You gonna scold me now?”

  JT turned and gathered Christian in his arms, hugging him.

  Christian tensed, then relaxed into him. JT tightened his arms around Christian, sighing.

  “What’s this for?” Christian asked.

  “I thought you could use a hug.”

  Christian’s breath hitched, and he bit back a stress-sob. “I can’t do it anymore,” he mumbled.

  “Yes, you can.”