Buried Secrets (New Adult Dark Suspense Romance) (21 page)

He had a gun in his hand and he had to make a choice. Kill the thing or help Ryan get over the fence. He tried to do both. He aimed, pulling the trigger, and the gun went off. He heard the thing wail. Hit! Its head came up, teeth bared, and then it was gone like a wounded animal, dragging its prey over the crest of the hill.

Ryan called for help, teetering on the fence, and Shane grabbed onto his pant leg, pulling him over. He cried out when his shoulder hit the ground. He rolled several times, coming to a stop near the edge of the road. Shane went to him, making sure he was okay, breathing, nothing broken.

Ryan was fine—physically anyway. But he couldn’t stop shaking, eyes wide and wild. But that was better than the sobs that began a moment later, wracking his whole body. Shane noticed the crotch of Ryan’s jeans were wet, although he would never mention it to him. After what they’d seen, he couldn’t blame him for wetting himself.

“Ryan, stay here,” Shane urged. “Stay in my car. Lock the doors. I’ll be back.”

It took him ten minutes to get Ryan calmed enough he could leave—but by then, all trace of the thing was gone. Even in the moonlight, it would be too hard to track it at night.

It never occurred to him the thing might open the door to a mausoleum and hide inside.

“No.” Tears streamed down Dusty's face when he finished. “No! No!”

Dusty rocked, shaking, arms wrapped around herself, and he reached for her in the darkness.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” she whispered against his chest, letting him rock with her.

He buried his face in her hair. “He didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Too late.” She gave a short, pained laugh.

“And he was scared.” He sighed, kissing the top of her head.

Dusty tried to reconcile what he said with what she knew.

It wasn’t Shane’s fantastical explanation that had caught in her mind. It was Nick’s revelation. Her brother—Nick, the star quarterback—
he was gay?
Even as she wanted to deny it, she knew it was true. She had lived in denial about his feelings for Shane, the way Nick kept them apart, for far too long. She shook her head, not wanting to admit it— he had been afraid to tell her.

“Shane, are you sure… what you saw…?”

“I told you.” He laughed. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“I... well…” Her mind groped for words that made sense. “It’s kind of… strange.”

“Tell me about it.” Shane snorted. “But when you asked me that question—if a person could get sick, like the animals. Well, it sure got my attention.”

Had something, someone, gone rabid out there? Was it—he—still out there? Because it wasn’t the goddamned cougar they caught, or even the sick wolf that had attacked her, who was responsible for her brother’s death.

Dusty stood, arms folded, going to the window and looking out over the lake where the snow blew in a cold early November wind.

“Maybe you just
thought
you saw this... thing?” She looked over her shoulder at him. “It was dark. And you were both probably drunk.”

“Not
that
drunk,” Shane insisted. “I saw what I saw.”

“Why didn't you go to the police?”

“Only you would suggest that.” Shane laughed. “I can see it now. Me, Shane Curtis, little brother of Buddy Curtis, telling the Sheriff I'd seen my best friend eaten up by a monster in the cemetery at midnight. Besides, there was Ryan to consider. He’d been out there with Nick in the middle of the night. You know this town. The rumors would be merciless. He’d be suspect, at the very least. I had to protect him.”

Dusty frowned. “But what about the truth?”

Shane snorted again, smacking his forehead with his palm. “They don't give a damn about truth in this stupid little town. If they did, that thing would be dead by now. The law in Larkspur ignores the truth. Everyone does. They’d rather believe the illusion, the lie. It’s more comforting. Why do you think your brother never told anyone he was gay?”

She turned back toward the window. “I can’t believe...”

What? That her brother had been gay and never told her? That he’d been killed by some… what? The thing she couldn’t believe was she was no closer to the truth about what had taken her brother from her after confronting Shane than she had been before. She had gotten the truth, all right. Plenty of it—but it hadn’t been anything she’d expected.

“This is a very small town, Dusty. You know that as well as I do. They would have arrested me in a heartbeat.”

“You’re no saint, you know—”

“No, I know I'm no saint,” Shane agreed, cutting her off and she could see the anger etched into his face even in the dimness. “But the law in this town is corrupt.”

She remembered the conversation she’d overheard in her father’s office and knew he was right. No one would have believed Shane, even if Ryan had been in any condition to back up his story.

Shane sighed. “Anyway, that's why I didn't go to the cops.”

“What did you do?”

He swallowed, his head down, eyes closed. “I got Ryan calmed down and we went to the Starlite. We didn’t tell them. And of course, they found Nick’s body the next day…”

Dusty stared at him. “So they covered for you?”

“Yeah,” he said bitterly. “They covered for us, said we were there with them all night. Lee covered for me too. The Sheriff even questioned that kid—Sam? I think they were looking for him to slip up, but he didn't. I don’t know why I'm not in the state pen
right now.”

“But my brother… he wasn’t so lucky.”

Shane shook his head. “I knew you wouldn't believe it, but Dusty, I swear to God I'm telling you the truth. Hold that gun to my head again. I’ll tell you the same story.”

Dusty stared out at the moonlight on the lake.

Did she believe him?

…looked like he was inside out the holes where his eyes had been in pieces like he got himself caught up in a meat grinder only thing that I know that can open doors is people shredded pieces the holes pieces his eyes…

“Are you
sure
it wasn't human?” Dusty rubbed her hands over her arms, up and down, trying to chase away the goose bumps.

“I don't know.” He sounded tired and defeated. “I've never seen a human being with claws or teeth like that, but I've never seen an animal that wore three piece suits and walked upright and talked… so you tell me?”

Dusty turned it over in her mind. As incredulous as it was, she knew
he
believed it, and for some reason, it rang true to her.

“Where did it come from?”

But she thought she knew. The puzzle pieces were coming together, slowly, finally.

“I don’t know. All I know is that it kills—and it
eats what it kills.” Shane wiped a hand across his eyes.

Silence. Outside the snow had stopped falling. The wind whipped tree branches against the side of the cabin.

Dusty stared out, her back to Shane. “I’m going to kill it.”

“What?” Shane sat up in the bed.

Dusty turned to face him, arms folded across her chest. “I want to find it and I want to kill it. Like you said, we can't go to the police—so I’m going to have to do it myself.”

“Dusty, it’s too dangerous.” He shook his head. “I’ve tried tracking it. It’s like it disappears. There’s no guarantee we’re going to find it. And I already shot it once—I’m not sure it
can
be killed.”

“I want to try,” she said. “If you won't help me, I'll do it alone.”

“You’re crazy.” Shane stared at her, incredulous. “Besides, maybe it's gone by now. There haven't been any more murders. Maybe it went where the food was better. Or maybe it… hibernates in the winter?”

“Now who wants to believe the lie?” She laughed softly. “The moon’s just past full. That was when the first murder happened. And then Nick and the Summers boy a month later. I think we can find it, if we go out looking. I think it’s going to be… hunting.”

“Smart girl. I think it hunts under a full moon because it can see better. If it’s human, it doesn’t have night vision—not like an animal would.” Shane got up and came over to her, standing close. “You know, we could both end up dead.”

“I have to.” She swallowed and looked out the window, her eyes over bright. “For Nick.”

He touched her cheek, catching a falling tear with his finger. She looked at him, not caring about the tears, letting them fall.

“You sweet girl,” he whispered. “You sweet, stubborn girl. I just have one question. Do you want this? Me and you? Us?”

“Yes,” Dusty said without hesitation, reaching out for him. He held her to him, tight. “Always have. Always. I’m so sorry it took me so long to realize it.”

He took a deep breath and whispered, “Okay, princess. We'll do it.”

“Thank you,” she said against his neck.

“I don't think you're going to be thanking me later,” Shane replied. “Not aft
er you see.”

They stayed that way for a long time, alone in the darkness, taking comfort in the warmth they could find in each other's arms.

✝
Chapter Eightee
n
✝

“You're out of your mind!” Cody exploded, pushing away from the table. “If you think I'm
going out on a manhunt for some—”

“Keep it down,” Dusty hissed, glancing around the Starlite. It was a busy night and she had to get back to work in five minutes.

“Listen to me, Cody,” Shane said in a low voice. “All of you, listen to me.”

They got quiet. Cody sat back down. Nate, who had been leaning against the pool table, took a chair and pulled it up to the table. Ryan sat next to Jake.

“I’m telling you the truth,” Shane said. No one talked or even moved. “If we’re going to kill this thing, we need you guys. We can’t do this alone.” Shane leaned back in his chair, surveying them.

“It's too much, man.” Jake ran a hand over his shaved head. “I'm not a kid anymore, Shane. I stopped believing in the boogeyman a long time ago.”

“I’m telling you the truth,” Shane said again.

“I saw it.” Ryan pushed his glasses up on his nose. “And I don’t want to see it again. But if we do, and I'm not saying we are, but if we
do
go… do we have a plan?”

“If you think I'm going in there without a gun in both hands, you're crazy!” Jake cried.

“Come on, guys,” Shane smirked. “Did you think I wouldn’t bring guns?” He glanced at Dusty and a low communication passed between them—
if guns can kill it.

“Enough for all of us?” Nate asked.

“Plenty,” Shane agreed. “So what do you say? Are you guys in?”

They were silent, the Starlite noisy around them—the clink of glasses and bottles, the low buzz of the T.V., the crack of billiard balls.

“For Nick.” Ryan was the first to speak and his voice was low, pained. “I'm in.”

“Count me in.” Jake grinned. “Who knows, maybe we’ll be heroes?”

“All right, me too.” Cody sounded reluctant and Dusty knew she was thinking about his wife, his son.

They all looked at Nate and he sighed, leaning back in his chair and tucking a long strand of hair behind his ear. “We're probably going to end up spooking at an owl and shooting each other—but, yeah, okay, I'm in.”

Dusty let out a sigh, closing her eyes. She never thought they would do it. She felt a hand in hers and opened her eyes to meet Shane's. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“So when are we doing this thing?” Cody asked. “I'd like to have time to make out my will.”

That broke everybody up. It wasn’t that funny, but it relieved the tension.

“Tomorrow night.” Dusty looked around the table at all of them, wondering if they were doing the right thing. But if they were going to do it, they had to move fast. The moon was waning.

“Enough of this, man, anybody up to a game of pool?” Nate asked. Ryan agreed and Jake went to find a better selection on the juke, at Cody's request.

“Shane, this thing. This… monster?” Cody leaned his elbows on the table. “Are you sure? I mean, are you sure you weren't just hallucinating? You guys were pretty drunk when you showed up here that night.”

“I've never been more sure of anything in my life,” Shane told him, glancing over at Ryan, who just gave a slow nod. He looked terrified. If that wasn’t enough to make someone believe, Dusty didn’t know what would be.

“It’s a little far-fetched, man,” Cody said. “Either it was human or it wasn't. As far as I know, there isn't an in between.”

“I don’t know.” Shane looked between Dusty and Cody, shaking his head. “All I can say is that after you see it,
if
you see it, you can decide for yourself.”

“Jesus.” Cody put his head in his hands. Then he looked up at Dusty. “Do you believe him?”

But Dusty didn’t have to answer.

“Believe him,”
Ryan said, putting a hand on Cody’s arm as he got up, pale and gaunt, heading for the bathroom.

“Duh-Dusty?” Sam poked her shoulder and she jumped. “S- s-sorry, buh-but your b-b-break is over.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Dusty stood. “I'll be there in a minute.”

Shane caught her hand and she looked at him.

“Tonight.” He squeezed her hand.

She nodded and followed Sam, who glanced back to see if she was coming.

“P-p-problems?” Sam asked.

“No,” she said, taking her tray from Lee. “Why do you ask?”

“I huh-huh-heard him s-s-say suh-something about a muh-monster?”

Dusty looked at him, startled. How much had he overheard?

“It wasn’t anything,” she assured him. “Just a private joke.”

It was a lame excuse and she smiled, trying to make it more convincing. He just looked at her and she saw the resemblance to his father, the man in the portrait hanging in his hallway. Was Sam’s father—former Pharmatech employee and town councilman—the “dead body” Guy Walker and her father had been talking about? She couldn’t imagine her father, or anyone, doing something so awful. But the evidence seemed to be mounting.

Her heart went out to Sam and she reached out and touched his arm.

“Well, got to get back to work.”

Sam nodded and she moved away.

Ten minutes later, when she looked back at the bar, he was still watching her.

“How did you know all of this was here?” Shane whispered, looking at the assorted boxes of ammunition on the shelves in the back of Cougar's General Store.

“How did you know how to disconnect the alarm?” Dusty whispered back.

Shane laughed. “Fair enough. Here, put these in your pockets.”

He began to hand her boxes of ammunition. She couldn’t read them in the dark, but when Shane held the flashlight up to the shelves, she made out some of the print. He was handing her ammunition for a Glock nine millimeter, a thirty-eight, ammunition for shotguns, handguns...

“Look,” he said, shining his flashlight on a box. “That's honest-to-God for a machine gun. You know anyone with a machine gun?”

She shook her head and shrugged.

“Seems to me like Cougar's running a little illegal business on the side. Check those out.” He shined the flashlight farther down the shelf.

“Fireworks,” she whispered. “M-80's, cherry bombs—there's some highly illegal stuff here.”

“I’ll say.” He handed her another box.

“Shane my pockets are getting full,” she said, taking yet another box from him.

He began to fill his own pockets. Then he opened his jacket part way and stuffed boxes inside.

“Do we really need so much?” Dusty looked around in the darkness.

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Here.” He grabbed the box of fireworks and began putting those inside her jacket. She squealed. “Shh! Zip it up.”

She zipped the jacket up, wide-eyed.

“I look pregnant,” she whispered. He shined the flashlight on her and then laughed.

“About twelve months.”

That made her giggle, and she put her hands to her mouth but she couldn’t stop.

“Shh!” Shane said, shining the flashlight back on the shelf. “Will you be quiet?”

He arranged the boxes carefully with gloved hands, trying to make it look as if the supply hadn’t been depleted.

“Shane,” Dusty gasped, still laughing. “I have to pee.”

The look on his face when he turned toward her cracked her up.

“Dusty, be quiet, okay?” he asked, almost pleading.

“Your face.” Dusty laughed behind her hands. “Your face! Oh, God, I'm going to pee my pants!”

That broke Shane up. Dusty leaned weakly against him in the darkness, still laughing.

After a few moments had lapsed she said, “I still have to go.”

“Okay.” Shane grinned. “Let's get out of here. We'll find some bushes you can go in.”

Dusty stared at him, horrified. “That's gross!”

“God, I love you,” he laughed, pulling her toward the back door.

They went out into the still, cold night, holding hands and laughing.

Dusty managed to hold it until they made it all the way back to Shane’s cabin, although by the time they got there, she couldn’t wait another second for him to unlock the front door. She just barely made it to the outhouse, praying there was nothing scary waiting for her inside.

Then she relieved her aching bladder while Shane laughed at her from the back porch.

“Where did you get them?” Dusty stared at the pile of guns on his bed. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

Shane laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. There were four, no, five of them lying haphazardly on the threadbare bedspread. “None of them are loaded. But now we have plenty of ammunition.”

“I have a feeling we’re going to need it.” She grimaced, remembering Shane’s re-telling of what had happened to her brother.

“I know.” Shane sighed, kissing the top of her head. “I should have saved him, Dusty. It… God, it should have been me.”

She turned and looked at him and then hugged him fiercely. “Don't say that. Don't ever say that.”

“It's just the truth.” He kissed her cheek. “You said it to me yourself, remember?”

“No.” She denied it, but of course, she had. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Yes!” He turned and strode to the window. Dusty looked at him, running a hand through her hair. He was so solid, arms crossed, hands cupping his elbows. His t-shirt pulled tautly across the hard muscles of his back, disappearing below the waistband of his Levis.

What could she say without being hypocritical? Hadn't she always wished him dead? She’d even threatened to kill him herself. Hadn't she thought the exact same thing? Said the same thing, right to his face—at her brother’s funeral?

Yeah, but that was before…

Before what?

Before I realized I love him.

She’d once sworn she hated Shane Curtis, but she’d discovered she’d crossed the fine line between love and hate without even realizing it. She loved Shane—more than she’d ever loved anyone in her life.

She came up behind him and leaned her cheek against his arm. They stayed that way for a moment, and then Shane drew a shaky breath and said, “Scott Summers was just twelve. You think you're going to live forever when you're twelve years old.”

“It's not your fault.” Dusty put her arms around his waist.

He turned and took her in his arms, seeking comfort, and she gave it to him, holding tight. Her kisses were soft, her hands caressing, and she let him get lost in her, lost in the moment, pushing away the reality of what might be.

“I want to be with you forever.” He nuzzled her neck, her ear, whispering. “Is that too much to ask?”

She smiled, nuzzling him back. “I don’t think so.”

“When this is all over, let’s move in together,” he murmured, pulling her in closer. “Would you come with me?”

She nodded, closing her eyes and giving in. “Anywhere.”

“Just here.” He kissed her then, mouth soft, tongue probing. She gave into that, too, arching against him, moaning softly when his thigh slid eagerly between hers.

He backed her up toward the bed and then broke their kiss, gasping, “Gotta move the guns.”

“No, don’t,” she said with a smile, wiggling up against him. “They make me feel sexy.”