Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (14 page)

***

Avery

Adler sat perfectly still, his stare fixed on me through the patio door, the rain beating off his head. I admitted he looked pathetic, but Jims trained him well. The only time the dog barked was if he was hungry. For the most part, he was a good companion if you needed one. I’d never been an animal person. They were dirty creatures with their smelly fur and saliva, and I hated their wet noses when they touched you. I cringed at the thought, and nearly gagged. I flicked off the porch light and made him disappear into the darkness. His eyes seemed to glow with my kitchen light, so I turned that off too. I headed into the living room with my drink in hand.

I just got settled into my chair when my doorbell rang. I waited for a moment. No one was supposed to come by tonight. My last unexpected company ended up in the incinerator. I removed my gun from the table and carefully pulled the blinds aside to see who it was. A hood covered their face.
Fuck!
I slowly opened the door and nearly dropped the gun.

“Can I come in?”

“Umm…” I thought about my place, and if anything was out that shouldn’t be. “Sure, Emily, come on in.”

“Thanks.” She removed her jacket and hung it on my coat rack, then slipped off her rain boots and placed them by mine. None of this felt right. Her face was puffy from crying, and her eyes were bloodshot. “I’m sorry to come unannounced. I honestly just drove and ended up here.”

“It’s fine,” I lied while she came further into my space. I never had anyone over, let alone one of my puppets. “Can I get you a drink? I have whiskey and—”

“Whiskey sounds perfect.” She dried her watery eyes.

I slowly walked into the kitchen with her behind me. My skin crawled like it wanted to get off my bones. Every part of me screamed to kill her, but that was not my plan. She still had some damage to do first. “Straight up or mixed?”

“Straight, please.” She sat on the bar stool at the counter and watched me move about. It was unnerving. I didn’t like this. I needed to be in control, and right now, I didn’t have it. I opened the cabinet and removed a glass. I spotted the crushed up pills that I used on Matthews last year.
No! Not yet.
Adler started to bark, and it made Emily jump. “Is that your dog?” She looked out the patio door from her seat.
Shit!

“Neighbors,” I said calmly and set the glass down to get her attention. I poured the whiskey into her glass. “He comes on my patio sometimes when they’re not home. Looking for something to eat, I guess. I’m not much of a pet person.”

“I can see that.” She looked around.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning your place is spotless, everything is in order. It’s nice.”

I took a long sip of my drink and eased my breathing. She was an observant little one. My eyes moved to the steak knife, then over to the meat thermometer, then to the Saran Wrap. So many ways I could end her life right now.

She downed her drink in one swallow and I quickly filled it, trying my best to act like a good host. “Come, let’s sit in the living room.” Away from fucking Adler, who still barked at the glass. Maybe he sensed her? That was the last thing I needed, her seeing that damn dog.

“Are you all right?” I asked as she sat next to me on the couch. She was so close.

“No.” She stared into her glass. “Not at all. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” I handed her a tissue as her emotions surfaced again.

“Thanks.” She dabbed her eyes. “You didn’t seem surprised when you saw them kissing. That’s not the first time it’s happened, is it?”

I didn’t want to underestimate Emily’s ability to read a person. I’d need to play this off just right.

“Honestly, what you were reading on my face was more like ‘I wasn’t that surprised it came to that.’ Ronnie is a sexy woman, and a few of the men have been interested in her, Garrett included. She’s had her eye on Connors since she started. She has a bunch of other guys she could ask for help, but she won’t. She wants him. Ronnie is one of those women who uses her body to get men to do what she wants. Before you write Connors off, remember he’s a man, and we think with our dicks, not our brains.”

I could almost feel her soul bleed; it was marvelous to witness. If I knew Emily like I thought I did…

“I’m not a woman who can overlook that kind of thing, Avery.”

Just as I thought. I had to take a drink to stop the smirk that was threatening my face. “I know.” I lowered my voice to show I understood. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t want a woman who just rolls over and takes it. I would want one who would care if I cheated. It would keep me in line, make me a better man.”

Her phone alerted her she had a text. She pulled her phone from her back pocket, and I could tell it was him just by the way her chin quivered and her eyes refilled. She tossed her phone on the table, leaned forward, and rested her elbows on her thighs.

“You know, I truly thought I couldn’t hurt worse than what I went through last year.” She suddenly stopped. “God, I’m sorry, Avery. I mean, all
we
went through. I’ll never forget about Matthews.”

“It’s all right.” I frowned at the right moment.

She stood and moved to the window. “Do you have any family, Avery?”

I paused and wondered why she changed to this topic.

“My parents passed many years ago, only child. Only have a cousin I see once in a while.”

“Yeah,” she said through a swallow, “family is really overrated.”

“It is,” I agreed, then moved to my feet, wanting to get her away from the window. “You know what, McPhee? I have a better idea than sitting here in my quiet apartment. I’m taking you out.”

“What?”

“I’m not working tomorrow, so let’s go have some fun.” I needed her out of my house before I shed a layer of skin.

“The Triangle?” She looked a little uncomfortable.

“Come on, we’ll take a cab.”

When we arrived, I opened the door and waved her through and motioned her to the bar top. I helped her out of her wet jacket and hung it on the back of the chair, then signaled for the bartender to bring us two whiskeys. Once we were settled, I showed her some of my many talents. This one was being a friend. “Here’s the thing, McPhee. Though I’m very touched you came to me for comfort, you’re still technically dating one of my best friends. I feel more comfortable being in public with you than at my place. You know, so people don’t make assumptions. So I brought you to our bar so everyone can see I’m here with my buddy’s girl as friends. Make sense?”

“Yeah.” She managed a smile. I knew she’d respect that. Emily was a good person, despite, well… “Thanks.”

“No thanking me, McPhee, drink.” I pointed to her glass and waited for her to get a little tipsy so I could find out what else was bothering her.

Four drinks in, and I had her laughing. I hated to admit it, but she was actually a little fun to be around. Jims would have loved her. Just the thought of him made the hate seep back into my veins, and I started to remember how much I despised everyone.

“At the risk of saying something touchy, can I ask how you’ve been dealing with what happened last year?”

Her face fell. All signs of fun were gone, and she signaled for another drink. “Fine, I guess.” She started to stack the glasses one on top of another. “If you asked me two days ago, I’d say pretty good.”

“And now?”

“Now, I feel like this.” She pointed to the glass stack. “Fragile, feeling like the pressure will get too much and it’ll all come crashing down.”

“Those are some heavy words.” I leaned on the bar top as the liquor swarmed around inside my head. “So besides Connors, is something else adding weight to your glass house?”

She chuckled a little in her liquor-induced haze. “My mother,” she glanced at me, “paid me her annual visit.”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah, with news. I have a new stepfather, and she wanted to sell my house. Already found me a buyer, in fact.”

I nodded for more drinks, though I really should stop. “I wasn’t aware you were moving.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh.”

“So, after some words, I kicked them out, packed up my mother’s crap, and dumped it at her new hubby’s workplace, then left a message with the bouncer that I’ll see them in court.”

I snatched a glass from behind the bar and placed it on top of her glass tower.

“Exactly.” She nodded at my point. She had a lot on her shoulders right now.

***

I shouldn’t have had that last drink. I started to lose control over my own thoughts. My mind wandered in shared silence, and recklessly, I started to share. “I grew up next to this family.” She looked over at me with heavy eyes. “Two boys and a sister. The father was a real asshole, beat them all the time, beat their mother too, sometimes until she couldn’t see. Their mother, despite all she went through, still loved her kids. She tried to protect them from her husband. She even found a way to leave once, but at the last minute it fell through. Six months later, she was killed.” I felt my own tears threaten.

“How?”

I sat up in my seat. I needed to think straight. “Her husband lost it, beat her to death.”

“Jesus, what happened to the kids?”

I slipped back into a memory of Jims and Julia, so clear it was as if they were here in front of me. “They all went to different family members. I always wondered what if they had got out, moved away, and had a chance at a better life, where they would be today? I like to think they’d be a close family, you know, Sunday dinners at the mom’s.” I saw she tried to follow my story, and I shook my head and forced a smile. “Guess sometimes I wonder what it’s like to have that, quote, big happy family.”

“If you ever find one, let me know,” she muttered sarcastically into her glass.

After another hour, she was nearly passed out in the booth we had moved to at some point in the evening. I pulled out my cell phone and checked the time—three thirty a.m. I removed Emily’s cell from her jacket, used the passcode to get in, and looked up his number. It took me a moment to actually locate it, as it was changed to a different name. I bypassed all the texts from Connors and O’Brian.

Em: You awake?

Fantastic Pete: Yes, love, where are you?

Emily: It’s Avery, we’re at the Triangle. Can you come get her?

Fantastic Pete: Be there in ten.

Sure enough, Pete walked in ten minutes later, concerned as always when it came to Emily. Then I saw Connors with a look that could kill.

***

Seth

My stomach was in a knot that tightened as I laid eyes on Emily. She was pretty much passed out in a booth next to Avery, who attempted to stand when I approached.

“Hey, guys,” he started to say, but I interrupted him.

“Why did you text Pete and not me?”

Avery made a face as he looked back at Emily. “That’s not for me to answer.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Look, Connors, she showed up on my doorstep. I wasn’t aware she even knew where I lived. I brought her here because I didn’t feel comfortable having her at my place. She wanted to talk, I brought her here to avoid any…problems. She was upset, so we talked, and once she got everything out, I called Pete. Her best friend, someone she doesn’t want to punch right now.”

“Punch?” I nearly shouted, leaning over Emily, who stunk like booze. “Christ, how much has she had to drink?” My nose practically burned. “Is that whiskey? She hates the stuff.”

“Not tonight, she doesn’t.” He shrugged over at Pete. “I think it’s best you take her home.”

“No.” I grabbed her jacket and slipped her arm over my shoulder. “Come on, baby, time to go home.”

Her eyes slowly opened and something flashed over them. Pain? Hurt, maybe?

“No.” She pushed me away and stumbled to her feet. “Don’t,” she muttered as I came near her again.

“I’m going to go,” Avery chimed in. “Drink some water, Em.”

“Thanks.” Pete smiled a little, but kept his watch on Emily and me, looking from one of us to the other.

I noticed the bartender, who pointed to the time. He was about to close. I didn’t have a clue what was going on, but the last thing I wanted was the locals I see every week to witness me having it out with my drunken girlfriend.

“Emily, time to go home.” I tried to hand over her jacket, but she flinched away from me.

She ignored me. “Pete, can I come home with you?”

“No,” I snapped, more scared than anything.

Pete looked at me funny. “Of course you can, love. I’m parked out back.”

“What’s going on, Emily?” I lowered my voice.

She cupped her mouth as her shoulders shook, then she started to cry. I reached out to comfort her, but she raised her hand. “No,” she sobbed, “don’t touch,” her breath caught, “me.”