Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (20 page)

“Well, she’s waiting.” She shrugged and pretended not to be hurt by me not paying more attention to her.

I scanned the parking lot and saw no one. I gave a small wave as I headed inside.

***

“Alexander,” she called out as I was about to leave. My back stiffened, as I didn’t like that name anymore. I turned to find her looking worried. “Avery,” she corrected herself. “Someone came in asking questions about you.”

“Tall, dark hair, big, beefy-looking guy?” She nodded as I came closer. I stopped in front of her and grabbed her chin. “Tell me everything.”

“He just wanted to know what this place was and how long you normally stay.”

“And?” My grip tightened.

Her eyes watered and her breathing picked up, but her eyes stayed locked with mine. “I said nothing, Avery.” She stepped back and tore her face from my grip. Her hands were shaky as they smoothed her skirt. I sighed and realized I went too far. I started to move toward her, but she held up a hand. “Just go.”

“Fuck.” I couldn’t deal with her right now, so I hurried outside. I had something bigger to deal with.

CHAPTER SIX

Emily

“You don’t think that was a little extreme?” she barked at me from the other side of the world. I jammed the laundry into the drier and slammed the door so she would hear it. “Don’t get angry with me, Emily Grace. What you did set me back a month!”

“Mother, your belongings are at Gary’s office. If you have any problems, take it up with them. As for the buyer, you can tell her that my lawyer will be getting in contact with her, letting her know that it is being illegally sold, as I am the rightful owner. As for us, we’re finished. I want nothing to do with you anymore. If you do decide to return, I will get a restraining order. If you try to communicate with me in any way, I will get a restraining order. In other words, Mother, goodbye.” My finger trembled as I hit the end button.

I sank against the counter. To say I was exhausted was an understatement, but I promised myself no more Jenny. My nerves couldn’t take it. I closed my eyes. I just needed a moment to clear my head. A knock at the door forced a string of curse words out of my mouth.

“Good evening, miss,” the delivery man said, standing there with a bouquet of twelve red roses. He handed them to me and asked for my ‘autograph’ on the dotted line. I thanked him as I brought them into the kitchen. Nestled inside the flowers, I found a card. Just what I needed right now. I grinned like a fool. Seth had never bought me flowers before. He claimed he did when I stayed at Pete’s, but I never saw them.

Last night was amazing.

I’m glad you changed your mind.

Ronnie

I hardly heard him when he walked into the kitchen. He spoke, but I wasn’t listening. My eyes were glued to the table, trying to think of a way to ask without freaking out at him.

He cracked open a beer and leaned against the fridge as he eyed the flowers. “Who are those from?”

I pushed the anger down. “Well, they’re not from you.”

His bottle was tilted up when my words hit him, and he quickly rounded the table and plucked the card from my grasp. His expression was scary. It looked like he was going to explode as he grabbed the flowers and tossed them into the trash, vase and all. He hurried upstairs and left me to wonder exactly what I missed.

***

Avery

This was not how I had my night planned. As it was, I missed Emily getting her flowers. Though I knew she might not fall for it, it would still plant a seed and piss Seth off further. It really was all rather entertaining.

I waited for Campbell to leave the market and head home. I beat him there and slipped in through an open window on the second floor.

I cringed at the deer heads that were mounted on the walls. Camouflage vests hung on hooks, and a compound bow rested in the corner. I never saw the appeal in that sport. Where was the fun in killing animals when there were humans to be hunted? At least humans had a delicious reaction to fear.

I traveled down the stairs and into the small closet, where I waited for Campbell to appear. He did, with a load of groceries. He dropped them on the kitchen table, moved about, and tossed things in cabinets. He turned on the stove and started to prepare dinner.

The sound of the leather as it flexed over my knuckles, now that did make my adrenaline pump for all the right reasons. I loved this part. I pulled my mask down and pushed on the door so it made a tiny creak. I stepped into the light of the kitchen right behind him. He sensed something. I could see it in his shoulders.

“What do you want?” Campbell asked. His voice was brave, but I knew him too well. I pulled out a thin cord and wrapped it around my gloved knuckles in a flash, whipped it around his neck, and twisted hard. Campbell was a big man, but I was much stronger. I balanced my weight as he jumped around, fighting to break free. Campbell suddenly leaned back and tossed his weight into me, which sent me into the island. My grip loosened as he sprang to his feet, twisted, and kicked his foot into my ribs. I grabbed his ankle, bucked to the side, and kicked his knee, and he went down hard.
Shit!
I scrambled to get on top of him and managed to block a punch he sent my way, but another came fast, and I missed it. My ears rang and my vision blurred momentarily. My head bounced off the floor as he tried to catch his breath.

A scream from the doorway had me on my feet and my hand in my pocket for my knife. I slashed out at him.

“Campbell!” Vanessa shouted.

“Run! Call 911!” he screamed and covered his bloody neck. Her horrified expression moved to me, then she ran back upstairs. I was torn, but decided I should finish what I came here to do. I saw him stand and hold the wall for support, and his face suddenly dropped as he squinted at me. Then it clicked. My hand flew to the mask that had shifted from our struggle. I glanced at a framed photo and saw my reflection in the glass. My mouth was showing.
Fuck me.
I quickly fixed it, but I couldn’t tell if he knew it was me or not. My attention was pulled to a loud click behind me. My eyes focused on his reflection, and I saw him pointing a shotgun in my direction.

Shit…

***

Seth

I was jolted awake by the wind as it scraped a branch against the window. Emily was tangled all around me, just the way I loved her to be. Mind you, it took a bit to convince her to come to bed with me after those fucking flowers were delivered. Of course Ronnie denied sending them, and the flower company said it was purchased with a prepaid gift card ordered from some random email address.

I rolled Emily on to her side and buried my nose into her neck. She stirred a little and wiggled her greedy hips. She was always interested, even when she was dead asleep. Just as my hand was about to dip between her legs, my phone started to vibrate.

Garrett: Get dressed! Be outside in ten. It’s Campbell.

I didn’t question it. If he sent me a text at three in the morning, it was something important. I kissed Emily one more time and headed for the shower.

“Baby,” I whispered, and her eyes fluttered open. I heard the sound of Garrett’s Jeep already pulling up, and I cursed. “I have to go. Something happened, but I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.”

She nodded and rolled over on her back. “Be safe.”

“Always.”

I met Garrett in the driveway and jumped into the front seat. He didn’t say a word until we pulled onto the main road, which had a sheen from the morning dew. “Campbell was attacked in his home tonight. He’s alive, but the attacker made a mess of his neck.”

My head was in a spin. Who would want to hurt Campbell? “Does he have any idea who it was?”

Garrett looked at me funny before he focused back at the road. “He saw his mouth at one point, but…” He stopped as if he were deep in thought. “He was wearing a mask.”

“Okay?”

“He said the mask looked just like Jimmy Lasko.”

Everything inside me went still. That name made my skin burn.

The hospital was quiet. Riggs’s head was in his hands, while Riley and Johnnie leaned against the wall. Detective Michaels was off to the side with Vanessa, and she looked as if she were in total shock. Poor thing.

I couldn’t get a grip; the memories of Lasko made it hard for me to think. The last time I was in this situation was when Emily was found in the woods after Jimmy took her. My gut had been telling me something was wrong, and I hated the idea of Emily hearing about this.

Detective Michaels signaled for us to meet him over in the corner. “All right, guys, here’s the description from both of them. 6’3”, dark hair, dark eyes, built, and knew how to fight. They both agreed the mask looked just like Jimmy Lasko. I don’t know why he was wearing it, but it was nuts, and I don’t like where this may be leading. We’re working on a sketch now, but it seems ludicrous since we know what Lasko looks like. Campbell was damn lucky his girlfriend distracted the perp long enough for Campbell to grab his gun, or we would be following a different protocol right now.”

“How did the guy get away?” Garrett asked.

“Campbell got distracted for a split second, so the guy kicked him in the stomach and bolted.”

Garrett gave me a look. I knew…I felt it too. I had to make sure she was safe.

I excused myself and headed outdoors. I needed a moment to think.

“Hello?” Her voice was sleepy. I closed my eyes and reminded myself she was safe and sound at home in our bed, perfectly fine. “Seth? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, baby.” I fought the urge run home to her. “I just needed to hear your voice.”

I heard the blankets muffle the phone and pictured her wiggling around to sit up. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Garrett tapped me on the shoulder and let me know we were allowed to go in and visit Campbell now.

“Campbell got hurt.”

“Is he all right?”

A pounding throb started behind my eyes. “Yeah, someone attacked him in his home.”

There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Do they have any idea who it was?”

A cab came flying up to the front doors. Avery jumped out and shoved a chunk of money at the driver. He looked tired as he spotted me.

“Is he all right? Can we see him now?” I nodded and pointed to the rest of the guys who waited their turn to see him. As Avery headed inside, he gave me a pat on the shoulder.

Clearing my throat, I continued. “Yeah, he’s alive. The attacker tried to strangle him, but he managed to get free. Umm…” I stumbled to find the right approach. “Look, baby, Campbell said the attacker had a mask on that looked just like Lasko’s face.” I waited and let her process that. I could only imagine her face. “Are you all right?”

“Yes…” she whispered. “Seth…I think I saw that same masked man in your mother’s haunted house.”

I glanced back at the guys inside and wondered what the hell I should do. Squeezing my eyes shut, I decided to go with my gut. “Emily.” I swallowed hard. “Please do something for me?”

“Okay.”

“Go to my mom’s.” I waited for her to interrupt, to argue that I was paranoid. “Please just do this for me. Now.”

“Okay,” she repeated. She didn’t argue for once, and I sagged with relief. “I’ll pack a bag and head over in the next hour…well, as soon as I can get my things together.”

Bending down, I closed my eyes. “Thank you, baby, thank you. Please don’t waste too much time.”

“Seth,” she sniffed, “come home to your mom’s tonight then, okay? I need you to do that for me.”

I knew she was scared. I could hear it, and so was I. “Yeah, Em, don’t worry, I plan to. Text me when you get there, all right?”

“Okay.”

I tilted my head up to the sky and took a moment before I headed inside.

Campbell was as pale as I’d ever seen him. His neck was wrapped in white gauze, and he looked as though he was off in another world. I pulled up a chair after everyone had their turn. I asked Riley to take Vanessa to get something to eat, because it seemed like she needed a break. She looked even worse than the rest of us.

Campbell’s fist came up slowly to bump mine. He started to speak, but stopped and went back to staring out the window. I squeezed his arm, knowing he just needed a few seconds. The clock on the wall ticked, making me remember I
had
been up since the wee hours of the morning.

“When I saw his face,” he said quietly, his eyes still locked on the window, “the feeling that shot through me was
he’s back
, Lasko was back.” He stopped and closed his eyes. “I had the gun, and I knew what I had to do.” His eyes opened and he looked directly at me. “I had a clear shot, everything inside told me to shoot, but then I saw his mask had moved and he looked so familiar. That one hesitation gave him the chance to run. He got away…damn it!” He nearly sobbed.

“It’s not your fault, Campbell,” I assured him. “You’re both safe, you are all right, and that’s what matters.”

He shook his head rapidly. “You’re not getting it.” He cleared his throat. “I know him.” His finger hit his chest hard. “I know the shit who attacked me. It will take some time to place who it is, but I know…I know him. When that time comes, I want answers, then I want to wrap a wire around
his
neck and twist as hard as I can.”

“Knock, knock.” Avery entered the room with a bottle of water. “I thought maybe you’d like some decent water instead of that.” He pointed to Campbell’s cup.

“Thanks.” Campbell pushed the button to sit upright. Avery opened the water and replaced the old straw with a new one.

“So,” Avery shoved his hands into his pockets as if this wasn’t easy for him. “Do they have any idea?”

“No,” I answered while Campbell struggled to get the water down his bruised throat.