End of the Road (Ghost Stories Trilogy #1)

by E. J. Fechenda

“My shoulder, but I think I’m all right. It just stings.”

  He helped me up off the ground and into the car. I unbuttoned my shirt enough to expose my shoulder. The interior dome light revealed where the bullet had creased my upper arm. The blood was already beginning to clot.

  The other officer was on the ground, moaning, and I urged Eric to check on him. “I’m fine, go!” I reassured him. “I’ll call it in.”

  Minutes later, sirens could be heard drawing closer. As soon as the first ambulance arrived the EMT’s went to work on the officer, who had been severely injured, having been shot once in the leg and twice in the chest. I received attention before the suspects did. They were past help anyway. My first kill didn’t feel as rewarding as I anticipated it would, I thought as I slumped against my seat. The adrenaline had worn off and my head was pounding, so I leaned it back against the headrest and shut my eyes.

  A hand closed over mine and I jerked awake. Eric leaned over me, concern etched on his face.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m good…just tired I guess.” I sat up and hissed at the tenderness in my arm. I could feel a bruise beginning to form.

  “Well, let’s get you back. Adams said we can cut out early tonight. I already wrote up a preliminary report that we’ll finish tomorrow.”

  He helped me with my seatbelt and eased the cruiser back onto the road. When we got on the main route, he held my hand again. It helped to calm my rattled nerves. We were almost to the station when he pulled into a Walgreens parking lot. The store was closed and the lot deserted. The second the car stopped his lips were on mine. I was so surprised; it took a few seconds to react. I wrapped my uninjured arm around him and kissed him back as though my life depended on it.

  Any work ethic or moral code I had been determined to adhere to evaporated the moment he kissed me and we wound up back at his place…in his bed.

  The next morning was awkward. We both had sobered up from our adrenaline high and could barely look at each other. I waited until Eric rolled away from me to retrieve my underwear and shirt off the floor. With those items on, I went in search of a bathroom, which wasn’t hard to find in his one bedroom apartment.

  “Jesus, Elena. What the hell happened?” I asked my reflection in the mirror. My hair, usually kept in a bun at the base of my neck, fell wild around my shoulders. Lack of sleep left smudges under my eyes. It wasn’t my appearance I was questioning though, but my actions. Not only did I sleep with a co-worker, but he was my trainer. The number one rule I had given myself and I had broken it within the first quarter on the job - fucking brilliant.

  I contemplated the situation while I freshened up. Using my fingers to comb my hair, wincing slightly when I moved my injured arm too much, I wrestled the tangled waves back into a bun and splashed cold water on my face. This helped me feel like myself again, but I still had an urgent matter to take care of. I needed to find my pants.

  Eric slipped into the bathroom after me and with him preoccupied; I took advantage of having more time to myself. His apartment was fairly clean for a guy. The sofa and recliner not only matched, but were somewhat new. The sports section was spread out on the coffee table, but that was the only clutter, well, except for my pants. They were on the living room floor by the front door and inches away from my gun belt.

  Fully dressed and more in control of the situation, I walked into his kitchen and opened up the refrigerator. I was surprised to see it stocked with food – pretty healthy food too. Reaching in, I grabbed an apple and a carton of orange juice, noticing that we both liked the pulp free variety.

  The sound of water running through the pipes stopped and I heard the swoosh of the shower curtain. I decided to stay out of the bedroom and stood in the kitchen to eat my apple.

  A few minutes later Eric sauntered in wearing cargo shorts and a gray t-shirt. Our eyes met briefly, but I looked away.

  “Elena, I can tell you’re uncomfortable. Do you want me to drive you to the station so you can get your car or I can drive you home?” he asked. “We can’t take the cruiser since we’re not going to work until our shift, but I have my Jeep.”

  Neither option was ideal. If he dropped me off at the station, we risked being seen and it wouldn’t take a couple of police officers long to deduce what we had been up to. If Eric took me home, I was still living with my parents and that could be just as bad.

  In the end, I opted for the slightly lesser of two evils: my parents. Eric drove me home in silence and I stared out at the passing scenery. When he pulled into the driveway, I turned to face him.

  “Eric, what happened shouldn’t have. We…I just got caught up in the moment. This was a one- time thing that needs to stay between us. Okay?”

  His cool blue eyes moved over my face before meeting mine. “Yeah, you’re right. We can’t let this interfere with our job. I do have to say, I never did that with any of my other trainees.” He gave me a wicked grin, which made me laugh. “You have a beautiful smile,” he said in a softer voice, gently cupping my cheek. I started to lean into his touch, but pulled away.

  “Eric.” I forced my voice to sound stern, like a teacher reprimanding her student.

  He lifted his hands and raised them in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll pick you up for our next shift and I promise to be all business.”

  “Good,” I exhaled and felt my shoulders relax. “See you later.” I stepped out of the car and did the walk of shame into my parents’ house.

  I opened the front door, which led right into the living room. The house had an open floor plan, so the dining room was straight past the living room. My mom, dad and brother were sitting around the dining room table eating breakfast.

  “Good morning!” I said with a wave and turned to go down the hallway to my bedroom, hoping to avoid immediate conversation.

  “Elena! Is that blood on your shirt?” My mother yelled. I cringed and stopped mid-step. She should have been a cop because nothing got by my mom. My uniform top was a light tan and the blood had dried to a rusty brown, but she had sniffed it out like a bloodhound. Her heels clicked on the tile floor as she marched over to me. She gasped and tugged on my shirt sleeve.

  “Mom, I’m fine. It’s just a cut.”

  “From what?” she demanded.

  “There was a shooting and a bullet…”

  “You were shot!” Her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. “George, your daughter was shot!” she called back into the dining room. Chairs scraped on the floor and Cruz and dad appeared in the hallway.

  “That is so cool!” Cruz said and my mom shushed him.

  “Mom, a bullet grazed my arm and cut me. I did not get shot and I am fine.”

  She shook her head and clucked at me. “Why can’t you be a doctor…something less dangerous?”

  I sighed and frowned at her. “Mom, this is what I want.”

  “She wants this, she wants to get shot,” my mom said to my dad, like I wasn’t standing right in front of her.

  “Carmen, give her some space. She knows the risks.” He reached for her arm and tried to steer her away. “Come on, let’s finish breakfast. Are you hungry, Elena?”

  “No Dad, I’m too tired.”

  “I bet. You be careful out there.” He winked at me and continued to nudge my mom back to the dining room.

  I made it to my room and welcomed the cool darkness. My blinds were drawn tight to keep out the sun and the air conditioning hummed from the vent over my bed. I was asleep in minutes.

  A loud bang outside woke me up and I dove for the floor, searching for my gun. With my heart pounding, I crept over to a window and peered through the blinds. The sun had moved to the other side of the house and cast long shadows onto the street. I didn’t see anything weird and relaxed, laughing at myself. I was more affected by the shooting than I thought. Memories of the night before and Eric proving himself a worthy partner came flooding back. When it came down to moments of crisis, he didn’t
shy away.

  Less than two years later, when our crumbling marriage was the crisis, we both ran.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  With my training over, I was given my own patrol car and didn’t see Eric that often. I hated to admit that I missed him, especially his goofy sense of humor. Like when we were on duty and we’d stop to grab something at the store, whenever an elderly woman was in line ahead of us buying alcohol, he’d flirt and ask to see proof that she was of legal age.

  Apparently Eric missed me too. It was about three weeks in to me being on my own and at the end of my shift when I ran into him as I was coming out of the bathroom.

  “Hey,” he stopped me in the hallway. “Can I talk to you?”

  “Sure,” I said and shrugged my shoulders. “What’s up?”

  He licked his lips and quickly checked to see if anyone was nearby. “Come with me.” He grabbed my hand and led me down the hall to a small, windowless conference room. The lights automatically came on when we entered and Eric closed the door behind us. A few awkward moments passed where we didn’t move any further into the room. There was a table with eight chairs, plenty of spots for us to sit, but instead we stood in front of each other.

  “What do you want to talk about?” I prompted, finally breaking the silence.

  Eric took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eyes. “I know we agreed to pretend we didn’t sleep together, but I can’t stop thinking about that night.”

  “Stop,” I held my hands up and backed toward the door, but Eric reached out and kept me from moving.

  “Just listen, please,” he pleaded. “Hear me out.” His blue eyes were brighter than usual as if lit with an internal fire.

  “Okay, fine.” I crossed my arms and leaned so my back was pressed against the door.

  He smiled and stood up straighter, placing his hands on his hips. “It’s not just that night I can’t stop thinking about, but you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I cleaned my patrol car last weekend and came across one of your hairs embedded in the upholstery and it made me sad because I miss you…I miss us. You make me laugh and I know I make you laugh. And that night… we’re good together, right?”

  His declaration overwhelmed me and I had to walk away, to create some distance between us. I circled the conference table so I was on the other side of the room, pulled out a chair and plopped down. I was unable to meet his eyes, afraid that what I saw would make me weak, so I stared down at my hands. The clear nail polish on my thumb had chipped so I picked at the spot, peeling off little pieces as a distraction even though I was very aware of Eric watching me. His gaze penetrated like a million lasers were pointed at my head.

  Eric didn’t leave me alone for too long. He sat next to me and placed his hand over mine, lacing our fingers together. I still hadn’t responded to his question. My heart and my body wanted to agree, wanted to climb onto his lap, but my brain wasn’t having it. Scenarios resulting in me being fired or of me accidentally getting pregnant ran through my mind. He waited patiently as I waged a silent war with myself.

  “Listen, I’ll walk way and won’t pursue you if you can honestly say you don’t feel anything between us,” he said.

  I inhaled sharply, inwardly cursing him. In the short time we had known each other he had learned that I was honest to a fault. It went against my nature to not tell the truth, which was a good quality for a career in law enforcement.

  “Damn it, Eric! Yes, I have feelings for you. There, are you happy?” I wrenched my hand out from under his and stood up quickly, the chair rolled away and from the force, smacked against the wall. I didn’t get very far as Eric moved just as fast and was pulling me into his arms. Suddenly I was surrounded by his scent and warmth. His one hand pressed against the small of my back and his other was buried underneath my bun, curved around the base of my skull. He placed soft kisses along my neck and jawline until he claimed my mouth.

  All of the feelings I had been repressing since leaving Eric’s bed came rushing forth and I wrapped my arms around him as I welcomed his kiss.

  A light knock on the door interrupted us, but we didn’t have time to untangle ourselves. We were still holding each other when the door burst open. O’Reilly filled the doorway and he smirked when he took in the scene before him. “I knew it!” he whooped. “I fucking won the bet! Thanks, Wilcox, I owe you a beer.”

  “What bet?” Eric and I asked in unison. We had recovered from the intrusion and now stood apart.

  “Thompson and I were wagering on whether you two were hooking up. He thought Hernandez was gay, no offense Elena, but I could smell the sexual tension whenever you guys were in the same room.” O’Reilly wore a smug grin which quickly faded. “Shit, never mind, Wilcox there’s a big wreck up on 89A, we gotta go.”

  Eric immediately snapped into professional mode. I was off duty so didn’t need to respond to the call. “We’ll talk about this later, Lena,” he said and brushed his lips across mine before rushing out of the room.

  That was the first time he used what became a favorite nickname. I touched a finger to my lips which still tingled from the force of our kiss. While Eric was no longer in the room, I could still feel traces of him on my flushed skin, which he had successfully gotten under.

  A few days later we did talk and after some negotiations, like keeping the PDA’s to outside of work, we started dating. A year later we were married.

  Three months after we got married I discovered I was pregnant. We had discussed having kids at some point, but way later. He didn’t say it, but I could practically see the walls closing in around him when I told him the news.

  “You’re pregnant? Are you sure?” he asked, setting his gym bag down on the tile floor in the front entryway. I had come out from the kitchen and blurted the news to him the moment he walked in the door.

  “Yes, I took about fifteen different tests.”

  “Oh.” He didn’t look at me for a few moments before turning to face me. “Is this good news?”

  I had been surprised, not disappointed, when I saw all the pink plus signs staring back at me, but this response from Eric was unexpected.

  “I think we have to get used to the idea,” I said. “I wasn’t planning on this for a while either, but it happened.”

  He sat down on one of the two stools at the small breakfast bar and stared at his hands. “Will you still be able to work?”

  “Sure. The bulletproof vests might get a little tight down the road.” I joked, hoping to lighten the atmosphere or at least get him to make eye contact.

  “I need to process this,” he said. He stood up and snatched the keys to his Jeep off of the counter.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To see Wally,” he answered and shut the door.

  Great, I thought to myself, he’s going to the bar. Of all the times I could use a stiff drink too and I’m pregnant. I plopped down on the stool he had so hastily vacated and listened to the silence of our apartment. A silence I grew used to.

  In hindsight, I think the miscarriage was fate’s way of throwing me a bone.

  ***

  I heard my parent’s arrival before I saw them. My mother was demanding to know where my room was and an update on my condition. I extricated my hand from Eric’s and waited for the onslaught of worry.

  My mother entered in her typical whirlwind fashion with my dad not far behind.

  “Elena, have you seen the news? You’re all over it!” Her nose wrinkled up and she sniffed the air? “What is that horrible smell? Is something burning?”

  Then she noticed Eric and stopped. “Thank you for calling us,” she said through pursed lips. I knew it was killing her to be kind to him.

  “Mom, slow down. What do you mean I’m all over the news?” Eric leaned over and started messing with the remote control panel that was built into the guardrail of my hospital bed. “Plus, that smell is probably me.” I pointed to the singed ends of my hair and showed her my forearms where some of the skin had bli
stered.

  She gasped and shook her head. “Elena, why are you always in danger?” I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. This was the first hospital visit since my appendix burst in high school.

  “I found it!” Eric announced and turned up the volume. We all focused our attention on the television suspended from the ceiling in the corner of the room. A news broadcast was in progress.

  “…unbelievable footage from today’s dramatic rescue at the Bloody Basin Fire. Our cameraman had set his camera down for a few minutes and during that time, this was captured.”

  We watched in amazement as I appeared in the camera’s view. Just as Eric had described, I was being carried out, but the man wasn’t visible. My body was some three or four feet above the ground; my head hung limp and bobbed with the motion. I passed from the right to the left of the camera lens and was out of the shot within seconds.

  “This footage is raw and unedited. We don’t know what we captured, a miracle, something paranormal? Whatever happened this afternoon is truly remarkable. We have a team heading over to John C. Lincoln Memorial Hospital, where the woman who was rescued, a Yavapai County Sheriff’s Deputy, is reported to be a patient. We will you keep you updated as more details emerge. Once again, here’s a replay.”

  I tried to make out the man who had carried me, but couldn’t see any trace of him, not even an outline. I was traveling through the air, unconscious and seemingly alone.

  “Eric, it’s exactly as you said. You weren’t hallucinating.”

  “You saw this?” my dad asked.

  “Yes.” I proceeded to fill my parents in on the afternoon’s bizarre events and the man who rescued me.

  “Who do you think he was…or is?” my mom asked.

  “I have no idea…a ghost maybe?”

  “Or an angel,” she added.

  “Since when do angels wear old school bowling shirts?” This comment made my dad chuckle and I started to laugh, which turned into a painful wheezing fit.

  “George, don’t get her going,” my mom said and she fussed with the oxygen tubes attached to my face.