Submerge (Apalala Clan Book 3)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  “We need to talk.”

  Sitting at the back table, Ladon asked, “His people?”

  “I know, right? The way he said it was way off-kilter. The look on his face as the words came out said he hadn’t meant to say it either.”

  “You’re sure he isn’t a phoenix?”

  “Absolutely nothing feathered. After our last experience with them, I know the vibe they give off. This was different, this was…” she paused, searching for the right word, “… had an earthly vibe.”

  “You need to tell V. Get Vern looking for what else is around here,” Ladon said.

  “I can’t, that’s why I am here, V wants you. I am to stay here with Doug until you’re free. Speaking of Doug, how’s it going?” She grinned and leaned closer. “You know… how’s it going?”

  Ladon shook his head. “Nope, a gentleman doesn’t tell.”

  “Still striking out, huh?” Kylee smirked and clapped her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, she’s bound to weaken soon to your roguish charm. In the meantime, can you make it fast with V? I want to go back to my hotel and relax.”

  “You’re at a hotel?”

  Kylee nodded. “I said I wouldn’t go back, and I won’t. I’m not intruding on your chances with your mate, so a hotel it is. It’s a cute one, though. Big bath, huge… with jets even. Be jealous, Ladon. If I weren’t sinking into it every night, I’d be jealous of me, too.”

  Ladon didn’t buy a single word coming out Kylee’s mouth. He knew she was missing her best friend like a baby would miss its security blanket. The two of them were almost inseparable. So, being forced to be apart would be hurting Kylee, and he shuddered to think the price that Volos would be paying at upsetting his mate.

  “Okay...” Ladon looked at his watch. “Three hours till closing. I’ll be back before then.” He stood, made eye contact with Doug behind the bar, and mimed he had to make a call. She nodded as her eyes flicked to Kylee who asked for beer, nodding again, and walking back to the tap.

  “Watch her, okay?” Ladon said to Kylee.

  “Just go and tell V what happened.” She grinned. “I’m going to see how drunk I can get before you get back.” She winked and chuckled as Ladon walked out.

  “Just go, I’ll be fine,” Doug said to Kylee. “Ladon said he would be on his way soon. What can possibly happen on my way home?”

  “You’d be surprised…” Kylee asked. “But if you’re sure?”

  Doug nodded. “I am. Honestly. And please don’t take this personally but a little time alone would be nice.”

  Kylee held up her hands innocently. “I get it. I’ve been there. Okay. She checked her watch. “I’ll let Ladon know I’ve gone home, so he heads straight for your apartment. You take it easy, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  Doug nodded. “Yup, straight home.” She switched off the bar’s interior lights leaving only the security lights on and closed the door. With a click of the lock, it was secured, and Doug gave Kylee a smile and went left while Kylee went right.

  Neither of them noticed Office Darlington sitting across the road, partially hidden by a large tree. He watched the two ladies walk in different directions. His instinct was to follow the one he spoke to earlier, but as he turned to leave, something caught his eye. The flower seller’s cart creaked loudly as the wheels pushed in the darkness of the night. Darlington thought it was unusual for her to be out this late. Everyone knew Mavis, but she was normally home by now. Craning his neck as he walked over toward the two of them, he saw the redhead stop and place her arm around her shoulders. It looked comforting and a gesture of friendship.

  “Can I help you, ladies?” Darlington said with a deep voice that made both of them jump.

  “Oh? Um… no. Mavis?” Doug stumbled over her words. She wasn’t about to answer for the old lady. She had just come out of work and found her standing in the cold. She hadn’t had a chance to ask why yet.

  “You’re all so kind.” Mavis looked up to the officer’s face and smiled sweetly. “I misjudged the time, and I’m out later than I normally would be. The cool air is making my arthritis flare, and it’s hard for me to push the cart. Silly old rickety thing. I’m just a silly old woman.” She waved them both off. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “Enough of that talk,” Doug said. “I’ll help you push this cart, and let’s go get a hot chocolate, too.” She placed a hand on Mavis’ arm. “You’re freezing. It will warm you up.”

  “Are you okay to push it?” Darlington asked.

  “Contrary to popular belief, Officer Darlington,” Doug made sure she used his name, she remembered his voice instantly. Of the two officers who had taken her in for questioning, he was the asshole. She looked him square in the eye to complete her statement, “Not all women need a man’s help.”

  Officer stepped back, palms up as he nodded. “No problem. Just make sure she actually gets home this time, okay?”

  Doug flipped him the bird as she took control of the flower cart and started to push it away from the officer. Mavis followed quickly enough to at least make their getaway at the speed of a decent paced turtle.

  Doug was greeted by Ladon at the door when she finally arrived home more than two hours later. “You could have let yourself in, I showed you where the key was,” Doug said.

  “It wasn’t there,” Ladon said.

  “What?” Her brow creased. “How? It should be there. I haven’t touched it.” She went over to the wall and moved the painting hanging there. Tilting her head, she saw the broken piece of tape that had once held the spare key to her apartment. “If it’s not here, then who has it?” Doug asked slowly.

  “Doesn’t matter. Locks will be changed tomorrow.” Ladon nodded firmly. “Was the flower lady, okay?” Doug had called him and let him know she would be late, that she was having a hot chocolate with her favorite flower seller, then helping her home with her cart. Ladon had offered to come and help, but Doug refused as it was only around the corner from her apartment. She had resisted giving him a mouthful about women being capable of pushing a cart like she had the officer. She knew he actually did care about her safety and wasn’t acting on some macho level of dominance.

  “Yeah, that cart is heavy. I think I will look into getting her a new one. Something without the wooden wheels. Maybe something in a light iron? That thing is horrendous to push.” Doug walked into a crescendo of meows from Quil, who was impatiently waiting to be fed. “If it ever fell on her, she’d be dead.” Speaking as she opened the kitty food and poured some in Quil’s bowl, she placed it on the floor.

  “We can check out the local papers and see what we can find for her,” Ladon said without a second thought.

  Doug looked at him, a soft smile picked up the corners of her mouth as she saw the man she might actually envision spending a lifetime with, in front of her. Her head tilted slightly as she said, “You just go with whatever I say, don’t you?”

  Ladon shook his head. “No, I won’t,” he said, returning the smile “Only the stuff where you are right.”

  “And this is right?”

  “You’re helping a friend live a better life, of course, that’s right. I will help you look for something suitable in the morning.” He flopped on the sofa and opened his laptop. He looked up with a cheeky grin. “Want to tag team some challengers?”

  Doug’s smile lifted into a fully-fledged grin as she grabbed a bag of chips and ripped the top, then headed for the sofa with him. She popped them beside her as she opened her dueling laptop. Her hand reached in at the same time as Ladon’s, the spark was instant, and by the way his hand jolted, he felt it too. She knew he wanted more, but she couldn’t commit to more until she knew who she was.

  “Ladon… I know… but I… yeah…” she stumbled over her words, eyes lowering with a flush of embarrassment rising on her cheeks.

  Ladon reached out, his pointer finger hooking under her chin and raised her face to look at him. “I remember someone mentioning never looking down. You know how I fe
el. You know I will wait until my last breath. I am here as your friend… until you ask differently.”

  He repeated his pledge to her. As much as it pained his heart, it was what she needed. He was her mate, and it was his job to do whatever it was she needed him to do, be, say, and feel. This was the journey she needed to take, and he was just humbled to be standing next to her, whatever the role.

  “Thank you…”

  “Shhh,” Ladon winked. “We have dwarfs to beat up.” His head tilted to the laptop.

  Her smile grew back instantly on her face.

  The twinkle of mischief in her eyes made his heart fill.

  The morning was sailing along smoothly. Doug had opened up like normal, and within a few minutes, her family of barflies had descended for their morning tipples. After Doug had started work, Ladon decided to head off to pick up the new flower cart they had found a few towns over for sale. It needed a little coat of paint but nothing that couldn’t be done in an afternoon.

  Doug was walking across the floor picking up stray glasses people had left behind from the lunch run. Wiping down tables as she went, she heard a ding of the door opening which made her look up. Three officers walked in, all geared up, and looking like they were about to take down a horde of terrorists.

  “Officers?” Doug said as she straightened up, the dishrag in her hand along with a stack of six glasses.

  “Elyse Douglas?”

  “Officer Darlington,” she said his name in the same serious tone he said hers.

  “Elyse Douglas,” he repeated. “You are under arrest, place your hands behind your back.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Doug looked nervously as the two support officers flanked her on either side. “What’s going on?”

  “Place your hands behind your back, don’t resist or force will be used,” Darlington said firmly. His hand hovering over the open pocket containing his Taser.

  “Oooh, Doug’s running booze on the black market again?” Dan said with a laugh.

  “Nah, she’s more of an unpaid parking ticket kinda gal,” Peter slurred from his stool.

  “Officer Darlington,” Doug started to say as she placed the glasses down on the table. “Oomph… what?” She had no time to react as the two officers came in from each side and bent her down on the table’s surface, each of them having grabbed a wrist and were now bending them behind her back at an uncomfortable angle.

  Bill came walking out into the room. “What’s going on here?” He looked at Doug who was pressed against the table, her eyes wide with fear as they placed handcuffs around her wrists. The sound of metal ratcheting tight echoed around the bar. “Doug?”

  She shrugged her shoulders slightly to Bill’s question.

  “This is nothing to do with you.” Officer Darlington stood in front of Elyse as he signaled for the officers to lift her back up to a standing position. Once she could look him in the eye, he spoke calmly, “Elyse Douglas, you are under arrest for the murder of Mavis Brown…” Elyse knew he was still reading her, her rights, but as soon as she had heard ‘arrested for murder,’ her mind started to shut down. “Elyse?” His voice raised loud enough to shake her back to reality. She looked at him, tears sitting on her eyelashes like a dam waiting to burst. He repeated, “Do you understand your rights?”

  Doug hadn’t heard them at all but nodded in a daze, her head slowly turning to look at a shocked Bill. “Phone Ladon, tell him where I am.”

  Bill nodded as he watched her escorted out to a waiting police car.

  Elyse knew Ladon was in the building. She could feel his rage. She didn’t know how but would place her life on the line that she was right.

  A knock at the door brought Elyse’s eyes up. She had been sitting in an empty room for nearly two hours. They had bombarded her with questions for over an hour, but when she couldn’t give them the answers they wanted, they had left her alone to ‘think.’ There was the chair she sat on, a wooden table, and two chairs opposite her. It was the same room she had been in when they asked her about Charlie’s death, but she hadn’t been handcuffed to the table then.

  “Your lawyer is here,” Officer Darlington said with contempt as he knew it was lies but couldn’t prove it. Stepping aside, he let the two visitors come in and shut the door.

  “Hello, Miss Douglas,” Ladon said formally as he sat in his perfectly pressed black suit. His eyes lifted casually to the cameras that were angled in the corners to take in every word that was spoken.

  Elyse looked around too and understood what was going on. She was happy to follow his lead. “I was contacted by your boss, and he explained a little about your predicament. I would like to offer the services of Blue Wings and Associates Law Services.” Ladon placed a business card on the table and slid it over to her. Doug picked it up and marveled that they were able to swing this in such a short time. “My name is Nadol, and this is my associate Vern. Would you like to accept our services?”

  Doug looked at Vern who had a very serious look on his face. He wore the same suit but in a dark midnight blue. His hair was slicked back, and together they certainly looked like ferocious lawyer types. “Yes, I accept your services.”

  “Excellent.” Ladon stood and knocked on the door and waited a few beats for Officer Darlington to open the door. Then he said, “My client has employed our representation. We would like you to release her to our care. Bond is no issue.”

  Darlington sized him up and stepped closer. He was of equal size to Ladon and just as wide. “Miss Douglas will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. She is about to be charged with murder. Bail is not an option.”

  Ladon heard Doug’s breath catch as he stared at the officer “Then you will turn off the cameras, so we may have a private discussion with our client.”

  Darlington’s lip curled with distaste, waiting a beat before he nodded and closed the door. Ladon turned and took a seat. Holding his hand up to silence all conversation, Vern and Ladon watched the red lights click off in all four cameras. Only when all four were out and stayed that way did Ladon get up and walk around. He knew she couldn’t hug him back because she was handcuffed to the table, but still he stood behind her and lowered his body over hers. Wrapping his arms around her and squeezing tightly, he whispered in her ear, “Trust me.”

  She nodded as he broke the one-sided embrace and returned to his seat.

  “What is this all about, Doug?” Vern asked as he opened a folder and held his pen ready to jot down anything he needed to remember. “Please… anything you can give me. I have a better chance of getting this sorted quickly.”

  Doug shook her head as the tears threatened to crash over her dark lashes. Swallowing the fear, she knew she needed to be focused, so she didn’t do anything wrong. “It’s a case of mistaken identity.”

  Ladon reached out to cover her hand with his, a soft squeeze to let her know he was here for her. “Just tell us what happened.”

  “They came into the bar… said I was being arrested for murder. They pushed me down on the table and handcuffed me.” Doug stopped talking as she heard the guttural growl that was now vibrating up Ladon’s chest. “They were rough with you?”

  She nodded as she turned her wrists for him to see the red welt marks that were there from the first set of handcuffs they had placed on her.

  “I will kill them,” Ladon growled

  “No, you won’t,” Vern said calmly. “Okay. Who are you supposed to have murdered?”

  “Mavis Brown,” she replied, determined to remain as calm as she could.

  “Who is Mavis Brown? And why are you connected?” Vern asked, his head tilted to the notebook as he took notes.

  “Mavis Brown was the local flower lady. She comes in—” Doug stopped herself and took a breath, slowly exhaling it before continuing, “Used to come in the bar and sell flowers to couples on romantic dates. She was a regular, and she visited all the bars and restaurants on the strip.”

  “The lady you walked home last night?” La
don asked. “The one who I just picked up a new flower cart for?”

  Doug nodded. “Yes. The same one. It seems sometime shortly after I left her, she was killed.”

  “You said you walked her home?”

  “I did… well… almost,” Doug answered Ladon’s question.

  “Almost is not the same,” Vern said. “Tell me exactly what you did last night.” He looked up at her directly and then said, “Exactly, please.”

  “I came out of work and saw her struggling with the cart. So I offered to help her home. We stopped for a hot chocolate because she was cold, and I thought it would warm her up. Then I walked her home,” Doug stated the night’s highlights.

  “Almost. You said almost walked her home. Explain?” Vern asked.

  “The cart doesn’t go up the stairs. She said she parks it around the back in an alleyway. I told her I would help her, and she brushed me away. Mavis said she appreciated the hot chocolate, but she was more than capable of putting her cart away and walking up the stairs to her apartment.” She looked Vern in the eyes. “Now, I completely understand a woman feeling the need to be in charge of her own life. So, when she said she could do it, who am I to disrespect her like that? I wished her a good night and left.”

  “You don’t think—” Vern started to say when she interrupted him.

  “Just did what I thought was best because I know better than argue with a woman who’s more than four times my age.” She kept her eyes on him as she added, “If you think that’s my style, you have me sadly mistaken. Mavis was a bright, energetic, and vibrant woman. I had nothing but admiration for her.”

  “Okay.” Vern looked down and made some notes. “She was alive when you left her?”

  “Of course.” Doug looked at Ladon. “Your associate is kinda being a butthead.”

  “He knows what he’s doing. Trust us,” Ladon said calmly. “Trust me.”

  Doug shook her head slowly as she exhaled. “I do. I’m just scared.”

  “Understandable.” Vern nodded, his tone all about business. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to sit tight for a little while longer.”