Watcher (The Shining Ones Book 1)

by Shawnee Small

  I couldn’t leave him unprotected.

  Angel or man, he was now in the sheriff’s sights, whether he should’ve been or not, and I couldn’t not let him know. He’d saved my life, and I’d never paid that debt. It was only a matter of time before the sheriff showed up at his door.

  I knocked.

  No answer.

  I knocked harder this time.

  If he was surprised by my presence on his front porch, he didn’t show it. Adam opened the door and looked at me, his expression unreadable.

  “Poesy.” Just the one word.

  He looked no different than the last time I saw him. Although he seemed tired, he was still ethereally beautiful. His pale skin was still paler than most, his hair was still a stylish mess, and his clear brown eyes still regarded me with an unnerving intensity. He was dressed casually in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, but he could be wearing a towel and still be alluring. I tried not to blush as I remembered him that first night at his house, naked as the day he was born.

  “Can I come in?” I asked.

  He nodded and opened the door wide for me as I made my way into the foyer but didn’t go any farther.

  “What do you want, Poesy? I thought we had an understanding.”

  It was polite enough, but hardly subtle.

  “Yes, I know, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important,” I replied, trying to keep the sadness from overwhelming me.

  “Please have a seat, then.” Adam held his hand out toward the same sofa where I had sat with Daisy. It seemed like ages since that night, but I tried not to linger on the thought. Instead, I made my way over to the sofa, cognizant of the fact that I probably looked slightly bedraggled after Paddy’s. I pushed my hair away from my face and sat down.

  “I don’t know where to start‌…‌I don’t even know what you know,” I stammered, but continued, nonetheless. “My friend Amanda is dead. I know you never met her, but she’s been murdered.” I swallowed hard and licked my lips. “They think the person who killed Alberta also killed Amanda.”

  Adam frowned as he spoke. “So both women were killed in similar ways, is that it?”

  “Yes,” I replied, just above a whisper.

  “I am sorry for your loss.” He walked over and sat down on the sofa beside me. He hesitated for just a split second before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. The tingling was immediate and intense. I welcomed the sensation and laid my cheek on his chest, the smell of him this close giving me some comfort.

  I’d missed him.

  Wrapping my arms around his waist, I forced back the tears, squeezing him tighter. Why couldn’t it be this way? Why did the words have to drive us apart? I broke our embrace and looked at him again.

  “I didn’t come here to tell you that. Sheriff Riley came into Paddy’s today to ask me about you.”

  “So?”

  “So that’s bad.” I sighed. He didn’t have a clue. Had he lived among humans so long that he had forgotten what a threat looked like up close? “Sheriff Riley runs this island, and you’re on his radar. He needs to solve these murders, and you’re a stranger here. Think about the implications of that.”

  “I am not worried about one human, Poesy.”

  “He’s not just a human, he’s an officer of the law. He could throw you in lock-up faster than you could say his name, if he wanted to.” I touched his arm. “Adam, this is serious. You need to leave Tybee. Like now. Go far away and don’t come back. Sell the house and move on. It’s not safe here anymore.”

  It had taken a lot to work up the courage to say those words to him. Leaving was the last thing I wanted him to do, but the longer things went unresolved, the more pressure the sheriff would be under to find his man. It would be easy to make Adam the scapegoat, and what then? Would they discover who he really was? Would the world finally know?

  “I cannot leave”‌—‌he shook his head before looking at his watch‌—‌“but you should go now.” He must’ve seen the look on my face, because his next words were gentler. “I am not unappreciative of your effort, but what you ask of me is impossible. My role is here for now, but trust me when I say I will be fine. My kind has walked amongst your kind for thousands of years. We have learned a trick or two in that time.” He gave me a heart-stopping smile.

  Who was being cavalier now? I edged closer to him on the couch. “Listen, can’t I stay?” I asked hesitantly. “I really wanna talk, and maybe we can come up with a way of dealing with the sheriff or something. I mean, maybe we can–”

  “Poesy, stop.”

  He didn’t have to say any more because his face said it all. I felt the shame flood through me.

  Life could be cruel.

  “Okay, yeah, I should get going.” I said, the fight leaving me.

  I couldn’t look at him as I stood up. It was pitiful. Weeks ago, I would’ve argued with him, made him talk to me, engage somehow, some way, but that was before Brianna, before Adam had hurt my heart. Now we were at that same crossroads one more time, and I was in danger of getting my feelings stomped on all over again. Suddenly, I no longer wanted to stay.

  I rushed to the door and opened it, only to find Brianna standing there.

  The thing about Brianna Macon was that she looked like she hadn’t aged a day since we’d left high school. She almost looked better than she had back then, if that was even possible. She had chosen to wear a black-and-white tank that clung to her body in all the ways that mattered. As Birdie had pointed out, her boob job had done wonders for her figure, and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if she even needed a bra now. Her tanned legs were covered in a pair of designer jeans, thankfully, but that did little to detract from her beauty.

  I felt downright dowdy in my Paddy’s uniform.

  “Uh, hi, Brianna.” I tried to swallow.

  Brianna narrowed her eyes at me. She wasn’t happy to see me‌—‌the feeling was mutual. “Hello Poesy. What a surprise,” she said smoothly.

  Adam stepped out the door and between us. Either he got the message, or he was being polite. Either way, he had intervened. “Poesy is just leaving.”

  “Good,” said Brianna a little too keenly. “After all, I wouldn’t want us to be late for our dinner reservation.”

  I didn’t want to know any more.

  “Yeah, anyhow, have fun.” I scooted around both of them.

  I didn’t even bother to say goodbye as I bolted off the porch and across the lawn to the street. I kept walking, one foot in front of the other, until reaching the bend in the road, and then I exhaled loudly. Trying to fight back the frustration and dismay was useless. I fixated on how her hair had looked, how her eyes had sparkled at his attention, how she’d smiled at him when he had touched her arm. I needed to think of something else.

  I pulled my phone out of my bag and called Haylee. She picked up after three rings.

  “What’s up?” asked Haylee.

  “Are you off work yet?” I asked.

  “Just about,” responded Haylee. “Why?”

  “Can I come over to hang out? I don’t want to go home.”

  I couldn’t face going home quite yet. Being home meant I would have way too much free time on my hands to think about everything: Amanda, Sheriff Riley, Adam, Brianna. It would be best if I could immerse myself in somebody else’s world, if for only a little while.

  “Sure. You want me to come get you?” asked Haylee.

  I was still only halfway home. “No, it’s okay. I’ll drive over. No use you having to drive me back out to Tybee later.”

  “Girl, is everythin’ okay?” Haylee’s voice belied her concern.

  “Yeah, we’ll talk when I get there,” I replied and hung up the phone.

  ***

  Like my trailer, the Jackson house wasn’t much to look at. A small square box with an even smaller disheveled porch. Haylee’s father had purchased the shack before he’d run out on Corinne, but not much abo
ut it had changed since then. The wood trim on the side had buckled due to the constant exposure to the weather and saltwater, while the sun had bleached it almost bone white. Yet it was still standing, and that was something. I walked up the steps and let myself in.

  Haylee was in the kitchen, stirring gumbo in a pot.

  “Sorry, I just let myself in,” I said as walked around the small Formica table and gave Haylee a hug. I inhaled deeply, and my stomach growled. “It smells good.”

  “You stayin’ for dinner?” asked Haylee.

  “If you’ll let me,” I said before pulling out a chair at the table and sitting in it. I sighed.

  “Uh-uh, that ain’t good, girl. Spill it.” Haylee set her wooden spoon on a plate and made her way to the table, taking a seat across from mine.

  “Why does Brianna Macon hate my guts?” I rested my head in my hand and peered at Haylee.

  “Oh, girl, I feel like I need a drink before I start this old conversation again,” Haylee replied, rolling her eyes.

  I got up and grabbed two cans of Diet Coke from the fridge and set one in front of Haylee before cracking open mine and taking a sip. Haylee snorted.

  “I was hopin’ for somethin’ a bit stronger, but I guess that’ll have to do,” she said. “So why are we havin’ this talk again? That ho bag ain’t worth it.” Haylee took a sip of her soda and stared at me.

  Here we go, I thought to myself. “She’s with Adam.”

  “Oh, hell no,” exclaimed Haylee. “When did that happen?”

  I shook my head. “A couple of weeks, maybe. It’s a long story.”

  But that didn’t keep me from telling Haylee about it. I told her about my fight with Adam when I got home from tour with Birdie and about running into Adam with Brianna at the grocery store. Haylee didn’t say anything, but the more I said, the more intense her face became. She didn’t seem very happy when I got to the end of my news about Sheriff Riley.

  “Poe, I don’t know. Birdie may be right about him. Ever since that cracker showed up, bad things have been happenin’. I know you don’t wanna hear it from me, but you know what he’s capable of. Hell, I’ll be eighty and still remember that night in the alleyway.”

  “I’m not saying there isn’t something different about him,” I said, trying to figure out how to say what I wanted to say without giving anything away. “It’s just that I don’t believe Adam would hurt Amanda. He didn’t even know her, first off. But aside from that, I just don’t think there’s badness in him.” Despite his pedigree.

  “Yet now he’s got himself an alliance with the she-devil. Who would’ve thought?”

  I rubbed my thumb over the top of my soda can and frowned. “I know. Of all the girls to choose‌—‌Brianna.” Saying her name again left a sour taste in my mouth.

  “Look,” said Haylee. “That girl has a lot of insecurity inside of her. Don’t let her get to you. We all get in her crosshairs once in a while.”

  “I know you’re right,” I replied, “but I just wish it wasn’t Adam. There’s no shortage of men who’d date her.”

  Haylee shook her head at me. “You still got it bad then?”

  “I’m afraid so.” I sighed.

  Yes, I missed him, but it was more than that. He had made me see things differently, had opened my eyes to a world that was almost beyond my comprehension. What other things would become apparent if I ever got the chance to be with him‌—‌really be with him‌—‌again? The yearning was almost more than I could bear sometimes.

  “Have you told him?” asked Haylee. She was twirling one of her dreads around her index finger.

  “I tried. Just now before I came here, but Brianna showed up. He practically shoved me out the door.”

  “For real?”

  “Yeah.” I pushed my soda can across the table with my free hand before straightening up in my chair. “But enough of my pity party. How’s it been going? With you, I mean, since, you know, Amanda?” I couldn’t say “murder.”

  Haylee stopped twirling her hair and slouched back in her chair, picking at the tab on her soda can. “I keep thinkin’, what if it’d been you? What then? It makes me feel bad, Poe. I miss her and that is the truth, so help me, Jesus, but it could’ve been…” I reached across the table and squeezed her wrist. “I know I ain’t no saint, but I must be broken or somethin’, ’cause I can’t seem to work up to the sort of grief that you and Birdie have got goin’ on. What does that make me?”

  “Honest,” I replied softly.

  I could see the hint of tears in the corner of Haylee’s eyes, but knew she wouldn’t shed them. It wasn’t Haylee’s way. “Everyone grieves in their own way, Haylee Jane. Just because you don’t cry about it like me or Birdie doesn’t mean you don’t feel it.”

  “But I don’t wanna be a monster,” she croaked.

  “You’re not.” I got up then and kissed the top of her hand before sidling around the table and embracing her.

  “Man, aren’t we a pair?” I said into the top of her head before I kissed it, too.

  Haylee gave me a small laugh. “Don’t you know it.”

  “Come on.” I made Haylee get up out of her chair. “If that gumbo isn’t all scorched on the bottom of that pan, it might just be edible.”

  13

  As expected, a record number of folks turned out for Amanda’s funeral. The ceremony itself was short and to the point. Mr. Chu was a no-frills man, even at his own daughter’s funeral. He kept his remarks brief, thanking all of us for turning out and supporting his only daughter and saying he hoped they would catch whoever had done this. He didn’t elaborate on how wonderful a girl she was, how she was full of life, and how dearly she would be missed. He was unable to convey what we all felt for Amanda. It was as if he never truly knew her nor knew what she was capable of. Suddenly, I remembered the look in her eyes as I’d walked out of the trailer on that last day. My anger turned to remorse and then shame.

  Would I ever get over my guilt?

  After the ceremony, everybody convened back at Paddy’s. Even though she hadn’t worked there, Amanda had been an honorary member of our crew, and Stevie had graciously offered to host the wake. It also meant we all had to work to accommodate the crowd, including Birdie. I wanted to go to him and make things better between us, but he holed himself up behind the bar while Katie Fitzpatrick hung out in front of him on a barstool. He was clearly staying out of my way.

  Too caught up in my own troubles with Birdie, I hadn’t noticed Brianna sauntering through the door. It wasn’t until I heard her call my name that her presence even registered at all. I looked up from my tray full of food to see her standing at the bar. Adam sat beside her on a barstool.

  Not again. My heart flip-flopped in my chest as I balanced the tray awkwardly.

  I hadn’t expected the two of them to show up at the wake, as Adam and Brianna had been noticeably absent at the funeral. I’d been thankful for that. The last thing I needed was to sit through Amanda’s funeral while they canoodled in some corner of the graveyard.

  But my luck had just run out. I delivered my food and then made my way toward the bar, even though every cell in my body urged me to walk the other way.

  “Finally,” Brianna said.

  I avoided Adam’s stare as I looked at her.

  “What do you want, Brianna?” My words were polite, but that was all. I could feel the tension run up my arms as I gripped my tray, my knuckles turning white. Whatever Brianna wanted with me couldn’t be good.

  “Really, Poesy. I would’ve thought you’d be a bit more gracious by now.”

  “Just get on with it,” interrupted Haylee from behind me. She must’ve seen them enter the bar. “What do you want?”

  Haylee was staring balefully at Brianna. Katie Fitzpatrick smirked at me from a barstool and I would’ve happily shoved her off her perch if Brianna didn’t have my full attention right then.

  Brianna’s smile slid from her face for a mere s
econd before she propped it back up in place. Her voice was artificially cheery when she spoke. “We’re going to throw a big Christmas party at Adam’s. I wanted to drop off the paperwork for you,” she said, trying to hand me a stack of papers.

  She had showed up with paperwork for a party in the middle of Amanda’s wake.

  “Stevie ain’t available. Come back later,” Haylee interjected. She pushed the paperwork back toward Brianna.

  “Well, yes,” she said, her hand on hip, “but Stevie told me to drop off the paperwork with Poesy, as she’ll be coordinating the party.”

  Brianna smiled a vicious smile that stabbed into my ribs, rendering me speechless. Luckily, Haylee recovered quicker than me. She rushed forward and grabbed the papers from Brianna before giving her a disarming smile. “I’ll help you–”

  “But Stevie said–”

  “Girl, it’s all good,” said Haylee as she ushered a startled Brianna toward the kitchen door. It was hard to resist Haylee when she was shoving Brianna from behind. She guided Brianna away, albeit unwillingly.

  “Wow,” said Katie before Birdie gave her a silencing look.

  I turned to flee, not caring where I went as long as it was far away from Adam, but then something inside me changed. My heart still ached for him, and seeing him in Paddy’s where it all began made it hard for me to breathe, but a seed of resentment broke ground somewhere near my heart and swelled until it blossomed into a violent bloom of anger. I didn’t want Adam here now because it was disrespectful. Today was about Amanda. The displeasure flared as I rounded on him.

  “Did you think in some alternative universe, it would be okay for you to bring her here in the middle of Amanda’s wake? Or for me to put together a party for her? ’Cause if there is some wacky time-shift thing that you’re going to do to make this right, then I’d like to know about it now,” I said, my voice getting louder.