Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers

by Piñeiro, Caridad

  Since he’d entered the house at night, a strange desire to become one with the structure overran every other need. But he’d be lonely if he stayed here forever. He must have other like-minded people surrounding him. When they’d left the house, his strength danced and wavered and weathered a bouncing, crackling wave. He strained to materialize, to return to his body in full form. As their car drove away, he knew his body had started to become visible again. He could see his own limbs in the semi-darkness. He reached for a light switch and discovered he’d come back to full form as lights came on in the house. Breathing deeply, he enjoyed the sensation of forming into full human form. He couldn’t decide, as the people drove away, if he enjoyed being real. Perhaps staying light and airy would prove better than existing in a real, touchable world. He’d never fit in. Why should he start now? But, if he wished to continue visiting the house and soaking in its delicious evil, he must return in full force to his solid form. So he did. Reluctantly.

  Blackout: Chapter Six

  Wednesday

  A knock on Cassie’s door woke her the next morning. She groaned and rolled over. She opened one eye and spotted the digital alarm clock on the bedside table. Ten o’clock in the morning.

  She blinked and blinked again and tried to orient herself. Faint light trickled in from a small part in the drapes. With a another groan she sat up, half sure she’d imagined the knock on the door. It came again.

  She slipped out of bed and put on her flannel robe. She hadn’t brought slippers with her, so she drew on tube socks to keep her feet warm. The room was chilled like a meat locker. More pounding came on the door, but this time a voice came with it.

  “Cassie?”

  Griff?

  She hurried to the door and peered through the security peep hole. Griff stood at her door, his eyes clearly worried and frowning.

  She opened the door and swung it wide. Instantly relief filled his face, and she wondered what the hell would alter him like this.

  “Cassie. God, what took you so long to answer?” His gaze danced over her robe. “Are you sick?”

  “No…I…come in.”

  She gestured for him to enter, and after he did she closed the door and locked it.

  He cupped her face in both hands. “You don’t look all right. Were you sleeping?”

  Warmed by the heat in his touch, she forgot the freezing room. She placed her hands over his. “I was dead to the world until you knocked.”

  He cupped her forehead a second. “No fever.”

  She smiled, touched by his concern. “Thanks for checking on me, but I’m all right. I guess I just needed the rest.”

  “Could be more than that.” He moved farther into the room.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t wake up until an hour ago. Barely dragged my ass into the shower. After I left your room last night I was so tired I fell on the bed. Woke up still dressed.”

  As inappropriate as it was, an image of him totally naked flashed into her mind. She licked her lips and tried to quell the reaction. She was practically drooling on him. Where had her objectivity gone? He wore a sweater of deep ruby red which hugged his broad shoulders, and her libido noticed his muscular ass in his well-fitted and worn jeans.

  She shoved down the lust. “I don’t know why I slept so late. It was only seven o’clock when we came back here last night.”

  His frown said he wanted to understand what had happened but didn’t have a clue. “Up to having breakfast?”

  Her stomach chose that moment to growl loud enough to wake the dead. She grinned and he laughed.

  “I guess you have your answer. Coffee sounds wonderful right now,” she said.

  “I’ll meet you down at the restaurant.”

  After he left Cassie turned up the thermostat and peeked between the drapes. Snow from last night had already melted. Groaning, she headed to the shower. While drying her hair, she looked in the mirror and made a face. God, she looked like hell. She’d never seen circles under her eyes that dark.

  Liar. She remembered the day after the tsunami, when she’d dared to look in the mirror and saw her hair in a tangled mess, her face smudged with all matter of dirt.

  She’d given up on being a made up Barbie doll after that. This morning she wouldn’t bother with more than a little powder, eye shadow, liner and blush.

  Downstairs in the restaurant she saw Griff settled at a booth. The restaurant had one other couple at a table eating omelettes. After she sat down across from Griff, the waitress served them both coffee. Cassie added cream and sipped the strong liquid.

  “Ahh,” she said. “Java.”

  He laughed and took a drink of his black coffee. “Yeah, I could practically live on coffee. I have before.”

  “When you were in the marines?”

  “And as a marshal.”

  Instead of discussing last night, she turned toward understanding Neal Griffin. “Do you thrive on action?”

  He glanced out the window at the fresh, bright day. “You might say that.”

  “Why?”

  “Good question. I haven’t thought about it much.”

  She wondered if he didn’t scrutinize his own motivations at all. She didn’t plan to push him on that, certain he wouldn’t answer.

  “And you’re a bit conservative,” he said.

  She made a small noise of disagreement. “You don’t know me as well as you think. I’ve had a few adventures.”

  “Such as?”

  She took another long drink of coffee. “Zip line. Some rock climbing.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Good deal.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable. I was terrified both times and wouldn’t do either again. It’s not in me to put life and limb out there. Someone like you…it seems like it’s a part of your personality.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Of course not. I’ve always thought men and women like you were special. There have to be warriors.”

  “You’re not a pacifist?”

  “In an ideal world I would be.”

  I’d rather make love with you than war. Her face heated as that thought ran through her head. She looked into her coffee cup. She wasn’t even sure she understood making love. She’d read about it, imagined it. But all she’d really had was sex and not very good sex at that.

  “The only people I make war on these days are criminals,” he said.

  Cassie decided to steer clear of asking him work-related questions. She had a feeling he’d stonewall her. “Thanks for coming to check up on me this morning. I don’t know why I was so tired.”

  “Maybe we both caught something and that’s why we’re feeling out of it.”

  “I suppose it’s possible.”

  The waitress brought their breakfasts. They’d almost finished eating when Griff looked behind her.

  “Oh, boy,” he said as he looked past her. “Incoming.”

  She glanced around and saw Dougray coming their way. “Damn.”

  “I could tell him to get lost.”

  “Let’s keep it cordial.”

  Dougray sauntered up to them, an easy smile on his face. “How are you guys today?”

  She smiled, hoping if she kept this friendly he’d go away. “We’re great. How about you?”

  He nodded. “I saw a car at that house on the hill last night when I drove by. Was that your car?”

  Cassie glanced quickly at Griff and caught his wary expression. “Yeah.”

  “Why were you there?” Dougray asked.

  She took a closer look at the Scot and noted the dark circles under his eyes. “We could ask you the same question.”

  Dougray sighed. “You know why. My sister.”

  Wariness remained in Griff’s eyes, but he answered with, “My car broke down and our cell phones wouldn’t work. We saw someone in the house and hoped they had a phone.”

  Dougray’s eyes widened. “What? You saw someone in there?”

  Griff leaned forwa
rd. “What else do you know about this house that you aren’t telling us?”

  Dougray slid into the booth next to Cassie. “I did my research here in town. Not town records but people who live around here.”

  “Penny Cribbs told us the history of the house and all the rumors,” Griff said.

  Dougray nodded. “I’ll bet she didn’t tell you what I found out.”

  “So tell us.” Griff didn’t sound too happy or interested.

  Cassie’s gaze bounced from Dougray to Griff, not liking the tension between them. She’d lost her appetite but ate anyway. Griff didn’t hesitate to continue his meal.

  Dougray leaned his elbows on the table. “People who live on the other side of the road up the hill a ways say the place freaks them out.”

  “They talked to you about it?” She didn’t believe it.

  Dougray’s long blond hair swayed as he nodded. He brushed it out of his face. “They’d heard about my sister, and they met me many times before. They wanted to help me.”

  “I can verify that.” Griff sounded no nonsense.

  The Scot’s dubious expression grew deeper. “How?”

  Griff reached into his back pocket and flipped out a wallet and laid it on the table with his badge showing. “That’s how I can find out.”

  Griff didn’t show any bravado in his gesture, just reality.

  Dougray peered at the badge. “Bloody hell. You’re a cop?”

  “Federal marshal.” Griff gathered up the wallet and returned it to his pocket. “Tell us what you discovered.”

  Dougray messed with the pepper shaker, twirling it around in his hands. “The Bennets and Jorgenson’s live on the east side of the street. They each have two acres.”

  “They can see the other property easily when they’re that spread out?” Cassie asked.

  Dougray met her gaze. “No. When they’ve driven by their they’ve seen a lot of strange things over the years.”

  “How long have they lived there?” Griff asked.

  “Both families have lived there over twenty years.” Dougray pushed the pepper shaker aside and started messing with the salt shaker.

  “And?” Impatience laced Griff’s voice.

  Dougray hesitated, his attention wavering from Cassie to Griff. “Both families said the day my sister disappeared the roses out front bloomed. In the middle of winter. They were too damned scared to go over there and see how or why the plants bloomed.”

  Cassie swallowed hard. “Has anyone investigated how or why the plants are that way?”

  Dougray grunted. “I tried to ask the sheriff just outside of Bowmount and he laughed his ass off. Said he’d never heard of such a thing and that I was mental. Said I had a lot of cheek coming into the area and telling him how to do his job. This was after I blew up at him. Told him he’d bungled my sister’s disappearance case.”

  “I’m sure that helped.” Cassie couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her tone.

  Dougray didn’t seem deterred by what she’d said. “The people across the street went to the cops when they saw strange things going on over at the house, and they even had a paranormal investigation team come over last year.”

  Griff snorted. “Waste of time.”

  She threw him an irritated look, then turned back to Dougray. “Did they find anything?”

  “We couldn’t get permission for them to enter the property. No one can even find out who owns the place now.”

  Skepticism reared its head inside Cassie. She sipped her coffee and said, “That doesn’t make sense. Someone must know who owns the property now.”

  “If this was such a big deal, how come it hasn’t made the news?” Griff asked after taking a bite of his food.

  Dougray’s expression remained etched with determination. “I know. It sounds like a load of rubbish.”

  “Then maybe it is. People like to create these urban legends to scare the shit out of themselves around a campfire.” Griff’s voice held a hard edge, as if he didn’t want to hear anymore of the paranormal angle.

  Irritated, Cassie asked, “I thought you wanted to hear what he found out.”

  Dougray barrelled onward. “The paranormal investigation was in the newspapers for about a day. The media, in its infinite wisdom, decided it was somehow a hoax. They didn’t come out here to see for themselves. I tried contacting scientists I thought might be interested. People with an open mind. They ignored me.” Dougray’s voice, though kept low, had a desperate tone to it. “I’ve tried everything to find out what happened to my sister. I’m taking it into my own hands because no one gives a rot.”

  Disconcerted, Cassie glanced at Griff. His eyes were hard and unforgiving.

  “If all that’s true, what have you found out since you started investigating on your own?” Griff asked.

  Dougray started to answer, but the waitress interrupted and took away their plates. She left a bill, and Cassie snatched it since she didn’t plan to allow Griff to pay for this meal, too.

  Dougray gave them both a penetrating look, as if he expected them to have answers to a serious matter. “I haven’t found out a thing.”

  “There you have it then,” Griff said. “Maybe there isn’t anything to find.”

  No trace of the smarmy Dougray remained. “How can you say that? You were in the house, right?”

  “Yes,” Cassie said.

  “What did you see in there?” Dougray glared at her. “What did you see?”

  Griff jumped in. “A piece of junk house. Dust. Decay.”

  “Nothing else?” Dougray’s eyes were piercing, challenging.

  “Nothing.” Griff’s single word sounded final.

  Cassie threw Griff a glare. “That’s not entirely true. We saw someone walking around in the house. But when we went in we couldn’t find anyone. And it’s not that big of a place. We’ve seen the roses bloom and then die. It’s a weird house.”

  Dougray watched them both. “Why did he say nothing happened? Why are you lying, Griffin?”

  Griff took a deep breath. “I’m not lying. I just believe there’s an explanation for it all.”

  Dougray stood slowly. “The explanation is the place is evil.”

  He turned away and left.

  After the man was out of earshot, Cassie asked, “Why did you say nothing happened?”

  “I didn’t say nothing happened. I said that it wasn’t paranormal.”

  Cassie couldn’t stop the frustration. “And where do you think the person in the house hid? What’s your logical explanation for that?”

  “Maybe the attic. I should have looked up there.” Griff’s expression softened.

  Disappointed, she decided she’d had enough for the day. She threw money on the table, her fatigue still bothering here. “Breakfast is on me. I need to take another nap. Later.”

  “Cassie, wait.”

  She waited, but he didn’t say anything immediately, just looked at her as if he wanted to understand.

  “You’re angry,” he said.

  “I’m tired and confused. I need sleep.”

  She walked away, low in spirits and angry at herself for caring.

  * * *

  “There ain’t a thing wrong with your car, sir,” the mechanic said as he wiped his hands on a cloth.

  Griff stared at the Charger’s open hood, and then the grizzled old mechanic as they stood in the man’s car repair business. “You’re sure?”

  The man tucked the greasy rag in a back pocket of his overalls and scratched the gray stubble on his chin. “Son I’ve been fixing cars like this for over forty-five years. And this ain’t one of those new hopped up things with a lot of computerized junk in it. I can even fix those. Had to take a lot of extra training and it cost me a mint. But I knew if I wanted to keep up with things I had to. I prefer to work on these older cars, though. Come apocalypse, these are the only damn things that’ll be running.”

  Griff almost rolled his eyes, but instead resorted to a tight smile. “Thanks, Mr. Tracy. I appre
ciate you doing this for me. I couldn’t find anything, but I’m not a full-fledged mechanic. I thought maybe I’d missed something.”

  “The way the car was acting, I can’t believe there isn’t something wrong with it.”

  “Well, maybe you got some water in the gas or something,” the older man said, his tone dismissive.

  “Huh. Maybe.”

  Mr. Tracy lifted one thick eyebrow and tilted his baseball cap back on his head. He glanced around the ramshackle garage. “I run an honest business here Mr. Griffin. And I ain’t just saying that because you’re a cop.”

  “I’m a marshal.”

  “Same difference. I just don’t want nobody thinking I’m running a jip joint.”

  Griff frowned, not sure how he’d gone from thanking Mr. Tracy to the man thinking he was accusing him of ill deeds. “Everyone assured me you’re the best mechanic in town. Penny said you’ve been fixing her cars her entire life.”

  “That’s right.” Pride entered the man’s voice. “Taught my son the same skills. He’s a mechanic in Estes Park. Don’t know why he’d want to move there, though. I’ve got plenty of work here to do.”

  “I’m sure you have.” Griff smoothed over hard feelings. “What do I owe you?”

  Mr. Tracy waved his hands in dismissal. “You don’t owe me nothing. Ain’t anything wrong with the car.”

  “I need to pay you for checking the car.”

  “Nah. Even if you wasn’t a cop I don’t charge customers if there ain’t anything wrong.”

  Puzzled, Griff said, “Even if I wasn’t a cop? What does being law enforcement have to do with it?”

  The man’s gray eyes went misty, his mouth suddenly wobbling with emotion. Griff frowned, worried the old guy would break down.