by Drake, J. L.
“Yeah.” He pointed his finger at me. “Avery, right? You work with Seth at OPD?”
I smiled and showed off my teeth. People seemed to like that smile. “I do.” I motioned for him to grab the peanut butter he was about to reach for before I came up. “So, I have to ask.” I turned to him and lowered my voice like I was about to share something private. “How can you stand living next to someone like McPhee? Frig, that girl is something.” I winked playfully. I saw his face change, I knew he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. I changed paths. “Look, Travis, I’ve seen how those two operate. There’s a ton of tension between them after what happened. I give them a month before you see the moving van outside her door.”
Travis looked around to see if the coast was clear. Shit, what I wouldn’t give to ram his stupid face into the grocery cart handle, maybe break his nose, fuck up his jaw. “I don’t know what happened, but I can tell you she’s been hurting lately. Crying, looking for comfort from other people. I think you might be right about him moving out.”
Perfect. My hand flexed on the handle of the basket. I was just itching to break something of his. I promised myself I’d hit up The Brick tonight before I headed over to McPhee’s. I made a face to show I was on his side. “If you’re interested in McPhee, I can give you some pointers.” I waited and dangled the bait. I knew the cocky fucker would bite. He smiled and moved in closer. “Flowers, candy, she loves wine and martinis, with three olives.”
“Three olives?” he interrupted me. I was really fighting hard to hold back the urge to punch him in the throat. Fuck, are manners dead nowadays?
“I know, strange, but yes, three.” I waited to see if he had anything else to add. “Just be there a lot, she loves company, and despite what she says, she hates to be alone. Why do you think I’m always there?”
“Speaking of which…” he interrupted again. “You seem interested in her, no?”
I shrugged and pulled out all my fantastic talent. “Nah, after everything that happened, we’re way too close to go down that road. Kinda like a sister, you know.”
“What did happen?” he asked.
I felt a tiny bead of sweat break out along my neck, but I played off my anger as compassion for Emily. “Let’s just say she became someone’s obsession and it didn’t end very well.”
“Oh, and there’s still tension from it, with Seth?”
I chucked a jar of jam in my basket and moved on to make a show of reading a label on something else. “Some people deal with stress in different ways. Connors doesn’t deal well with people touching his things. After what happened with McPhee, he’s convinced she was forced into sex, and now he’s not that interested.” I gave him a sad face. “Who knows what happened, but bottom line is that girl deserved better than to be questioned by the man who supposedly loves her, right?” I squeezed his shoulder. Contact in a sad moment tends to deepen the impact of the words. I tried to be friendly while I fought to chase my evil thoughts away. “She’s invested a lot of time into Seth, and it won’t be easy for her, but if she knew someone else was there, she might see the light.” I started to walk away, but I stopped. “Oh, Travis, 2011 St. Michelle Merlot.” I glanced toward the roof and thought Jims would love that one. “It was nice to see you again, Travis, take care.”
“Yeah.” Travis sounded a million miles away. “Yeah, you too, Avery.”
I smirked as I dropped the basket by a sales clerk and headed out to my car. Oh, how I loved to meddle when I got front row seats to the show.
***
Emily
I pushed the shopping cart through the aisles and thought about all that I’d need for the barbecue tonight. Steaks, chicken, potatoes, Caesar salad stuff. I bent over and saw a pair of sneakers come up next to me.
“Do you come here often?” Travis asked as he gazed down at me with a killer smile. He offered a hand to help me up and took the sack of potatoes out of my arms and placed it in my cart.
“Thanks.” I brushed off the dirt from the bag. “Quite the line.”
He pushed his cart behind mine and let an older gentleman go by. “It’s one of my best, but I have several others if that didn’t work. I have, ‘Baby, your eyes are like the stars, and I am the tide. Do you feel that pull we have?’” I laughed and thought how funny he could be. “So,” he looked in my cart, “you having company?”
“Yes, the guys are having a barbecue. It’s been a while—” I stopped. I didn’t want to get into that right now. “It’s long overdue.”
“How nice for them. Do you do all the cooking too?” I stared at him for a moment and wondered why he asked that. “I just mean it’s very kind that you shop and cook. Seth’s a lucky man.”
I shrugged while I reached for the flour. “I don’t mind, I enjoy the cooking. Besides, Garrett will be there, so I won’t be handling the meat. He’s a tad OCD with barbecuing.” I chuckled, thinking of his secret sauce. “Besides, the guys are great with the cleanup, and that’s the part I hate the most.”
“Well, that’s good.” He turned the corner with me into the wine section.
“St. Francis.” I turned the bottle to show him the label. “This is one of my favorites.” I placed two in my cart, and I noticed he did the same. “Alamos,” I grinned and added the bottle to the cart, “and…” I scanned the shelves, “Francis Coppola. These are my go to wines. They aren’t too pricey and are delicious.”
Travis took the Francis Coppola out of my hand and read the bottle. “If you like this one, you should try this.” He handed me another bottle. “William Hill, it’s one of my favorites.”
“Then I shall try it, thank you.” I snagged the bottle and added it to my collection. “If you’re not busy, you should come by. They’re a great group of guys. You know most of them in passing, so why don’t you stop by and get to know them better?”
He was quiet for a moment, and I thought he was going to decline when he answered, “What can I bring?”
“Nothing, just yourself.”
“That I can do,” he laughed. “All right, Emily, see you later. I need to pick up my dry cleaning before they close. You, my friend, enjoy the rest of your shopping experience.”
“Oh, that I will.” I waved goodbye.
I finished shopping and headed home, unlocking the door awkwardly with all the groceries stacked on top of one another so they wouldn’t fall. Once inside, I carefully set them down and started to punch in the security code. I stopped dead in my tracks.
Oh my hell! Jimmy Lasko was on my couch in his usual posture, crossed legged, hands entwined, eyes burning into mine.
“Hello, darlin’!” His voice was as clear as day, every word pronounced just so. “Miss me?”
The security alarm screamed at me. My brain questioned what the hell was going on, but my body was frozen, rooted in place. Every ounce of fear I had carefully tucked away smacked me in the face.
“How?” barely fell from my lips.
“It’s not about you.” He fixed his jacket, like he needed something to do.
“What?”
“It’s not about you.”
The door burst open and Riggs and Campbell, weapons drawn, moved about the room, scanning everywhere.
“Emily!” Riggs shouted as he turned around to face me. “What happened?” He had to shout over the alarm. “Are you alone?” I shook my head and saw Lasko press a finger to his lips to keep quiet. “What are you staring at?” Riggs followed my line of sight but didn’t react.
Campbell stepped in front of me and ducked down to look at me straight in the face. “What happened, Emily?”
I shook my head and finally snapped out of Lasko’s hold. “I-I…” I moved to see the chair was empty, no sign that anyone sat there. My hand flew to my mouth. What the hell?
“Em?” Riggs made me look over at him.
“I-I just…” I stopped. They’d think I was insane. “Nothing.” I begged my legs to move and turn off the alarm. I did, and suddenly the place was
too quiet. “I’m sorry, guys.” I wrapped my arms around my mid-section. I felt cold and eyed the chair. It still felt like he was here.
“Did you hear something? Or see something?” Campbell asked, but watched Riggs answer a call.
I shrugged, not sure how to answer that one. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Yes to both? Or yes to just one of them?”
“I don’t know, both?” I couldn’t seem to get my head in the game.
Campbell studied my face, then nodded. “You want me to get Vanessa to stay with you until Connors comes home?”
“No.” I managed to smile. “Erin will be here soon. Thanks, though.”
Campbell signaled to Riggs to leave. “All right, well, call us if you need us.”
“Will do.”
Riggs hung up the phone. “Call Connors when you get a chance, all right?”
“I will. Thanks, guys.”
I locked the door and turned around. I half expected to see him again, but the place was empty. I took a deep breath and tried to get past the haunting feeling Lasko gave me. I didn’t want to admit to myself that I just saw him. He was dead, and my mind was just playing tricks on me. Mean, evil tricks.
***
I called Seth, but it went straight to voicemail. I called Garrett next, and his did the same. Strange, they must be out of service. After I tried one more time, I called Avery.
“Hey, McPhee, you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was wondering if you know where Seth is.”
“Ummm,” there was a pause, “he’s helping Ronnie.”
“Oh.” I sighed but wondered why both of their phones were off if they were in the station. “Who’s Ronnie?”
“The newbie, Ronnie. Ronnie wants Connors’s help.”
“Okay, well, please let him know I tried to get hold of him, but seeing that their phones are off, I tried you.”
“Their phones are off? Are you sure? Because Connors texted me as we speak.” I sank down onto the chair. What the hell is going on? “He may have to ignore your call, you know, being that Ronnie is right there. Who knows? All right, I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks, Avery,” I whispered. Moments later, Erin pulled up.
***
Seth
I slammed the locker closed and shoved my arms through my sweatshirt. To say I was pissed was an understatement. Emily didn’t call. I didn’t know what was going on with her. If it wasn’t for Ronnie needing my help again and the call that came in for a possible robbery across town, I would have gone home and checked in on her.
I stewed the whole way home, but when I arrived, I saw Erin’s car in the driveway, and I reined in my anger. I dropped my bag at the door and headed to the kitchen, where I found Erin mixing a salad.
“Hey,” she said over her shoulder.
“How is she?” I asked and tried like hell to remove the bite from my voice.
Erin shrugged. “She won’t talk about it, but I think she just got spooked. She’s a little spacy, and something is clearly on her mind. But you know Em, she needs to process everything, store it away before she’ll even think of sharing it.”
The cap off my beer landed on the counter as I listened to Erin prattle away, and all the while I watched Emily set up the table on the patio.
“Seth,” she said a little louder so I would look over at her, “don’t pry too much. I just finally got my friend back.”
“Yeah,” I muttered and opened the door.
Emily gave me a tiny smile, but I could tell she was pissed off about something.
“Is your phone broken?” I asked.
She turned to glare at me. “Is yours?”
“Come again?”
She set a handful of forks down on the table and placed her hands on her hips. “I did call you, and Garrett too, but both phones went straight to voicemails. So I called Avery to let him know I’m all right and to pass the message on to you.” She rubbed her head. “You were too busy with Ronnie to get back to me.”
I shook off her last comment. “What happened today?” I asked, but I was curious why Avery failed to mentioned she had called.
She went back to fixing the table. “Just heard a noise and thought someone was in the house. False alarm.”
I moved to stand by her. “That would have been convincing if your voice didn’t crack at the end.”
“Lovers, I’m home!” Pete shouted from the kitchen. He hung outward holding the door frame when he spotted us. “Why don’t you have a drink in your hand, love?”
“I was just finishing up, then I was going to grab one.” She glanced up at me. “Please let it go, it was nothing.”
“Right.” I knew I wouldn’t get much further with her on the topic.
I showered, changed, and headed downstairs. I heard some people arrive, so I pasted on what I hoped was my best welcome smile. I met Garrett at the stairs and allowed myself a brief expression change to rest my face, which made him look at me with a question. I took the bag of meat he brought and had him follow me into the kitchen. Emily must have changed. She was now in super tight jeans that made her ass look amazing. I fought the urge to grab it as she walked by. She gave me a sideways glance. I knew she was still upset. I’d bring it up later, but I wouldn’t tonight. I knew how she operated.
“Hey, you,” Garrett leaned down and gave her a huge hug, “you look nice.”
“Thanks.” She looked down at her black halter top. “You thirsty?”
“Yes, ma’am!” He headed for the fridge.
Music pumped from the speakers. Pete must have had the controls again. I greeted Riley, Riggs, and Campbell as they headed out to the patio. Emily came in just as Avery did.
“Oh, shit,” Avery hissed and closed his eyes. “Connors, I’m really sorry. I meant to mention McPhee called, but you were dealing with Ronnie again, then you got called out. Man, I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right, Avery.” Emily shook her head. “There really was no reason for me to call anyway. It was stupid, what happened.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a side hug as she glanced down at his pocket. “That’s my phone.” He laughed and pulled it free, then he rolled his eyes as he glanced over at me. “Your girlfriend is looking for you.”
“Who?” I asked, confused.
“Ronnie, who else?”
“Nope, I’m off the clock, not interested in helping out.” Emily came up next to me and poured herself a glass of wine. “New jeans?”
“Yes.” She peered at me over the edge of her wine glass. “You like?”
“Very much.” My eyes flickered from hers to her deliciously moist lips. “So much indeed, I wish you’d change.”
She rolled her eyes. “Everyone here is like a brother, except you,” she winked, “and you can have all the dirty thoughts you want as long as you describe them to me later.”
“Shit, Connors, will you just call Ronnie?” Avery jammed his phone back in his pocket. I was so lost with Em I forgot he was still there.
“Knock-knock.” Travis appeared into the kitchen. “Hey, guys.”
I gave Garrett, who came in behind him, a quick glance, then let Em play hostess. I was not interested.
“Hey, you came.” She gave him a hug. “You hungry?”
“Actually, I won’t stay long. I just wanted to ask what you thought of the William Hill.” He pointed to her open bottle on the counter.
“I love it, thanks. It will now be one of my new favorites.” I looked at Emily, then Travis, and wondered when they spoke about wine. Garrett was doing the same thing.
“Em, the steaks ready?” Garrett cut in without caring.
Emily opened the fridge and removed the platter of sea-salt marinated steaks. “Just as you instructed me to do via several text messages, Garrett.” She handed him the dish. Garrett inspected the meat, then gave an approving nod.
“Yum,” Riggs called out as he carried a case of beer, with Campbell and Vanessa behind him. “I’m starving! Here, Garrett, let
me help you with those.”
I swore the entire place went silent as Garrett stared at him, then around at all of us as he saw we were anxiously waiting for his reaction.
“What?” Garrett smiled. “I’m not that bad.” He went to leave, but looked at Riggs. “Stay!”
“Wow, you weren’t kidding.” Travis laughed at Emily, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I didn’t like how comfortable he was.
Pete poked his head in the door. “Love, my liver called, said it would like another drink. Would you mind passing me another beer?” I watched Travis as she got the beer. He watched her the way I did, with a mix of lust and protection. My fingers gripped the edge of the counter. I didn’t need him to see how much he bothered me.
“Well.” Travis pushed off the wall. “I should get going.”
Smart plan.
***
Avery
I casually stepped back into the shadows as Travis and Emily emerged from the house. I loved how the darkness enclosed me like a shield. My grandmother hated how I could move about undetected. She said I was like a cat in the night. I enjoyed that analogy. I caught her many times in situations she didn’t want me to know about. I watched, but never told her what I saw. Let’s just say I had the upper hand over Father Thomas and would use it if I had to, but it never came to that. I left before I could destroy him.
My thumb slid my phone to silent, and I leaned back against the wall of the little tool shed. Travis’s eyes were glued to Emily’s ass while she walked a few feet ahead, completely oblivious to what was going on. She stopped at the tree line, just a few yards from me.
“Thanks for coming,” she said with her hands tucked in her pockets.
“Thanks for the invite.” Travis looked over her shoulder to the house. He saw Seth and Garrett at the barbecue. Pathetic in my eyes. Emily had always been loyal to the guy, but Seth had issues. “You have a little,” Travis reached over and pulled something out of her hair, “lettuce?” he laughed as he tossed it to the ground. “There.” He grinned. “Well, if looks could kill, I’d be dead a long time ago.” He nodded toward Seth.