by Drake, J. L.
A sound outside woke me, and I grabbed my gun and looked around. “Jesus!” I cursed when I realized what I had done. Jumping to my feet, I listened carefully to see if I was alone. I ran to the top of the stairs. I pulled down the attic stairs, and just as I pulled them back up, I heard the front door open. That was way too close.
***
Seth
The next morning, we were awake early, so we decided to head home even before breakfast. I knew Gretchen would be upset with us, but we both had the day off, and I needed to get a handle on what my next move was going to be.
“Coffee?” Emily asked as she removed her shoes.
“Sure.” I headed upstairs, wanting a shower. “Just give me—” I stopped when I saw the attic string with the little red ball on the end swinging back and forth. I froze momentarily, listening, and then stepped into our room. I hesitated to tell Emily to leave the house. She didn’t need any more fear right now. I quietly removed my spare gun from its hiding place, as my work Glock was in a locked box in my car. My thumb cocked it, but something sounded funny. The chamber was empty. What the hell? I twisted at a creak behind me, and I raised my gun and scanned around. Nothing.
Every hair on my body stood at attention. I checked each room carefully, avoiding all the squeaky parts of the wooden floor. I moved into the last spare room. Everything looked to be in order other than the wide open window. I knew better than to turn my back to the room to check outside, so instead I backed out and waited to see if anyone emerged from the closet. Nothing, no one was there, but I would bet my life that someone had been. I stopped outside the room and stared at the little red ball. With a hard tug, I pulled the stairs down and slowly climbed the old boards to the top.
I turned my flashlight on from my phone and scanned the attic. It was empty. With a sigh I headed back down, but something still didn’t feel right.
“Em?” I called out and heard her moving about in the living room.
“Yes?”
“Come to the bottom of the stairs.” I tried to keep my voice neutral when she came into view. “Can you set the alarm for me?”
“Sure.” She set it, then looked back at me. “Why?”
“Just makes me feel better with all that’s going on.” She looked at me, but didn’t argue, and went back to the kitchen.
Later, I found Emily in her father’s office with a textbook in hand. I knew she had a lot of work to catch up on, so I kept busy with my own errands.
The day went by quickly, and I got a lot done outside. I wished I could say I felt better, but I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling someone had been in the house. After an hour more, Emily brought me out a beer and told me she was close to being finished, then she’d start dinner.
Resting the shovel at my side, I sat and enjoyed my drink. I tuned into all that was around me. An odd noise caught my attention, and I scanned the perimeter while I reached for my gun and checked the forest line. Something moved in the bushes, and I focused in that direction. Whatever it was stopped, but the branches still moved slightly and it gave away its location. I checked everywhere but found nothing. It only proved my theory; something or someone was out there.
Every piece of my training came roaring back to me as I studied the shape in the woods. It had to be human. The black figure was much too large to be an animal.
“I know you’re out there,” I whispered. “I can smell you, feel you, hear your breath shooting out past your teeth as you narrow your sights on me. I might be your target, but right now you’re prey and I’m the fucking predator.”
The black figure sank backward into the darkness. I almost wondered if he wanted me to know he was there.
I locked the door behind me and reset the alarm. Making my way into the laundry room, I started a load, separating Emily’s things from mine. I stopped when I come across a pair of male underwear…and they were not mine.
“Em?” I called. “Em?” I called again. I hoped to hell these were Pete’s. She didn’t come to the laundry room, so I poked my head out and found her on the phone. She glanced at me, and I could see she was crying. I mouthed ‘what’s wrong?’ The look on her face told me I was in some kind of trouble. I waited for her to hang up before I asked again.
“So is that why you were late last night?” she whispered.
“What are you talking about?”
She tilted her head back to stop her watery eyes. “You don’t like living here, do you?”
I shrugged and wondered where this was coming from. “There are things I don’t like, one being we are surrounded by three quarters woods, and given our history, it doesn’t make me feel overly easy, but I—”
“Fine!” she suddenly snapped. “But how could you, Seth? This is my home. You had no right!” She came at me as sobs ripped from her throat, and her fists pounded my chest. “My only memories of my father are in the house!” I grabbed her hands and hauled them above her head so she couldn’t move. “How could you do such a thing?” she repeated. I turned her around and wrapped my arms around her middle.
“Instead of yelling and hitting me,” I hissed in her ear, “tell me what the hell I did.”
She bucked under me but didn’t break my hold. “You signed my house over to my mother, and now the paperwork is going through! She’s selling my house!”
“What?” I let go, completely stunned by her news. “You think I’d do that to you?”
“The buyer said she met you, she described you to me, you were here. What else is there to say?”
“Look,” I held her shoulders so she’d look at me, “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’d never do that to you. You should know that. You are just reacting with emotion, so stop with this shit and think.”
She wiggled out of my hold and rubbed her stomach. “I really don’t know what to think anymore, Seth.”
I tossed the random pair of underwear at her feet. “Yeah, I guess I could say the same.”
She glanced down and back up at me. “Whose are those?”
Shaking my head, I went back into the laundry room. “Seeing that we’re not trusting one another anymore, I’d say you have some explaining to do too.”
“You think I slept with someone?” she huffed back at me. “Or maybe I just kissed them and ‘pushed them away’?”
My blood boiled as I turned around to see her bloodshot eyes. “You know what, Em, I think we should just cool off a bit before one of us says something we’ll regret.”
“I’m going to Pete’s,” she tossed back.
My hands flexed at my sides. “Or you could stay and not run to Pete’s whenever the going gets rough.”
“We’re way past rough, Seth.” She picked up her keys. “I think we really need to decide if all of this is worth it.”
“Stay,” I whispered. “Let’s figure out what’s going on.” I showed her a raw moment inside my heart. I needed her to see how much I didn’t want to do this.
She shook her head, and I could see she needed more time. “I’m just going to go to the store. I’ll grab us something for dinner.”
With that, she left. I knew better than to force her to stay. She’d come back, and maybe she’d have calmed down a bit so we could get to the bottom of whatever she was talking about regarding her mother and the house.
The attic door was directly above me, and I yanked on the string and pulled down the stairs. Now that I was alone, I wanted a better look.
Slowly, with my gun drawn, I headed up into the dimly-lit attic. Once at the top of the stairs, I found the light switch, which revealed trunks, buckets of old vinyl records, a box marked ‘wedding dress,’ and other boxes that were labeled ‘baby clothes’ with various ages indicated neatly on each one. I pulled out my phone to use as a flashlight again and panned it around the further corners of the room. It wasn’t until I moved a few boxes that I found a sleeping bag tucked into a corner. Squatting down, I examined the bag. Nearby, I found a crumpled wrapper for a Mars candy bar. I turned off the
light and sat down where I thought someone would sit and listened, trying to get a sense of the person. It was eerie to think someone could be here and watching and listening to everything that went on in our private life. Or maybe this was nothing? Maybe this was Emily’s. Perhaps she came up here to get away from her mother when she visited. My sense, however, was that this would explain everything I had been feeling lately.
The doorbell rang, startling me. I reached for my gun and headed back downstairs, but not before I noticed the attic window was wedged open. What really had my skin uncomfortable was the markings in the dust. Someone has recently been up here, and my guess would be it wasn’t Emily.
“Oh, hey, Riley.” I tried to shake my paranoia as I looked him over carefully. I stepped back to let him come inside. “How are you?”
“Umm, not so great, actually.” His posture agreed with him. “I really need to talk to you about something. I planned to come by last night, but then this happened.” He handed me a piece of paper. “I found this the other day, thought you might want to know.” I scanned the page and felt like I just got punched in the stomach. At the bottom of the document was my name, signed in handwriting that wasn’t mine. But it was familiar.
“Where?”
I sent a quick text to Emily to ask to her to come home right away. A moment later my phone vibrated.
Emily: Just ran into someone, be back in a few.
Seth: Who?
Em: Avery.
Shit!
Seth: Call when you get back into the car. It’s important.
***
Avery
I tried listen to her words, but my mind drifted off as she continued to ramble on about apples, and I didn’t give two shits about which fucking apple tasted better than the other.
“Any plans this afternoon?” She glanced in my direction. I wished she’d tell me what was wrong. I wanted to know if I’d missed something good.
“Nope.” I tried not to smirk when I said my next line. “I was going to swing by Matthews’s grave and leave these flowers.” That sounded good. I had a nice little catch in my voice.
Her face softened and I thought I saw her eyes moisten. I am good. “That’s so sweet, Avery. Look, feel free to come over tonight if you’d like…you know, if you don’t want to be by yourself. Seth is grilling some chicken.”
“I’d like that, thanks.” I smiled, then headed down the opposite aisle, dumping the flowers in the trash on my way out of the store.
Starting the engine, I settled into the seat and watched the rain as it bounced off the windshield.
This wasn’t the plan, not at all, but life sometimes threw you a bone. It was exciting having Connors moments away from discovering me. The thrill that came over me when I narrowly escaped being caught in the house, or our encounter outside near the patio, was stimulating. He never stopped surprising me. The man really was born to be a cop. I knew he knew I was there. We looked right at each other. He may have had great instincts, but I was smarter. This cat and mouse game was becoming entertaining, and I loved it.
I was pissed that I missed the fight over Travis’s underwear. I was almost sure that was what had upset Emily. However, I hoped I didn’t miss the phone call from Jenny about the house. After a quick visit to The Brick, I wanted to be back in time to see it all unravel.
My neck twitched as I sat and watched the men come and go from the sex house. I hated the way the clients looked at her like they all wanted a piece of her. I let my mind float back.
She hadn’t said much since we brought her to our apartment over three weeks ago. She mostly just sat, usually on the opposite side of room, and nursed her favorite diet cola. She was a tiny thing, very thin, and her skin was an odd color, most likely from all the drugs that were hopefully leaving her system. She was young, so her body should bounce back fairly quickly.
I handed her a set of keys and a bag from Forever 21 and hoped something would fit her.
“What’s this?” she asked cautiously as she peered into the bag. “I don’t have any money for this, Avery. Harry took all of it.”
The name Harry made me want to hunt that fucker down and slice him from dick to lip.
“I’m not looking for you to pay me for this, it’s a gift. Besides, it’s time for you to get back into the world you were meant to be in.” She gave me a little grin before she pulled out the clothes. “Try them on and be ready in twenty minutes. I’m taking you to meet someone.”
A short time later, we stood in front of the building. “It’s not a job I want you to have, but it will do for now. I know the owner well, and you’ll be looked after here.” She read the letters on the sign.
“The Brick?”
“Yes, it’s a gentlemen’s club.” Her head turned to me, her eyes suspicious, but I rested my hand on hers to reassure her. “No one will touch you here. They are very strict, and there are rules. This place is very upscale, and people pay a lot of money to remain anonymous.” I saw her shoulders relax a little. “I know it’s scary, but trust me, you will be okay here. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” I opened the car door and headed over to help her step out.
“Thanks.” She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. I knew she wasn’t used to such good manners. I smiled and thought how strange it was to let someone touch me with affection. I followed her inside and observed her as she took in the exquisite décor. I could see she was impressed. She lost some of her nervousness.
My friend Jezz was there to meet us and hurried over to extend his hand to her. “Welcome to my home, my dear. I am Jezz Ebel.” He looked her up and down and raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “Well, well, aren’t you going to be a lovely little thing to have behind the desk.” She glanced over at me briefly.
“I know I’ll do a good job for you,” she said with a smile. Touching my arm, she gave me a look, then she slipped her arm through his. “How about a tour, Jezz?” She smiled up at him. I almost laughed at her sudden change in demeanor, though I didn’t really like the idea of her touching him.
I ran the strands of the leather whip through my fingers, glad that my cotton pants allowed my erection to grow to full length without discomfort. My chest was already sweaty with what had just gone down. She lay panting, her ass red as a cherry, stuck up in the air and waiting for my next command. I liked to watch this part very carefully. It could go one or two ways. Either she’d take my next hit and pass out, or she’d come. It was all about where the whip hit first. I palmed her ass, which made her moan. Sherry peeked over at me and licked her lips.
A slow smirk ran across my face as I pulled back and cracked the whip right on the inside of her leg. She fell screaming forward. I chucked the whip, took her hips, and sank in while she orgasmed all around me.
***
I felt better, more relaxed and focused about what I had decided to do when I pulled up to the house. O’Brian’s car was already there. I popped the trunk and scooped up a case of beer and some chicken breasts and hurried up the stairs.
I could hear people in the kitchen, and I wasn’t surprised that Johnnie was at the kitchen table.
“Avery.” Garrett greeted me as I walked over to the fridge. “Did you hear about Davis?”
“No.”
“He is officially pronounced missing and assumed dead.” Garrett glanced over at Johnnie, who looked moments away from losing it.
I hid an eye roll by rubbing my face and looked at Johnnie. Suck it up, you fucking vagina! “I’m really sorry, Johnnie.”
“Thanks, man.” He jumped to his feet. “Fuck, I really need a drink.”
I couldn’t agree more. I jammed my box of beer into the fridge and headed out to the patio where the tension was building at a rapid rate. I was nearly giddy.
“Hey, everyone,” Emily said in a quiet voice as she struggled in with three large bags.
Garrett helped and set them on the counter. “Are you just getting home now?”
She nodded. “Pete called. He needed my
help, and I needed some space to think.”
I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the ball to drop. “So you’ve been out since I saw you this morning?” She nodded, then froze when she saw Seth.
…and go!
“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming home.”
She shook her head and roughly placed the peanut butter into the cabinet. “It’s not like it’s my house for much longer.”
Oh wait! Did Jenny already call? Fuck me!
“Don’t blame people for things when you don’t have proof, baby girl,” Seth snapped back. His stance dominated the space over her. “You should know me better than that.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Maybe I don’t know you at all, Seth.”
Garrett and Johnnie slowly got up from the table and headed outside. I followed but stayed close to the door so I could hear everything.
Emily handed Seth her cell phone. “You tell me why my mother would text me this if it wasn’t true. I get she’s a shitty mom, but she apparently has papers with my ‘signature’ on them granting her the deed to my house! You know how much I love this place. I’ve been fighting for it for years.”
“Exactly, Em!” Seth shouted. “I know you, I know you love this place, that’s why I never suggested we live somewhere else. To be honest, yes, I’d love to have the option to move, but only so we can get a place that’s ours, not just yours.”
Garrett bared his teeth. I could tell this was hard on him. He loved team Smiley. I fucking hate that name. I, on the other hand, hid the grin that was threatening to burst the seam of my mouth.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Honestly, Seth, this is where I belong. I need to live here. I never thought it was a problem, but I can see now it is.” She cupped her mouth to stop her cry. “I’m so tired of this.”
I’m not!