Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3)

by Drake, J. L.

  Oh, ouch. I grinned at his crass words.

  Avery: Crazy to hear, dude, but you’re a free man. Live it up.

  Seth: That’s the plan.

  The adrenaline shot through me as I opened the door, but I stopped dead in my tracks. The TV flickered with a drama, and an open beer had a water ring along the bottom. Who the fuck was in my house? Whoever it was had been here for a while. I slowly drew my gun and closed the door behind me. The living room was clear, the kitchen was clear, then I heard a strange clicking noise. I turned and came face to face with that goddamn dog. Suddenly, she came into the kitchen in one of my t-shirts.

  “Hey.” She grinned as Adler trotted over to her legs and brushed lovingly against them. “Sorry, but I won’t give a blow job to my landlord, so I had nowhere else to go, and, well…you gave me a key.”

  Fuck me. I wiped a bead of sweat off the top of my lip. “I could have shot you.”

  “But you didn’t.” She shrugged and rubbed Adler’s ear. The dog had the balls to roll over and get a belly scratch. I had never seen him act so much like a pet before. “Are you hungry?”

  I sighed and went back into the living room to retrieve my Chinese takeout. I wasn’t sure how I felt about having her in my house alone. Not to mention the fact that she let Adler inside. I quivered at the thought of him on my bed. I nearly gagged.

  “Beer?” she asked as she opened herself another one. I nodded and tried not to think of the water ring embedded into my wooden table.

  “You can have the spare room,” I said as I made myself a plate. Everything was separated so that nothing touched, and the sweet and sour sauce was drizzled in a crisscross over my chicken. My plate sat in the center of my placemat, the knife and fork were horizontal over top of my napkin. I looked up and saw her watching me. “The en suite bathroom has fresh towels, and the bed’s linens are clean as well.”

  “Are you always this prepared?” She laughed as she ripped a piece of pork off her fork instead of using her knife. I had to look away before I said something I shouldn’t.

  “Where are your belongings?”

  She used her fork to point to the hallway. I cringed at everything shoved into three pillow cases.

  “Do you still have your car?”

  “Yes.” She gave me a look. “He wanted a blow job for the price of the broken sink. He tried this shit too many times on me, Avery. I won’t do it.” Her chest started to heave.

  “It’s fine, just stay here until we find you a better place. What time do you work tonight?”

  “Seven to seven.”

  I hated that she worked the night shift, but she seemed fine with it. I ate a few bites, but thought I should make conversation. “Are you still seeing that guy?”

  She smirked. She knew I didn’t like to talk about him.

  “Yes.” She downed her beer like a collage frat kid.

  “So you won’t tell me his name?”

  She shook her head. “He’s great, but we want to keep it low key. We’re not looking for anything serious.”

  “Have you two slept together?”

  “Avery!” She laughed as she carried her plate to the sink. She returned with another beer and a pint of chocolate ice cream. How the hell did she stay so small? “That’s not really any of your business.”

  “It kind of is,” I challenged.

  “It’s kind of not.” She flipped her hair out of her face. “You wanna tell me why you have pictures of a burnt body in your bottom drawer?”

  I choked on my rice but quickly drank some beer to help it slide down faster. “You went through my things?”

  “Yes.” She flipped the spoon around so it curved around her tongue. “Doesn’t look like research, so why do you have it?”

  “It’s personal.”

  “Personal, like your old partner?”

  I went to yell but stopped myself. I had to remember who I was speaking to. “He was someone I knew once, someone who—”

  “Got in your way?” she finished for me. She looked at her Hello Kitty watch. “Shit, I gotta go. He’s picking me up.”

  “He’s coming here?” I nearly shouted.

  “No! God, no.” She gave me a look like I was crazy. “I told him to meet me at the diner down the street.”

  She headed over to her pillow cases and dug out a mini skirt and a tube top. She wiggled the skirt on, then ripped off the t-shirt with her back turned to me and shimmed the tiny scrap of blue over her breasts. Her heels were about three inches high and made her long, slim legs even longer. I stopped her when she got to the door, and grabbed her chin so she’d look at me.

  “Be careful, you hear me?”

  She rolled her eyes, then brushed my hand away. “Aren’t I always?” She grinned before she gave me a quick peck on the lips. “See you later, Avery.”

  I watched her walk across my driveway and up the street. I didn’t have a good feeling about this.

  ***

  Two Weeks Later

  One would think Seth was a creature of habit, but he wasn’t. His grocery store visits were a mind trip. To try and track him was like chasing the wind. Seth stood in front of the Hamburger Helper section. He seemed lost, almost like he came here because he didn’t want to go home. This was a delightful feeling to have rush through me. Poor Seth.

  I stood next to him. “You’re standing in my spot.”

  “Huh? Oh, hey, man. I’m just searching for tonight’s dinner.” He sighed and tossed two boxes in his empty basket.

  “Why don’t you hit up your mom?” I suggested with an evil undertone that he missed completely.

  “Ha!” He ran a hand through his hair. “Nah, my…” He stopped himself with a little shrug. “I’m not in the mood right now.”

  “I was going to head across the street to Rick’s BBQ. You wanna join?”

  See, I’m a good friend.

  He picked up a box and read the ingredients. I bet he missed Emily’s cooking. “Yeah, all right.”

  Suddenly, all my attention was pulled to her. She had earphones in, but she was pretending to read a magazine. She seemed to be watching someone. Seth was rambling on about something while I nodded. What the fuck was she doing here? This was not good.

  “Someone you know?” Seth’s voice ripped through my mini freak-out.

  “Huh?” I tried and recalled his words. “No, she’s, ah…bad one night stand.”

  I caught Seth’s smirk as he glanced over at her. “Umm, seems that way.”

  She suddenly went wide-eyed and hurried toward the door.

  Oh, fuck no!

  “So when do you want to head over?”

  “Ah…” I picked up a box of Hamburger Helper and smacked it into his chest. “This is my favorite. See you later.” I raced down the checkout lane, past the old lady taking her sweet time paying with a check, and out the door to find her quickly walking around the corner. I nearly did a double take when I saw him paying for a bottle of booze.

  “Hey,” I shouted when I got close enough. I dragged her behind a five foot stone wall and pushed her back flat to it. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Her head and shoulders dropped as she pulled her earphones free. I heard her whisper something. “I just…”

  It hit me like a fucking flick to the nut sack. “Are you following him?”

  She looked up as tears streamed down her face. “I just wanted to see what he was like.”

  So stupid. I closed my eyes and tried to calm the adrenaline that pumped into my blood to the point of pain. “You were almost spotted by his son.”

  “What?” Oh, did I fail to mention that Jack had a son?

  “I thought he only had a daughter.” The look on her face hurt a bit. I could see a little bit of trust flake away. “What the hell, Avery!” She took a punch at my shoulder that was pretty pathetic before she started to cry harder. “How old?”

  I tucked my asshole side away and saw this moment for what it was. With a deep breath to settle the nerves, I
wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her into a hug. She let me and held on tightly.

  “Twenty-four. We found him first, that’s what drew us to California. He has a younger brother as well.” I normally kept quiet, as Jims always said we should keep everything quiet until it was time. Problem was, we’d have been done with this shit if Jims hadn’t gotten involved with Emily. This whole thing would have been over with six months ago.

  After a quick kiss to her head, we walked back to the street and up toward my car. “He’s handsome.” She sniffed with a little smile. “Jack, he’s quite handsome.”

  I shook my head and pushed my hate for that man aside.

  “Stay on your side of city from now on,” I warned.

  “Always such a Dom,” she snickered back and hopped into my car.

  ***

  I shouldn’t be here, I knew. It was against all my rules. I turned up the music and settled into the leather seat. Radiohead pumped from my speakers as the bottle of Jack warmed between my legs. This wasn’t me. I was slipping into old habits like Jims did.

  It could be worse. Adler could be in the back panting his nasty breath over the back of my neck. But instead, once she left, I shoved him back outdoors where he belonged.

  Headlights blinded me momentarily, and I squinted to see the poorly-lit parking lot. The damn trucker had his high beams on, which made my head ache instantly. I closed my eyes and rubbed the spot above my left eye. I only got headaches when I was stressed. She made me stressed. I wanted to know where the hell she was. Her shift ended forty-five minutes ago, and it only took sixteen minutes to get home. Eighteen if the lights on Second Street turned red.

  “I fucking crave her, Alex.” Jims leaned over and did a line of coke.

  “Don’t call me that, Jims.”

  “Sorry, Avery.” He snickered. “Officer Avery.”

  I rolled my eyes. He was such an asshole sometimes.

  “What do you even see in her, anyway?”

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “She’s Julia’s twin, but with less sass and bigger tits.”

  Jims and I never really talked about him and our sister having a sexual relationship. I didn’t want to hear about it, but he did have a point. They looked extremely similar. I just thought he had a type. I hadn’t realized he missed or even loved Julia that way.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  I jumped and reached for the steering wheel. I rolled down my window and watched as she folded her arms. She was not impressed.

  “How long you been waiting?”

  “Long enough to know you’re late.”

  “Screw you, Avery.” She flipped me the finger and started to walk away.

  I hopped out of my car and raced after her. Grabbing her arm, I forced her to look at me. “Hey! Screw me? Seriously? I saved you from being a fucking prostitute, and this is the thanks I get?” My chest heaved with anger. How dare she treat me like this?

  “Yeah, Avery, you did, but you don’t own me.”

  “Where were you tonight?”

  She ripped her arm from my hold. “No! We aren’t doing this again.”

  I stepped forward and towered over her. “Where?”

  “I was with him,” she shouted. “He picked me up, took me out for a drink, and dropped me off here. Not at your place, here.”

  My hand snapped around her neck, and I lowered my head so my mouth hovered over hers. “Did you fuck him?”

  “If I did?” she challenged.

  I closed my eyes to calm myself, but it didn’t work. “Then I would kill him.”

  Her face flashed fear, but she kept herself together. “I didn’t sleep with him, Avery. We’re not like that yet.” My gripped tightened. “We’re not like that,” she corrected.

  I steered her to my car and gave her a little shove when we rounded the bumper. “Get in.”

  She did, and I checked the time.

  Fuck! I should have been there twenty minutes ago!

  “I have somewhere to be. I’ll drop you off at the house.”

  I left her at the house and hurried to make up for lost time. There he sat in the window of the coffee shop, just like he was instructed to. In his light green dress shirt and jeans. I made sure to tell him to wear certain clothes so he thought I didn’t know his face.

  I saw the bus boy out for a smoke. My sunglasses made me look like I stepped out of an eighties band. The black plastic frames with neon green arms paired perfectly with my NKOTB ball hat. With the letter in hand, I hurried over and befriended the boy and paid him fifty to deliver it. He never questioned why I was wearing sunglasses when the sun was barely up. Typical teenager, he most likely thought it was a fashion statement.

  The look on Jack Connors’s face when he laid eyes on that letter and photograph was enough for me to snap a few photos with Jims’s camera.

  I zoomed in and watched a drip of sweat that traveled from his sideburn to his jaw. Yes, Jack, you should be very afraid.

  As I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw Connors’s car a few yards ahead. I pulled into traffic and followed at a safe distance. I wondered where he was going.

  ***

  Seth

  I felt restless. It had been sixteen days since I’d been able to see Emily. At the moment, she was staying with Pete. Campbell began to suspect something when she started to ask questions about me. We didn’t text, call, or even email. It was too risky. Avery hunted around for information, but at this point he seemed to have given up.

  As days passed, more questions came into play. Garrett and I had dug into his past, but kept coming up with dead ends. One thing was for sure; Avery’s past stopped when he arrived here in California.

  “I’m starving,” Garrett grunted. “I’m calling in our order now, so we don’t have to wait.”

  “Good plan.” My phone vibrated against my leg. I pulled it free and saw Agent Crew’s name on the ID.

  “Agent Crew.” I looked over at Garrett, who appeared worried and quickly ended the call to the sandwich shop. “What can I do for you?”

  “Meet me at The Brew in ten, bring O’Brian.”

  The line went dead. I didn’t think twice as I pulled a U-turn and hurried to Huntington Drive.

  The Brew was full, but a table off in the corner was empty. We quickly grabbed it and ordered three coffees.

  My work t-shirt felt tighter than normal, and my finger ran around the edge to seek any kind of relief.

  “There’s Crew.” Garrett nodded toward the door.

  Crew took a seat across from us and slammed a heavy folder down in front of us.

  “Good news or bad news first?”

  “Bad,” Garrett and I both said at the same time.

  Crew inched his glasses up his nose with his finger. He opened the folder and twirled a paper around, then he held up a picture of Avery in his uniform. What?

  “Alexander Avery was born in Chicago. After his parents were killed, he lived with his grandmother in Florida until he ran away and went to live with his brother in Chicago. His grandmother passed away the following year.” Crew glanced at me funny, waited a beat, and then kept going. “He joined the Chicago PD, then later transferred to Orange PD. He and his brother lived here until his brother was killed a year ago.”

  Garrett shook his head. “I don’t understand where you’re going with this.”

  “Who is his brother, and why are you looking into Avery?” I glanced at Garrett, confused, as only four of us suspected Avery of something, and Crew wasn’t one of them.

  Crew held up his hand. “Because of his brother.”

  “Why? How did his brother die?” I tried to understand.

  “Shot.”

  “By who?”

  Crew leaned in over the table. “By you, Seth.” My stomach sank and my brain scrambled to catch up as he pulled out a picture and turned it around to show me Jimmy Lasko’s face.

  “Holy shit.” Garrett covered his mouth. “Avery is Lasko’s brother?”

  “Yes,” Crew
confirmed as I sank further into my seat. My brain was caught in a loop.

  Lasko was Avery’s brother. Avery was Lasko’s brother.

  “So,” I said quietly, “the entire time,” I closed my eyes in disbelief, “those six days of hell, Avery must have known where Emily was?”

  Crew nodded. “Emily is a dead ringer for their sister Julia.” He pulled another picture free and held up Emily’s twin. “Julia.” He made a face. “It’s sad. She must have been at the wrong place at the wrong time to catch his attention.”

  I glanced at Garrett while my stomach rolled. Crew put the picture away and continued.

  “Lasko and Avery lived together. After some psychiatric evaluations, they were sent to other family members in Germany and Florida, where they must have changed their names. Lasko must have come back after Julia passed away to find his brother.”

  “Why California?” Garrett asked, and I could tell he was still trying to process this crazy shit.

  Crew leaned back in his seat. “After a lot of digging, we realized they were watching you, Seth.”

  “What?” My head snapped up to look at him. “Me?”

  “Yes.” He pulled some more papers from the file. “Looks like your Emily may not have been the original target.”

  “Wait, wait,” Garrett held up a hand. “How in the hell did the FBI not know any of this a year ago?”

  “After Lasko was killed and a possible lethal injection was put to Hank Wallace, he started talking. He spoke about how Lasko had a brother, but he never met him. Hank mentioned that he bragged once that he could get away with murder because he had someone to cover it up. We started to dig, figured it could be a cop, but it was a stretch. I know every cop has their DNA on file, but it took time before we connected the dots.” Crew hesitated, then seemed to make a decision. “Seth, the brothers were close, and they were after something. I don’t know what yet, but I’ll keep digging. My advice, if you want it, is watch your back and watch your family. Just because Lasko is gone doesn’t mean Emily is out of trouble either. I think you are the target, not her, but if he wants to hurt you—”