Don't Wake the Dead

by C. C. Wood

  Apparently Stony’s uncle had a still in his barn and he liked to make his own booze. To be honest, it was really good. I could barely taste it, which also meant it was likely lethal, so I placed my hand over my coffee cup when Stony tried to add more.

  We spent the rest of the day going over the episode that they filmed at my home, looking for editing errors and other issues. The episode would go live on YouTube next week.

  I probably should have been ashamed of myself, but I laughed uproariously when Teri sprayed Marcy in the face with water. Though I saw the clip before, it still cracked me up.

  Though I tried to pay attention to the flow and camera angles, it looked fine to me. Despite their tendency to exhibit goofball behavior, Stony and Blaine were consummate professionals when it came to the editing and production of the show.

  After the final viewing of next week’s episode, Mal presented us with a list of locations that would be ideal for filming. Most of the buildings and homes weren’t in Texas. I don’t know why, but I hadn’t considered how much traveling I would have to do with Mal and the guys.

  The realization was a pleasant one. I’d always wanted to travel but rarely had the time or the money. Now I would be able to travel for work.

  I was also relieved to find that Mal expected our input when it came time to determine the itinerary. Though he was definitely the leader of the group, he expected us to collaborate on all the important decisions.

  The day ended at four in the afternoon, which worked out great. I had plenty of time to get ready for my night on the town with Jonelle.

  I went home and took my time getting ready. I even painted my toenails. By the time Jonelle rang the doorbell at six, I was ready to go.

  When I opened the door, I found four grinning fools on my porch.

  “Surprise!” Blaine cried. “We’re here to take you out and debauch you.”

  I laughed. “I can see that.” I glanced at Jonelle. “I take it you texted Mal.”

  “I might have,” she replied innocently. “But only to make sure you got off work on time to go out.”

  “Whatever.” I rolled my eyes.

  Jonelle found all sorts of reasons to party and her philosophy was the more, the merrier. Of course she would contact Mal, Stony, and Blaine.

  “Let’s go,” Stony demanded. “I’m starving.”

  As Stony and Blaine led Jonelle out to the van, I turned to Mal. “You guys didn’t have to come. I know you have a lot to do for the release of the next three episodes.”

  Mal shook his head. “No way. It’s just been the three of us for so long. This is a big step. We should celebrate it.” He paused. “Also, I needed to get Stony and Blaine out of that hotel. I think they were going stir crazy. I actually caught Blaine having a conversation with himself in the mirror this morning. An argument, actually. With himself!”

  I had to laugh because I could imagine it.

  “Well, I’m glad you got him away from the hotel before the situation became dire.”

  Mal took my hand as we walked down the sidewalk toward the van. I didn’t say anything as he laced his fingers with mine. We still hadn’t talked about the kiss we shared.

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I would have to say anyway. The kiss had been singular and completely out of character for me.

  And now that Mal was my boss for the foreseeable future, I couldn’t allow the experience to be repeated. It was in our mutual best interest.

  Chapter

  It was nearly midnight before we piled back into the van and headed back to Kenna. The evening had begun unexpectedly and I had a blast. It had been a long time since I’d gone out with a group of friends and not felt like the fifth wheel.

  We started with dinner at a local steakhouse that Jonelle knew I loved. I ate a delicious ribeye and drank good red wine. Then we moved to a local bar that usually had a great live band several days a week.

  Mal, Stony, and Blaine insisted on buying all the rounds, despite my attempts at refusal. When the music went from slow and mellow to lively, Stony and Blaine took turns dancing with Jonelle and me.

  Finally, I had to give up. My feet were beginning to hurt and I was incredibly thirsty.

  A stunning woman in her mid-forties snagged Blaine before he could follow me off the dance floor and insisted that he dance with her. As I walked back to the table and plopped down next to Mal, I noticed that Stony and Jonelle were deep in conversation as they danced.

  “I think something’s going on there,” Mal stated, tilting his beer bottle toward our mutual friends as they danced.

  “I think you’re right.” I sighed. “I just hope Stony doesn’t get his heart broken.”

  Mal looked at me with surprise. “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that to you about Jonelle?”

  I shook my head. “No. Jonelle insists that she isn’t ready to settle down, so she’ll probably see Stony while y’all are in town and that’ll be that. No harm done, no feelings hurt. At least on her part.”

  “Then they’re a matched pair. Stony likes to keep things simple.”

  I released a small laugh at his words. “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “Me either,” Mal admitted.

  “I think they’ll be fine either way,” I assured him.

  As the hour grew later, the music took on a more mellow turn.

  Mal turned to me and held out his hand. “We haven’t danced yet. What do ya say?”

  I tried to ignore the tremor in my knees as I put my hand in his and let him lead me onto the dance floor.

  His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close. In my wedge heels, I was only a few inches shorter than him, so our bodies lined up almost perfectly. My thighs brushed his as we swayed and my breasts pressed against his chest with each breath I took.

  The sensations were light and tantalizing. The longer we moved, the more attuned I became to every subtle motion of his hips and shoulders. I wasn’t sure who moved first, but the space between us disappeared as the first song segued into the second.

  I could feel the stubble along his jaw as it brushed my cheek and I tried not to think about the short distance between our lips. All I needed to do was turn my head.

  When Mal spoke, his words proved that his mind had taken the same path as my own.

  “We never did talk about that kiss the other day,” he murmured, his voice little more than a low rumble in my ear.

  “No, we didn’t,” I replied.

  “Think we should?”

  I had to clear my throat before I could respond. “Do you think we should?”

  I sucked in a deep breath as his mouth brushed my ear when he answered, “Probably.” His lips touched my neck, just below my ear lobe and I shivered. “Or maybe we should forget talking about it and do it again.”

  It was difficult to concentrate on the conversation as he nuzzled my neck. My head fell back and I hummed low in my throat.

  “That sounds nice,” I whispered.

  Suddenly, another couple jostled us, too busy necking to even notice that they’d almost plowed us over.

  I exhaled harshly, grateful for the interruption. It had broken the trance that had fallen over me while I was in Mal’s arms.

  I stepped back and looked up into his face. “You need to stop doing things that like,” I stated.

  “Things like holding you?” he asked, his arms tightening around me slightly.

  “I’m serious, Mal.”

  He loosened his grip on me. “Okay, let’s go back to the table and talk.”

  His hand curled around mine and he led me back to our seats. As soon as Blaine saw the expressions on our faces, he got up and headed toward the bar, presumably to get another drink.

  Mal held my chair out for me and then twisted his around so that we faced each other when he sat. He wasn’t wearing his glasses tonight and I could see his gorgeous brown eyes clearly.

  “Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours,” he invited.

&
nbsp; I lost my train of thought for a moment when he called me beautiful, but managed to get myself together. Though I wanted to just tell him that I couldn’t get involved with my boss and let that be the end of it, he deserved the entire truth. Even if it made me uncomfortable to reveal so much of myself.

  I took a deep breath. “I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, that I don’t have a lot of friends. Just Jonelle.”

  He nodded, but didn’t speak. Mal was an excellent listener, probably because he seemed to intuit when he should talk and when he should be silent.

  “I worked at my last job for four years and couldn’t count a single person in my office as more than a passing acquaintance,” I explained. “I felt like an outsider, even on my last day. Probably because I couldn’t completely be myself with anyone there. If I’d tried to tell them about my abilities, they would have immediately assumed I was crazy or on drugs.” I paused to gather my thoughts. “This job, with you and the guys…it’s special to me, Mal. Not only do you know about my gifts, but you accept them with an open mind and encourage me to use them. For the first time, I can be myself outside the walls of my home without worrying about someone calling a psychiatrist or giving me odd, judgmental looks. And I don’t want to do anything to risk that. Now that I have this, I don’t want to give it up.”

  Mal took my hands in his. “Zoe, even if you and I didn’t work out, we’re both adults. I’m sure we could be professional.”

  I had to laugh. “It’s easy to say that now, Mal. As much as I like you, we barely know each other. For all you know, I have all kinds of odd quirks and habits. Or maybe you’ll drive me crazy. Either way, I don’t think there’s any way we can keep that from spilling into the show, into your work.”

  He squeezed my hands. “Who says it’ll go bad?”

  With a shrug, I answered, “It might not, but I’m not sure I’m willing to risk losing the one place I can be myself for a ‘maybe’.” I realized how that sounded and immediately tried to explain. “Please don’t misunderstand me, Mal. You’re wonderful, but there’s always so much unknown in any relationship that I’m afraid—”

  “Hey, Zoe, take a breath. I may not agree with you, but I understand everything you’re saying. I’m not going to terminate your contract just because you don’t want to date me.” He grinned at me. “In fact, I’d say you should be in charge here because you seem more mature than any of us.”

  I smiled at him. “I’m glad you understand.”

  “And if you change your mind in the future, well, I’m around.”

  Laughing, I pulled my hands free. “Oh, so you’re going to wait around, pining for me.”

  He seemed to consider my words for a moment. “Okay, maybe not.”

  “Hey, why are you people sitting down?” Jonelle asked breathlessly as she came up to the table. “Less talking, more drinking and dancing!” She whirled around and pointed to Stony. “Buttery nipples for everyone, sir! On the double!”

  He gave her thumbs up and headed toward the bar.

  Mal and I didn’t have a moment alone together the rest of the night, which was probably for the best.

  By the time we all piled into the van, all of us were buzzing, except for Mal. He stopped drinking after two beers when it became clear that Blaine and Stony were going to engage in a shot challenge.

  I leaned back in the front seat and listened to Stony and Jonelle whisper to each other in the back, their conversation punctuated by soft snores from Blaine. I was just about to drift off when I heard the first pop.

  Drowsy, I wasn’t sure what I’d heard until the second and third shots sounded.

  “Those are gunshots,” I told Mal, sitting straight in the seat.

  His eyes were shifting between the side mirror and the road. “I know. There’s a truck coming up on the left and I can see the muzzle flash from their window.”

  Another shot rang out and I heard a ping as it hit the side of the van.

  “Oh my God, they’re shooting at us!” I flattened myself down against the console and looked toward the back of the van. “Everyone get down on the floor. Someone is shooting at us!”

  I heard scuffling as they did as I said.

  “What the hell is going on?” Blaine asked sleepily.

  “Get on the floor!” I yelled, fear making my voice sharp.

  The van swerved as another shot hit the side. It was too dark to see the entry points of the bullets, but I prayed no one had been hit.

  “Everyone hang on,” Mal bellowed right before he slammed on the brakes.

  My body was thrown against the seatbelt and I gripped the console tightly. I couldn’t see what was happening, but Mal floored it and the van shot forward.

  “Stay down,” he barked when I started to lift my head.

  Suddenly, the entire van shuddered as the front end made contact with the other vehicle. Tires squealed and metal screamed. Or maybe it was me screaming, I couldn’t be sure.

  The van shimmied wildly and, for a terrifying moment, I thought we were going to flip over. Mal fought with the wheel, but we skidded off the road, coming to a rocky halt in the ditch.

  “Stay down,” he commanded me, unbuckling his seatbelt.

  In the shadows, I could see him reach beneath the front seat and gasped when the moonlight glinted off the gun he pulled out.

  “Call nine-one-one. If they shoot me, I want all four of you to make a run for it,” Mal commanded. “Do not get yourselves hurt trying to save me.”

  Before any of us could argue, he was out of the van.

  I lifted my head to peek over the dashboard. The truck that had been following us was parked in the middle of the road. No one got out. It just sat there, motionless.

  “Oh fuck this,” Jonelle muttered. “Stony, I need the light from your phone.”

  I couldn’t tear my eyes from Mal’s back as he crept toward the truck, keeping his body low in the ditch. “Jonelle, please tell me you didn’t bring your gun tonight,” I pleaded as I fumbled with my bag for my phone.

  “Of course I brought my gun. It’s like that credit card commercial says, never leave home without it.”

  “You are not going out there,” I argued. “You’ve been drinking. You could hit Mal by mistake.”

  I finally found my cell in the depths of my purse and pulled it out. With shaky hands, I lifted it and called nine-one-one.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  “We’re on Farm to Market 457, about five miles west of Weatherford. A truck fired shots at us and ran us off the road. Please send police as soon as possible.”

  “Okay, ma’am. I’m dispatching an officer to your location as we speak. Where is the shooter now?”

  I swallowed and watched as Mal climbed out of the ditch, directly behind the truck. When the reverse lights came on, he lifted the weapon and pointed it at the vehicle. Before he could pull the trigger, the brake lights blazed as the driver put the truck in gear and peeled off.

  “Ma’am? Are you injured? Can you tell me where the vehicle is now?”

  As I watched the truck disappear around the curve I answered, “Heading east on 457, toward Kenna. And no, I’m not injured.” I twisted my head to look toward the back of the van. “Are any of you hurt?” I asked.

  “Just a little bruised from getting tossed around,” Stony answered. “We should be fine.”

  I screamed as the door next to me flew open. Clutching my phone to my chest, I wheeled around and saw Mal standing in the open door. “Oh my God, you scared me to death!” I yelled.

  He glanced at the phone in my hand. “Did you call nine-one-one?”

  I nodded.

  I heard a distant voice saying “Ma’am? Ma’am? Can you answer me please?” and realized that the 911 operator was still on the line.

  Lifting the phone to my ear, I stated, “We’re fine. My friend opened the passenger door and scared me, that’s all.”

  “Help will be there in just a few minutes. Please stay on the line.”


  We waited in tense silence until we heard the sirens, then Mal moved around and replaced the gun beneath the front seat.

  “They’re here,” I told the operator. “Thank you.”

  As the officers pulled up on the side of the road, I hung up the phone and climbed out.

  The night was definitely not ending the way I thought it would.

  Chapter

  Apparently, it was a slow night in the county because four deputies responded to our call for help.

  We all gave our statements, but Mal was the only one who got a good look at the vehicle. He managed to identify the color, make, and model, but only got the first three letters on the license plate. After they spoke with each of us, the deputies studied the bullet holes in the side of the van. One was level with where Blaine’s head would have been. We were incredibly lucky that no one was hurt.

  As we waited for them to tell us we could leave, another squad car pulled up and I watched as Sheriff Lamar Daughtry climbed out. He stared at me as he walked toward his deputies, and I could see his expression due to the flashing lights from the cruisers. It was stony and forbidding.

  I wondered if he would find a way to blame me for the situation and arrest me.

  When he saw the sheriff’s arrival, Mal moved directly to me and put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, too shaken to care if the gesture made me seem weak.

  “It’s okay,” Mal murmured into my ear.

  Jonelle moved to my other side and took my hand. She knew all about the night in the cemetery. She hadn’t been with me because we hadn’t started hanging out until a few months later, but I’d told her the story.

  After speaking briefly to his deputies, the sheriff came over. He paused when he saw the protective way Mal and Jonelle were surrounding me and I thought I saw him flinch. I chalked it up to a trick of the red and blue flashing lights.

  “You know, I find it interesting,” he stated, “That yesterday I get a complaint from Steven Dwyer about some guy that matches your description accusing him of murdering his best friend and tonight y’all get run off the road by a vehicle that not only matches the description of his, but has a license plate with the first three letters that match his.”