Date: 2015-03-25 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Paranormal; Romance; Paranormal Romance; Supernatural; Urban Fantasy; Mystery; Horror; Fiction
Description: The love of her life left her long ago, shattering her heart into a million pieces. It’s taken Hannah almost twelve years to push away the hurt and move on with life. That is, until the death of a Reaper brings Detective David Foster back to town and their paths cross once again. With more and more of the soul-eating Reapers passing through town in search of the Chosen One, who happens to be her sister Lucy, the Estmond family has been busy enough. Now, they rally together in hopes of keeping Hannah out of prison. With all the trouble lately, being a Keeper, a protector of souls, has never bee

KEEPER OF THE PEACE

Graveyard Guardians

Book 2

By

Jennifer Malone Wright

Copyright 2015 Jennifer Malone Wright

License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Visit the website of Jennifer Malone Wright at
www.jenniferwrightauthor.com

ACKNOWEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my good friends Rose and my sister Mary for helping with every step during the process of bringing this story into the world.

A big, huge thank you to Regina Wamba of Mae I Design and Photography for the amazing cover.

Thank you to my editor at Ink Slasher Editing.

Cheree, my PA, you are awesome and I couldn’t have gotten through some of the issues this year without you.

Finally, thank you to my husband, for his continued support and encouragement of my writing. Thank you, Honey. I love you.

Other Books by Jennifer Malone Wright

Savior (A Higher Collective Novel)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse – Jade (Always free)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse: Episode 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 1 (Always free)

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 3

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 4

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 5

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 6

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: The Complete Collection

(All six parts a total of 72,000 words)

The Arcadia Falls Chronicles is The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter story continued

Love & War (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 1)

Taking Talon (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 2)

Vampire Apocalypse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 3)

Blood Warrior (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 4)

Winds of Fire (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 5)

Beary Tales (Co written with Willow Cross and KB Miller)

Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians 1)

TRADEMARK LIST

Star Wars

Jedi Knight

Kia Rio

Chevelle

LAPD

ZZ Ward

Glock

Mustang

Guiness

Country Homes

Chevy

CONTENTS

Chapter 1- Hannah

Chapter 2 – David

Chapter 3 – Hannah

Chapter 4 – David

Chapter 5 – Hannah

Chapter 6 – David

Chapter 7 – Aiden

Chapter 8 – Hannah

Chapter 9 – David

Chapter 10 – Hannah

Chapter 11 – David

Chapter 12 – Aiden

Chapter 13 – Hannah

Chapter 14 – David

Chapter 15 – Hannah

Chapter 16 – Aiden

Chapter 17 – David

Chapter 18 – Hannah

Chapter 19 – Aiden

Chapter 20 – David

Chapter 21 – Hannah

Chapter 22 – David

Chapter 23 – Hannah

Chapter 24 – David

Chapter 25 – Hannah

Chapter 26 – David

Chapter 27 – Aiden

Chapter 28 – David

Chapter 29 – Hannah

About the Author

Other Books By Jennifer Malone Wright

KEEPER OF THE PEACE

GRAVEYARD GUARDIANS

BOOK 2

CHAPTER

1

HANNAH

Hannah reached up and pulled her dark red hair back into a loose bun. She couldn’t have her hair hanging in her face at work, but she didn’t like it tied back too tightly. Her sister, Liv, wore her hair like that all the time because she worked with food, but also because she liked it that way.

Getting ready for work was never a big event considering she just had to shower and put on a pair of scrubs. Not that it bothered her any. She rather preferred not having to worry about what she was going to wear every day.

Turning away from the mirror above the bathroom sink, she strode into the bedroom and opened one of the large drawers of her dresser. There, she had several sets of scrubs to choose from. She picked one with plain black pants and a top that had a repeated image of the words Star Wars plastered across the garment.

After the pants were on, she slid the top on over her crisp, white tank, and then searched the floor of her room for her shoes. She spotted them over by the side of her bed where she had kicked them off before collapsing after work the night before. The damn shoes were probably the most expensive pair she owned and they were ugly as sin, but she had to wear comfortable shoes since she was on her feet on the hard floors all day.

Before she slipped the shoes on, she leaned over and opened her night stand drawer. Her hand fell upon the two knives she always kept with her. The six-inch blades were still safely secured in their sheaths where they remained most of the time.

She lifted her foot up onto the edge of her bed and pulled her pant leg up enough to expose her calf. She strapped the first knife onto the right leg and then switched legs, attaching the other knife to the left. She let her pant leg fall back down after both weapons were snug against the side of her calf muscle.

After clipping her badge onto her shirt, she was finally ready for the day ahead. “All right, time to go,” she told the empty room. She grabbed her purse, first making sure her car keys were inside, and headed out the door making sure to lock it behind her.

Hannah didn’t really care all that much for her little house, but it was hers, and that mattered. She chose to live in Summer Hollow, instead of Santa Rosa where the hospital was, because it was close to the family. She had found the one bedroom home for sale when she was still in medical school and decided to buy it, instead of renting a place. It had a cute fenced yard with a few large pine trees in the center, providing adequate shade against the heat of the California sun. The yard was what she fell in love with, not the house itself, which had needed a crap ton of repairs before she could even move in.

Now, it was livable, but she didn’t spend much time there. All her time was spent at work or over at the family home. Things had been pretty busy since they found out that Lucy, her sister, was the Chosen One.

She let out a long sigh as the thought of the prophecy and the Reapers crossed her mind. She opened the door of her Kia Rio and slid behind the wheel, setting her purse on the passenger seat. She knew they were far from safe when it came to the Reapers. A couple of weeks prior, there had been a huge showdown at the compound of the Reaper Empress. Lucy had been kidnapped and they were forced to seek help from the Reaper Prince himself.

That was really another story entirely, but she had come to trust Jack as much as any member of her family. She had seen him renounce his family and his heritage and choose her sister over all of them. Jack, although a Reaper, was fiercely protective of Lucy and most people were lucky if they didn’t get their ass kicked just for looking at her wrong.

Those two still had a lot of issues they were working out along the way, since they barely knew each other when they got together. Hannah, on the other hand, didn’t have any time for men. The only guys she got to spend any quality time with were dead ones.

She hit Summer Hollow’s main street, which was where the highway made its way through the one stoplight town. People often joked that if you blinked you would miss it, which was only a slight exaggeration.

The town had one gas station, one small grocery store and one school where the elementary, middle school, and the high school students all shared a campus. Summer Hollow was your typical small town where everyone knew everyone, and it was the main reason that Hannah loved the place so much.

Sure, it was her hometown and growing up she had sworn up and down that someday she would get out of this hick town and do something great with her life, just like pretty much every teenager does. But, she was a Keeper and Keepers had a destiny they simply couldn’t run from.

She turned the corner by the rodeo grounds where they held the Summer Hollow festival every year. She passed by the large dirt areas, which were fenced in with wood that was older than she was. The community center was on the same property as the rodeo grounds, she had Mrs. Bradley’s Mac n Cheese dish sitting in the back seat since after the funeral and wanted to return it to her.

It was senior bingo day at the community center, so Hannah knew that she would find Mrs. Bradley inside with at least four cards in front of her.

She pulled the car in next to an old station wagon and stepped out of the car. A strong wind gusted by, causing some of the fallen leaves and pine needles scattered upon the dirt parking lot to dance along the ground. She smoothed her hair down and glanced up at the sky. It looked like a storm was coming. The sky had been a lovely brilliant blue, but now large, angry gray clouds were rolling in.

Better hurry, she thought as she opened the door to the back seat and grabbed up the dish. Lifting it into her arms, she hurried up the ramp into the building.

“B 17,” a male voice called out as she let the door close behind her.

“What was that, Jim?” Delores Engle shouted from the tables.

Mrs. Avery turned to Mrs. Engle and shouted, “He said, G 17!”

Jim, a younger guy who volunteered to host Bingo for the seniors, shook his head and rubbed his forehead, pushing back his sandy blond hair in the process. “No, Mrs. Avery, I said B, not G. It’s B like in boy. B 17.”

“Oh.” Obviously embarrassed, Mrs. Avery focused her eyes back onto her bingo card.

Mrs. Engle enthusiastically stabbed the bingo card with her giant marker. “Got it! Thanks Jimmy.”

Jim glanced up and caught sight of Hannah waiting in the doorway. “Hey Hannah, can I help you with something?”

“I came to return this to Mrs. Bradley.” She lifted the dish into the air for emphasis.

Mrs. Bradley stood up. She was near the back of the room on the far side. She had a couple of crystals, a troll doll and a rabbit’s foot sitting around her bingo cards. The variety of items were the elderly woman’s good luck charms. Anytime Hannah had ever seen Mrs. Bradley play bingo she had them arranged in some strategic way around her cards. “Just leave it on that table over there, honey.” Mrs. Bradley waved her hand in the direction of a card table by the door. “Thank you for bringing it to me and I hope you enjoyed the Mac n Cheese.” she paused for dramatics, “it’s my special recipe.”

Most of the seniors groaned.

“All right,” Hannah set the dish on the table. “Sorry to interrupt your game.”

There was a chorus of “don’t worry about it” and “no problems” and then Hannah turned to go.

“Later Hannah,” Jim called out as she opened the door and stepped out.

She offered him a wave and her own goodbye and then hurried out the door. As soon as she came out from underneath the overhang and onto the ramp, she felt a few sprinkles fall from the sky.

“Oh man.” She tilted her face up to check out the clouds. They had darkened from gray to almost black and formed a cover which blocked out the entire sky above. A long bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, immediately followed by crack of thunder so loud it caused her to flinch.

Better get a move on. She jogged the rest of the way down the ramp, trying to get to her car before the sky decided to open up and release the downpour she knew was coming soon.

Just as she reached to open the car door the wind kicked up again. This time, the leaves which had danced across the earth were lifted into the air and forced into a whirlwind of conflicting directions. The leaves and pine needles floating on the wind were soon joined by the loose dirt from the parking lot. Standing outside just became a pretty nasty place to be loitering around.

Just then, it got even worse, the downpour she had been expecting finally let loose from the angry heavens. “Dammit!” Hannah reached out and yanked the door handle. The door flew open with great force as the wind caught it and slammed it back so far that it bounced back toward her. She caught the door before it slammed shut again and practically threw herself into the car.

Reaching over, she pulled on the door trying to force it against the direction of the wind. Right before the door slammed shut, the envelope sitting on the console caught the wind and blew out into the storm.

“Shit!” Hannah cried out. That was the envelope with the house payment check she was going to drop off at the post office before she went to the hospital. Pushing the door back open, she dove out into the flurries of leaves, pine needles, and dirt. She caught sight of the envelope drifting across the parking lot and over to the rodeo grounds.

The rain whipped against her exposed skin and saturated her clothes as she gave chase. She knew there was no way that she was going to be able to go to work like this. She was going to have to go home and change first. That thought was confirmed again as she dashed across the parking lot and hit the soft dirt inside one of the corrals that had instantly turned to mud when the rain hit.

“Oh my shoes,” she whined as she clomped through the soggy earth.

The envelope landed near the fence on the far side of the corral and stuck against the mud. “Oh, thank God,” she breathed, and tried to hurry toward it as she pushed against the wind and rain.

Another lightning bolt ripped through the sky, closer than the last one. It was, of course, followed by its counterpart. She had just grasped the envelope between her fingers when the clap of thunder cracked, echoing its fury through the air. Tearing the envelope from the mud, she clutched it to her chest and stood.

Just as she was turning to go back to the car, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a glimmer of red among the trees in the distance. Her body straightened and immediately went on the defense, even as she told herself that she must have imagined it.

Squinting against the heavy rain, she moved in the direction of the trees instead of back to the car. She folded the envelope as she walked and then stuck the dirty, wet paper into the pocket of her scrubs.

The shimmering red flashed through the trees again.

“Oh man,” she muttered, knowing now that she had not imagined the red aura of a Reaper. Quickly, she bent and raised her pant legs up, removing both knives from their sheathes at the same time. After the weapons were comfortably gripped in her hands, she continued into the small forest of trees that lined the far side of the rodeo grounds.

She moved slowly around each tree, making sure that her footing was soft and flat, so as not to make any more noise than needed. She didn’t see anything for several minutes as she moved farther and farther into the trees. But the Keeper inside of her knew that the Reaper was still out there, so she kept looking.

Normally, the Keepers and the Reapers kept to the graveyards. There was an unspoken rule not to bring their fights into regular human society. But now, things were different. They knew the Empress was going to send her Reapers after them eventually, and two weeks had already passed, so she was sure if there was a Reaper in town, they had probably been sent by the Empress to take out one of her family.

The Empress was pissed at all of them. They had won the fight at her compound and either injured or killed a lot of her Reapers.

Hannah had never had to hunt Reapers like this. Usually, if they saw each other outside of the graveyard, they avoided each other. If they saw each other inside the graveyard, they might fight, but neither side wanted to deal with dead bodies, so both factions avoided killing if they could.

Now, things were different. The Empress wanted them dead … all of them, so she had to protect herself, and her family.

The red flashed again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Reaper take off back toward the rodeo grounds behind her. She turned and bolted after him. It was a male Reaper and he obviously had seen her or he wouldn’t be running.

It was a stroke of luck that she was faster than him and she caught up with him in no time. As they neared the barbeque pits, she matched pace with him, then kicked her leg out and tripped him.

He tumbled to the ground and rolled, causing mud to stick to pretty much every part of his body.

Hannah wasted no time. She was on top of him in a flash, the knife in her right hand pressed against his throat, ready to slice him open if he made even one wrong move. “Were you watching me?” She stared down at the Reaper, waiting for her answer, but he only widened his eyes in response. “Tell me,” she ordered.

The Reaper answered in a whisper, “Of course I was watching you. Why else would I be out here in this shit-hole?”

Hannah dropped her other knife on the ground and wrapped her fingers around his bicep. She ignored the burning sensation which ignited when her skin came into contact with his and pushed him to the ground. “Did the Empress send you?”

The Reaper’s only answer was a twitch of the lips, like he was trying not to smile.

Dumbass, she thought. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she muttered in response to his non-answer.

This Reaper had dark blond hair and watery blue eyes that didn’t have any depth. They were the kind of eyes that just seemed … empty.

Suddenly, the Reaper bucked his hips, sending Hannah forward, her knife slid across his throat involuntarily. Caught off guard, she pulled her knife hand away from his neck in attempt to steady herself.

Even with blood seeping out of the wound on his neck, the Reaper took advantage of the moment. His fist flew up, connecting with her cheekbone. She felt the crack and for a moment, her world went fuzzy.

Mere seconds later, the Reaper had the tables turned. Reapers were naturally a bit stronger than the average human, since they fed on human souls, but she was a trained Keeper and it was rare for one to get her in a position of which she couldn’t escape.

And that is just what happened.

He was on top of her before she knew what happened. The knife flew behind her, out of her reach. He pinned her arms above her head. She felt the mud encase her extremities, molding itself around her skin.

“Not such a tough Keeper now, are you?” the Reaper taunted with a sick grin plastered across his face.

“Shut up.” Hannah bucked beneath him in a petty attempt to get him off of her. “The Empress won’t win this.”

He shook his head. “You have no idea what she is planning, and even if you did, it wouldn’t matter because you aren’t going to be around long enough to tell anyone.” He dropped his face down close to hers so that their lips were only an inch apart. Blood dripped from his neck wound, onto her chest where it stained her scrubs and mixed with the rain.

Disgusted, she turned her face away.

Think Hannah, do not let this asshole win. Her inner voice screamed at her. Fight Hannah!

“I am going to taste your soul, Keeper.” Even against the cold sting of the rain and wind, she felt his breath hot against her neck.

Fight!

She felt a sudden lurch in her chest as her soul fought back against the pull of the Reaper and that kicked her back into action. “No,” she whispered, unable to breathe correctly. The Reaper didn’t stop so she gulped a breath and then brought her knee up as hard as she could, making direct contact with his groin. “Noooo!” She screamed as he buckled, losing his grip on her.

Taking advantage of his weakness, she pushed him off of her and let him topple into the mud. Quickly, she searched the area for her knife, spotting it about three feet away from her and lunged for it. She landed hard in the mud. The liquid dirt sprayed out around her just as a crack of thunder rolled though the valley of Summer Hollow.

“Shit,” she cursed. The knife handle was about four inches from her fingertips. At once she was on her hands and knees, but then she was flat in the mud again.

The Reaper had recovered enough that he could grab her leg and yank her back. Struggling against the strength of the Reaper, she forced herself to scoot forward. Just. Another. Inch.

Got it.

“Come on, you little bitch.” The Reaper knelt over the top of her and forced her to roll over onto her back.

“Fuck off, asshole,” she screamed in his face, then spit some of the rain away from her lips. His neck was still bleeding. His wound was worse than Lucy’s had been, but probably not deadly.

“Shut up.” His fingers crept around until they were grasping her throat. She felt his grip tighten, digging into her windpipe.

She coughed and looked into his empty, unfeeling eyes. It was then she knew that he was going to kill her if she didn’t do something.

“What are you going to do now, huh?” The Reaper continued to taunt her, enjoying the sight of her impending death.

“This!” Hannah managed to shout as she thrust her right hand upward.

The Reapers grip loosened and his eyes widened with shock. Still straddling her, he looked down at his chest and saw Hannah’s knife protruding from his rib cage. “You fucking bitch,” he moaned, but didn’t reach down to take it out.

Hannah crawled backward, scooting herself through the mud. When she felt she was a safe distance away from him, she stood and searched the ground for her other knife. The glint of silver appeared through mud. She hurried over and grabbed it just as the Reaper fell to the side.

Blood appeared between his lips and his hands wrapped around the handle of the knife. Hannah had slid the blade up between his ribs at an angle that would have pierced the lungs and hopefully the heart.

“They are here,” he whispered. “We are everywhere.”

Hannah didn’t reply, she only watched as his eyes glazed over with the hollow look only death could cause.

“Oh, fuck,” she whispered, looking down at the body of the Reaper. “Damn it.”

You have to get out of here Hannah. Go! Her inner voice was yelling at her, but she couldn’t seem to look away. This was the first time she had killed anyone, even a Reaper.

Slowly, she crept toward him, expecting him to leap for her at any moment. When she was sure that he wasn’t going to magically come back to life, she wrapped her fingers around the handle and grasped it tightly before pulling it out of the dead Reapers body.

Go, Hannah!

She turned and ran back to her car as fast as she could, first checking to make sure that no one was outside the community center. She couldn’t have anyone seeing her like this. Oh fuck, she had to take care of the body now.

While she pulled out of the community center’s parking lot, soaking wet, shivering and covered with mud, she pulled out her phone and called her sister.

“Hello?”

“Lucy?”

“Duh, you called me.”

“Lucy. I need help … you guys have to get here right now.” She couldn’t stop shivering. It was so freaking cold.

“Hannah, what happened?”

“Luce, I killed a Reaper. I need help right now.”

“I’m coming … we’re coming. Call the others,” Lucy ordered and then she clicked off.

CHAPTER

2

DAVID

Detective, David Foster wished that he could hit the gas and keep right on going.

He had been wishing that a lot lately, but this time was different. This time, the case was in a little hick town called Summer Hollow … his hometown.

The engine of his 68 Chevelle rumbled as if she knew his lead foot was itching. “Not now, baby,” he soothed her. “We have a case to check out.”

It had been so long since he had been back to town and nothing appeared to be much different than when he left. There was still only one stop light. Everyone still smiled or nodded when they passed each other on the sidewalks. Kids on summer break still gathered at the pool and the 24-hour store. The lady who ran the hot dog cart still occupied the corner diagonal of the post office and directly across from the liquor store.

Some places never changed and that was exactly the reason he had left in the first place.

He wanted more.

Summer Hollow had the smallest police department in the whole county and his aspirations were bigger than being a small-town cop. This life goal had led him to Los Angeles, where he spent several years as a patrol officer before he was promoted to detective, the role he most desired in the department.

Then, shit hit the fan. An undercover job had gone bad and the chief had told him he couldn’t work for the LAPD anymore. The only saving grace was that the chief didn’t fire him, he made David quit instead. Sort of a ‘you can still be a cop, just not with my department’ type of deal. So, the only place he could find a job and still be a detective was Lake County. Fucking Lakeport. The city was not only one of the places he would least like to work, but also too close to his hometown.

He slowed his car and stopped at a crosswalk so that a girl with a stroller and a sack of groceries could cross. The young girl waved and then hurried to the other side of the street. After he was sure she had made it safely to the other sidewalk, he pressed on the accelerator.

When he hit the gas, several pedestrians turned to see where the loud engine was coming from. He smiled to himself when he looked over and saw the stares of admiration and envy in each set of eyes. He didn’t blame them, his car was beautiful. She was the love of his life at the moment and he understood why others would have the same appreciation for her that he had.

He looked around, surprised there were so many people out already. A massive storm had hit the area a few hours ago, letting loose a torrential rain, along with some pretty nasty wind. The townspeople didn’t seem to care much because they were already out and about.

A moment later he was turning the corner that led to the rodeo grounds. A cluster of cars, including the local police, were parked haphazardly in front of the senior center. He whipped his car in next to the rest of them and killed the engine.

Near the entrance to the senior center, about ten seniors stood in a group gawking at the crime scene.

“Hey!” Mrs. Bradley called out. “Hey, is that you David Foster?”

David sighed, but turned and smiled politely. “Yes, Mrs. Bradley, it’s me.” He waved and the whole group of seniors waved back enthusiastically.

“Someone was murdered!” she called back. “Is that why you’re here?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He pointed in that general direction. “I better get to it now.”

“Come over and visit us sometime and tell us about big city life.”

“I will Mrs. Bradley,” he finished and then hurried toward the crime scene.

Sheriff Davis was the first of the officials to see him approaching. He glanced at David and then squinted as if he thought he was hallucinating. When David got close enough, the sheriff smiled and adjusted his hat. “Well, well … look who’s back in town.”

David nodded in greeting, “I’m not back in town. Just here to investigate the case.”

The sheriff tilted his lips into a smirk. “Yeah, that’s what they all say. So, you’re working for the county?”

Slipping his hand into the pocket of his blazer, David withdrew a set of rubber gloves and moved in the direction of the body. “Yes, sir. I’ve been placed up in Lakeport.”

“Hmmm, I thought you left this place for the bigger and better LAPD. What changed your mind?”

The body had been left as it was found, on its side in the mud. David squatted down so that he could get a better look at the victim. “I didn’t change my mind. There were circumstances beyond my control that got me transferred there.”

“What kind of circumstances?” the sheriff pried.

David responded without looking back, “I don’t want to talk about it. Now, can we please get to the task at hand?” He gestured to the body.

Damn, the sheriff hadn’t changed a bit either. He would still talk your ear off, no matter what you were doing at the time. He glanced around the body, the mud was churned up all over the place, plus it appeared there were bruises on the victims face. “Well, there was definitely a struggle here. Do you know this guy?”

He glanced up at the sheriff while he waited for an answer. The sheriff shook his head. “Nah, I’ve never seen him before. I don’t think he’s a local.”

David reached around the body and carefully pulled the guys wallet out of the back of his pants. “Well, let’s see who he is then.” He flipped open the brown leather wallet. Inside he found the contents of a man who did not want to be identified. No credit cards or bank cards, but he had shit load of big bills on hand. No business cards or anything to identify where he was from or where he had been. His driver’s license was probably fake, but said the victim’s name was Jeffery Myers from Colorado.

“Let’s run this and see what we find.” He held the card and wallet up for one of the local officers. A young deputy held out an evidence bag for him and he dropped it inside.

To his surprise, Sheriff Davis stood back and let him do his job. Of course, he asked question after question and recapped him on events that had occurred since he left. David tried to tune him out as he worked, listening with half an ear and answering with the occasional ‘uh huh’ or ‘yeah’.

He proceeded with his visual inspection of the body until the medical examiner arrived at the scene.

“And Gregory Estmond passed away last month. Such a shame for the world to lose a guy like that.”

David’s head swung up at the mention of his ex-girlfriends father. “Mr. Estmond died?”

Sheriff Davis nodded. “Yeah, that bastard cancer got him.”

Damn, he didn’t think anything could kill Greg, that old man was one of the toughest people he knew. Still squatting beside the body, he rocked back on his heels and wondered how Hannah was dealing with the loss.

His first instinct was to go over and see her, but then he remembered that he would be lucky if she ever spoke to him again. If he had any regrets about leaving Summer Hollow, Hannah was one of them.

He shook the thoughts away for the moment and concentrated on the dead body in front of him. It was definitely a murder, but self-defense was looking more and more like a possibility. Beside him, the medical examiner was waiting patiently for him to finish up so that they could begin their part of the job.

He spoke briefly with the M.E. about the victim and then turned the body over to them. He had done what he could for now, the rest would have to wait until the body went to autopsy.

The sheriff had finally moved on to harass someone else, leaving David available to check out the scene without someone chirping in his ear the whole time. He didn’t blame the guy for not being more involved in the inspection of the case. Murder was very, very, rare in Summer Hollow so the sheriff probably didn’t know how to handle it.

David preferred to have the case to himself without the locals stepping on his toes anyway.

He eyeballed the mud around the body. It was churned up pretty good. There were several foot prints and smeared hand prints all over. Whoever killed this guy certainly wasn’t thinking about getting caught, that’s for sure. The lack of secrecy and cover up of the crime indicated either a crime of passion or self-defense. People who wanted to kill someone intentionally would have tried to cover it up more.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and took a few pictures of the foot and hand prints which were starting to set in the mud. He was beginning to think that finding the killer wasn’t going to be all that difficult. Really, it usually wasn’t hard, the majority of murders were committed spur of the moment and then the murderer runs without covering up the evidence. When they do try to hide any evidence of their crime, it’s in a hasty manner and they miss the most obvious things. Besides, technology has made solving crime a hell of a lot easier than in the past.

The rain had washed away most of the foot prints surrounding the area where the victim was killed. But, he took a walk around the area anyway, to see if he could find anything that would give him a reason to why someone would want this man dead.

He ended up off in the trees beyond where the body was found. There, where the trees provided a bit of cover from the rain, he found two sets of footprints that appeared to be running toward the crime scene. Again, he clicked a couple of pictures to examine later and then continued inspecting the area.

After a few feet, the prints separated. One set veered off into the open area and disappeared. The other set stayed mainly within the trees, but then exited from the backside of the wooded area, which would indicate that person hadn’t wanted to be seen coming in from the front of the rodeo grounds.

“Looks like we had someone who didn’t want to be noticed,” David mumbled to himself, giving the prints one last look before he headed back to the crime scene.

He joined the gaggle of officials surrounding the body and knelt down by the medical examiner. “So?”

“Well,” The guy glanced over at David. “The knife wound definitely killed him. There was a struggle, he may have hair or skin under his nails because of that but usually the M.E. over at the morgue takes those samples and sends them over. We are going to transport him over to Santa Rosa now.”

“Why Santa Rosa, they aren’t a county hospital?”

The guy grinned and shook his head. “Believe it or not, our hospital morgues have a fucking waiting list. We got permission to transport to Santa Rosa because it’s a murder. I’m assuming that you want the labs to come back ASAP, right?”

David clapped the young M.E. on the back and stood. “That’s right. Good call.”

“They are preparing to load him up now. I’ll send my final reports over there as soon as I’m finished.”

“Thanks man.”

It took him another twenty minutes to tell Sheriff Davis what was up and say goodbye. The old man shook David’s hand and executed one of his most serious expressions. “David, you’ve always been a good kid and if you ever want to come work for the SHPD, you have an open door here.”

“That is a kind offer, Sheriff, but I wouldn’t plan on that happening anytime soon. I want to get back to the city as soon as I can. This thing here is only temporary.”

The sheriff nodded, “We’ll see about that. Oh, and don’t you dare leave town without stopping by to see Mrs. Davis. She will tear me apart if she finds out you were here and didn’t stop in to say hello to her.”

David nodded. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving without seeing her.”

“Give us a heads up and I bet she will make a turkey dinner, just for you. Every Thanksgiving she mopes around because that damn bird reminds her of you.”

David finally felt a happy memory from Summer Hollow slip into place. “I don’t know how I could turn that down. I’ll call her as soon as I know when I will be free. Thanks, Sheriff.” With that, he headed back to his car.

It would be a couple of hours before the medical examiners over at the morgue would be able to get to the body, so he had some time to kill before heading over the mountain. He hadn’t really wanted anything to do with Summer Hollow anymore, mostly he just wanted to forget about it, but he found himself driving in the direction of his old house.

He took Main, which turned into Highway 175, and headed out of town. As he drove, trees gradually got larger, shading the road from sun and causing everything to appear just a bit greener. Only a few minutes outside of Summer Hollow, he turned his baby into the small community called The Springs.

His car roared through the tiny roads, causing people to look up from weeding their gardens and watering their plants. Some people waved, even though they didn’t know who he was and others only stared, trying to figure out who was disturbing their peaceful afternoon.

He reached a driveway that could barely be seen through the overgrowth around the entrance. Turning in, he followed the tiny dirt road into the trees, crossed over the rickety old bridge with no rails, and then pulled into the open area of the yard.

Why did he come here?

This shit was always better off left in the past. But, no, he had to go and rip the fucking bandages off his wounds that would probably never heal. Good going asshole.

He killed the engine of his car and sat there, staring at his past.

This part of his life was behind him and he knew that. His parents were gone and he was the only child, thank God for that, but the past never really left a person. He would wear the scars of his childhood forever. The only good thing that came from living in this hellhole of a place was Hannah and he fucked that up for good too.

The single wide trailer sat on the edge of the bank which gave way to the creek below. On the backside of the trailer, a sliding glass door led to a deck that overlooked the water. He used to take his sleeping bag out there all the time and sleep under the stars with the sound of the running water lulling him into slumber.

He didn’t want to get out of the car so he just sat there staring at the place. The outside was overgrown with tall grass and weeds. No one had been back to care for the place since his father died.

The last thing he wanted to do was go inside that nightmare of a house. What he really wanted to do was burn the mother fucker down, and probably would if he thought he could get away with it. That was the reason why he never rented the place out or tried to sell it. It was almost as if he didn’t want to expose anyone else to the evil protruding within those paper thin walls. It was a nightmare, but it was his to deal with alone.

Letting out a very long, emotional sigh, he glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost time to head over to Santa Rosa and see about the labs for the murder victim. He flipped the key and his baby let out a loud rumble in response.

Time to get back to work and forget about all this again.

CHAPTER

3

HANNAH

The Estmond kitchen was packed full of Keepers and one dark haired Reaper. Everyone was talking or yelling as they tried to figure out how to handle the situation with Hannah.

“I should just turn myself in,” Hannah insisted.

There was a chorus of “No’s” and a lot of head shaking from the family.

“Absolutely not!” Daniel told her sternly. “You need to act like everything is normal, which means going to work.”

Hannah rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand, unwilling to accept that she could just go on like nothing happened. “But, the body … the rodeo grounds.” Eventually they are going to figure out it was me.”

“You don’t know that,” James offered, in a soft voice.

“Yes, yes I do. I work in morgue, remember. I perform autopsies on the dead bodies of murder victims. I know what they will be looking for and I didn’t have any time to cover anything up.” She sat back in her chair and lifted her gaze to meet her brother’s. “The cops will figure this out. I’m better off turning myself in.”

Liv came around and sat down across from her. “You are not doing that. We will think of something.”

Jack, who had been leaning against the counter silently the entire time, finally spoke up. “Sorry, Liv, but this isn’t the kind of thing where we can just ‘think of something.’ We have to act now. Odds are that they will find out it was her. So, we have to come up with a story for why she did it and everyone needs to stick to it.”

Hannah looked up at her sister’s boyfriend. “Self-defense?”

He nodded, “Yeah, it’s your best bet. You said it yourself, they are going to find out it was you. Technology these days will somehow make the connection.” He shrugged. “You may end up in jail for a while, but we can bail you out once they set the bond.”

She shook her head. Jack had no tact whatsoever, but tact wasn’t really what she needed right now. “All right, so we have to come up with a reason to why I killed him that isn’t Reaper related.”

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Lucy spoke up. “How about if you basically tell the truth. This guy attacked you.”

“I actually chased him first and they might be able to figure that out at the scene.”

“Ok, then, how about if you tell them that he had been stalking you since you went on a date with him a long time ago, so when you came out of the senior center you saw him lurking around in the trees and chased him down to demand that he leave you alone. He refused and then grabbed you and tried to … um, force himself on you, so you stabbed him with the knife that you always wear for protection.”

“I think that sounds like a believable story,” Jack agreed. “You have to tell them that you got scared and ran off though.”

Daniel reached into his coat and withdrew his flask. “This is bullshit. Hannah shouldn’t have to be the one to deal with this. We are the good guys here.” He twisted the cap off the silver container and gulped down some of the whiskey inside.

No one chastised him for drinking so early in the morning. In fact, Jack held out his hand for the flask. Daniel passed it to him and let Jack take his own pull.

Hannah looked down into her lap. She had run home and taken a quick shower to get rid of the mud and also put on a new set of scrubs. “I have to go to work.”

James rocked back on his heels. “Hannah, let them find you. Don’t go turn yourself in. There is a chance that they may not figure out that it was you.”

Dammit, why was this happening. Daniel was right. They were the good guys and now she may have to face jail time for killing someone who would have done the same to her. She looked to the rest of the family. “Vote? Those in favor of my turning myself in raise your hand.”

Not one person raised their hand. Greg, the oldest of the siblings was still in San Francisco, so he wasn’t able to give his opinion, but she was pretty sure that he would side with the others. She let out a sigh. These were the closest people in her life and none of them wanted her to be convicted of murder if it could be avoided. She didn’t want to turn herself in, but she wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t the right thing to do either.

“I guess that’s it then. We wait until they come after me … and they will, eventually, so I want you all to be prepared for when it does happen. Like bail money, none of us have enough money to get me out of jail when they take me.”

Daniel raised his flask like he was going to cheers someone. “Leave that to me. I think I can get the money.”

“And where they hell are you going to get that kind of cash?” Liv demanded. She set her hands on her hips and turned to face her brother.

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I can get it and that’s all that matters right now.”

“You better not be doing anything illegal, Dan,” Hannah warned him. “One of us in jail is more than enough.”

“Calm down, it’s not illegal.”

Liv still wasn’t convinced. “Why all the secrecy about it then?”

“Jeez Liv, just shut up. If we need money I can get it, now get off my ass.”

Steph sat at the table beside Hannah with her arms crossed in front of her chest. “We should probably let dad know about all of this.” She glanced out toward the graveyard where her father’s soul now resided.

“No.” Hannah shook her head emphatically. “No, we don’t need to tell him anything yet. Not unless we have to. He worries enough about us as it is since he is stuck to the confines of the graveyard.”

“I agree.” Lucy paced back and forth in front of Jack. “I don’t think we should tell him.”

Hannah wanted to slam her forehead into the kitchen table, but at the same time she was scared shitless. None of this was supposed to happen. It made her wonder how many Keepers in the world were imprisoned for killing a Reaper.

Sometimes being born into the life she had been was far from easy. She was a Keeper and nothing would ever change that, it’s not like you could just quit seeing souls. “I really do have to go to work now.” She stood and wrapped her fingers around the handle of her purse.

Liv came around the table and embraced her sister in a firm hug. “You are going to be all right, we are going to fix this.”

Hannah felt tears spring up in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. “I know,” she replied, giving Liv a tight squeeze before releasing her. When they finally separated, the room had finally gone silent and every set of eyes was trained on her. “You guys don’t have to stare at me. Like Liv said, we will figure this out. Now, I’m going to work.”

The fact that she could possibly be arrested before she saw any of them again was too much. She spun around, without saying anymore goodbyes, and walked as quickly as she could to her car.

The gravel parking area of their driveway was crowded with vehicles, making it hard for her to maneuver her little Kia around them. It wasn’t until she was on the highway headed over the mountain that she was able to breathe a bit easier.

The hospital hallways were busy, as always. She kept her eyes averted, not wanting to lock gazes with anyone. She just wanted to get down to the morgue and away from people. As much as she complained to herself about being a Keeper, mostly she appreciated only having to associate with dead people. Usually it was a lifestyle without much drama.

Usually.

The morgue was cold, like it always was. Becky, one of the other medical examiners on staff, sat in the office space, which was a bit warmer, going over some paperwork.

“There you are.” Becky looked up from the clipboard when Hannah opened the door and slipped inside. “What was the hold up?”

Hannah set her purse down on her desk. “Two things. I slept in, and then after I dropped a dish off to Mrs. Bradley, I ended up with a flat tire.”

Becky rolled her eyes. “Seriously, when it rains it pours, right?”

“Totally,” she responded, without looking at the other woman. “So, what’ve we got today?”

“This guy was just sent here from Lake County, they couldn’t get him in fast enough over there.”

A slight chill ran down her spine. “What? Why?” she moved across the room to look at the paperwork over Becky’s shoulder.

“It was a murder and the morgues over there are full.”

Hannah raised an eyebrow. “They’re full?”

“Don’t ask me,” Becky tucked a lock of light brown hair back over her ear. “We just get the bodies and do our job.”

It wasn’t the first time that they had a transfer from another county, but it was a rare occasion when it did happen. She held her hand out for the paperwork. “Well, I guess I better get to work so you can get out of here. Thanks for covering for me.”

Becky handed over the clipboard. “No problem. It’s not like you’re ever late. This is the first time since I’ve been working here that you have been.”

Hannah swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a smile onto her face. “Being punctual is sorta my thing.”

“Well, don’t have too much fun,” Becky joked and then swiveled her chair around so that she could grab her purse from the floor beside her desk. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Unless I’m in jail.

“See ya,” Hannah waved absentmindedly. She had already begun reading over the paperwork and slowly moving toward the door into the lab area.

The guy’s record confirmed her suspicions about him being the Reaper from the rodeo grounds.

Name: Unknown

Alias: Jeffery Myers

Place of Birth: Unknown

Date of Birth: Unknown

Home of record: Unknown

Place of death: Summer Hollow, California. County: Lake

Shit.

She placed the clipboard on the table beside her tray of tools and sighed. What were the odds of her having to autopsy the same guy she killed? All she wanted to do was forget about the whole damn thing and now she had to pick apart his body.

Awesome.

The guy was prepped and ready for her. His body lay on the table beneath a crisp white sheet, covered from head to toe. The sterilized tools rested on the tray, glimmering in the bright fluorescent light. Vials for samples stood in a holder, lined up in rows of four. Last but not least, her phone was automatically synching to the wireless speakers in the corner of the room.

Before she went any further, she pulled her cell out of her pocket and swiped until she found her work playlist. Within seconds, ZZ Ward filled the room and she felt her stress level lower just a tiny bit.

The souls were everywhere in the room. A shimmering blue mist swirled around the vaults where the bodies were kept. Some of the souls could solidify and appear as their human shell had. Those who could solidify could usually speak as well. Most of the souls simply remained a beautiful glimmering cloud moving about the room.

That was her real job … guarding the souls of the dead until they crossed over.

After scrubbing up, she got to work, first taking all the required samples before cutting into the body. It occurred to her that working on the body of the same Reaper she killed may not be such a bad thing. She could rig the reports, eliminating any information that would lead to her.

My God, was she really thinking of falsifying a report?

She thought of the Reapers and their vendetta against the Keepers, their mission to find the Chosen One, and knew that if she hadn’t killed him first, she wouldn’t still be breathing.

Damn straight she was going to lie about what was found on the body.

She heard the door behind her open and then close again. “I’m working,” she announced over the music to whoever had entered the room.

“Duh, so am I,” a woman’s voice retorted.

Hannah looked up. “Kate!”

“Hey Hannah, I was in the area and thought I would save you a trip by picking up any of the samples that you had for me.”

“Awesome. I actually do have one for you. I think Becky already sent the others up.” She reached over and picked the appropriate vial up off the rack and handed it to Kate.

She and Kate had gone to medical school together and were roommates almost the entire time. While Hannah always knew she wanted to be a medical examiner so that she could look over the souls, Kate’s goal was to be a brain surgeon. She was almost there too. Right now Kate was an intern and really, really close to being able to perform the actual surgeries. Until now, she had only assisted.

Hannah was extremely proud of her friend.

“Thanks.” Kate accepted the vial, holding it in her right hand. “So, are we still doing that girls night thing?”

Hannah shook her head. “I don’t know. Things got really busy the last month with my family.”

Kate frowned. “Well, we have to do something soon. It’s been a really long time since I’ve gotten to go out,” she paused, “and I don’t want to go out with just anyone. I miss you.”

She didn’t have to force the smile this time. A genuine feeling of happiness came over her. “I miss you too.”

Kate threw her hands in the air. “I don’t understand how we can work together and barely get to spend any time together.

Again, Hannah smiled. “We’re in the medical field. If we wanted much spare time we should have become something else.”

“True.” Kate sighed and then looked at her watch, “speaking of, I have to get going. I have a meeting in ten.”

“Thanks for picking that up.” Hannah gestured to the vial still in Kate’s hand.

“No problem.” Her friend waved at her and then disappeared back out the same door she had come in through.

Once Kate was gone, the happy evaporated as well. She got back to work, the faster she got this guy done, the faster she wouldn’t have to look her victim in his dead eyes.

It wasn’t five minutes later that she heard the door again.

“Excuse me?”

The male voice was familiar, but she didn’t care. She was working. No one bothered the surgeons during their operations, but it was no freaking problem to bug someone just because they were working on a body that was already dead.

“Come back later. I’ll be done here soon.”

She didn’t hear him retreat. Nope, his footsteps moved toward her instead. “I’m sorry, but I’m looking for the body that was brought in from Lake County. Would this happen to be the guy?”

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and cursed under her breath “Jeez! Do you not understand the meaning of I’m working.” She spun around and faced the intruder. “Come back later!”

The moment her eyes rested on the man in front of her, her heart skipped and her stomach sank at the same time. There stood the man who she had loved more than anyone except her family. That very same man who had left her to move to Los Angeles and never came back.

“David?” The words were out of her mouth before she could think of something better to say. Like ‘get the fuck out’ or ‘hey asshole, hope your life sucked as much as mine did after you left.’ But, no, she could only manage to stumble his name over her lips.

This fucked up day was never going to end.

CHAPTER

4

DAVID

Time seemed to stop.

The facade of Detective David Foster fell away and he was left with only David.

The sound of his name rolling off her lips. Her dark red hair pulled back into loose bun at the back of her head. Those big brown eyes staring him with surprise and anger. It was almost an exact replay of the last day he had seen her.

He couldn’t even speak. He felt his mouth open to say her name and nothing came out. The last person he had expected to run into here was his ex-girlfriend. Those words, ex-girlfriend didn’t even come close to describing Hannah. A better description would be, the only woman he had ever loved.

She held some kind of sharp pointy tool loosely in her fingers, but the moment her eyes settled on him, she squeezed the tool so hard that her knuckles turned white. “Wha ... what are you doing here?”

He was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. He knew that he would eventually run into her if he was spending much time in Summer Hollow, but he had wanted to be more prepared for their first encounter.

Shit, who the hell was he kidding? He had replayed what he was going to say to her over and over in his mind for the last twelve years. And what do ya know, it was all lost to him the moment he set eyes on her.

“Hannah.”

A thick silence filled the air for about half a minute and then he took a step toward her. She balked and backed up, away from him. “Don’t.” Her eyes flashed with pain. “Don’t come near me.”

“Hannah, I didn’t expect to see you here, but…”

“No.” She cut him off before he could apologize or say any of the words he had rehearsed for so long. “You don’t speak to me. All those years you didn’t speak to me and now shouldn’t be any different.” She glanced over at the body. “I will be done with the report in a little bit. You can wait out in the hall if you want.”

“Can you give me two minutes to explain?”

She shook her head. “You already explained. I don’t need to hear it again.”

“Please, Hannah.”

“Get out of here, David.” She pointed that glittering, sharp tool at him.

He stepped back a few paces and lowered his voice. “You know that we can’t avoid this forever.”

A bitter chuckle escaped her lips. “Why not, you’ve managed to avoid it all this time. What’s another twelve years?”

She had every right to be pissed at him. He had known that when he finally saw her it wouldn’t be easy, she was after all, Hannah Estmond, but maybe this wasn’t the right time. “Fine, I’ll leave you alone. But I’m waiting out there for the report.” He pointed at the door.

“Good.” She held her position, waiting for him to leave.

His inner voices fought for control. The little angel told him to bid her a polite goodbye and leave the room quietly. But that damn little devil was whispering that he should force her to listen, that he had the right to have his say.

In the end, he opted for a combo of both. He headed for the door, but when his fingers wrapped around the cool metal of the knob, he turned back and faced her again. “Listen, we are going to talk soon. I need to apologize to you. I know that you don’t owe me anything, but it’s something I have to do.”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “You’re right, I don’t owe you anything. But you … you owe me a new fucking heart, cause you broke the last one into so many pieces it was impossible to put it back together again.”

Good lord. He had ruined her life only to make his better. What kind of an asshole does that? Unable to look at her anymore, he pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway where he let out a long, uneven breath.

There were several chairs lined up along the wall beside the door to the morgue, so he flopped down into one of them and pulled out his phone. Hopefully he didn’t have to sit out here too long. It was agony knowing that Hannah was on the other side of the wall and she didn’t want to talk to him.

He swiped the lock on his phone, opened the app for the camera and pulled up the pictures he had taken at the scene. He squinted at the photos, trying to get a better look at them. Sometimes he wished he had a bigger phone, just for this reason.

Judging from the look of the handprints, they wouldn’t be able to get a good print from them. But, the hands were small, indicating it was a woman’s hand. Same with the footprints, they were small. The more he looked at the prints, the more he was convinced it was a woman who had killed the victim.

He swiped it over to the next picture. “What is that?” he whispered, enlarging the photo so that he could get a better look. The tread of the footprint was smeared in the mud, so he couldn’t see the exact detail of the tread, but in the heel area of the tread he could just make out a slight indent. The mark was not consistent with the rest of the print.

He continued to stare at the picture. Maybe a pebble or something had lodged up into the tread of the shoe. It was hard to tell just yet, he was going to have to run these through a computer so that he could blow them up and get a better look.

With a sigh, he closed out the camera and clicked off his phone. The hallways outside the morgue weren’t as busy as the rest of the hospital so he couldn’t even pass the time people watching, which only left sitting out in the hall like a child who was being punished.

He knew it would be a while until she finished with the paperwork, but he didn’t want to chance leaving for a cup of coffee or anything, so he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

His thoughts should have been revolving around the case, but the only thing he could think of was Hannah. What would life have been like if he hadn’t left Summer Hollow? He was fairly certain that they would have eventually gotten married and probably even had a kid or two.

He would have joined the Summer Hollow Police Department, since being a cop was what he had wanted to do since he was thirteen years old.

They would have bought their own little house outside of town and their kids would have gone to the Summer Hollow school, just as they had. On Sunday afternoons they would go over to the Estmond house for family dinner and their kids would play with their cousins.

Wait, did any of Hannah’s brothers or sisters even have any kids yet?

He suddenly realized that he didn’t know very much about the life Hannah was living now. Maybe she had gotten married and already had children. He left and she had to go on. Why would he think that a woman like Hannah would still be single, never mind pining for him all these years.

To his right, he heard a click as the door to the morgue opened. He heard footsteps lightly make their way over to him and then stop beside him. “Here’s your report, Detective.” He opened his eyes just as a folder landed in his lap. “Have a lovely afternoon.”

“Hannah.” He whispered her name as she was turning to go back through the morgue door.

“Yes, Detective.”

He rolled his eyes and stood, grasping the folder in one hand. “Stop calling me that.”

Her spine straightened and she squared her shoulders before she turned to fully face him. “You are a detective, aren’t you?”

Good grief, she was going to make this so hard. He felt the tickle of anger flare up inside him. He knew that she didn’t owe him a damn thing, but she should at least talk to him, dammit. He tucked the folder underneath his arm and marched toward her. “You know damn well that I am. Now do you have a minute to talk to me?”

Her eyes widened as she recognized the old David come out a little bit. For a second he thought that maybe she would give a little, but instead she shook her head and opened the door. She looked in and then back at him. “I’m sorry, I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

“Hannah …”

“Sorry, Detective.” With those last words, and tears welling in the corners of her eyes, she stepped over the threshold shutting the door behind her.

God damn, those words hurt. She couldn’t even say his fucking name. This moment was probably one of the only times in his life that he resented his title of detective.

With nothing left to do but stare at the door she had just shut in his face, he spun and hurried out through the deserted hallway, not stopping until he was seated in the stifling hot interior of his car.

For a moment, he just sat there, staring out at the parking lot and thinking about how that could not have gone any worse if he had tried to fuck it up. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got with himself. “Shit!” He curled his fingers into his palm and then slammed his fist into the steering wheel.

He hit the wheel again and again until he finally realized that beating the shit out of his car wasn’t going to fix anything. He had to make this up to Hannah, he had to at least try to make up for some of the pain he had put her though. Only problem was he had no clue on how he was going to do that.

CHAPTER

5

HANNAH

“Oh, God.” Hannah released a sob as soon as David had gone into the hallway, shutting the door softly behind him.

She moved back over to the body and set the scalpel down on the tray. Of all the people … of all the things that could happen after the previous events of the day, this was what was chosen to top it off.

She took a deep breath in through her nose and released it slowly from between her lips. Her whole body was shaking, there was no way she could work on that body until she calmed down. But, how in the hell was she supposed to calm down. The only guy she had ever loved just walked back into her life and he was investigating the murder she had committed.

Awesome. Just, awesome.

God, he looked amazing. His hair, his clothes, his eyes. Dammit, everything about him made her want to jump into his arms and tell him how much she missed him. But, at the same time, she could never forget how he broke her heart.

He had just left her. Left for Los Angeles never to be heard from again.

As the memory flashed through her mind she felt the tears falling down over her cheeks. With a gloved hand she swiped at the unwanted proof that he had hurt her so bad that she could still cry over him twelve years later.

Fuck that.

Fuck him.

She had to shove this to the back of her mind and deal with it later. This body had to get done and out of here. Sniffing loudly, she ripped the rubber gloves off her hands and tossed them in the trash. With a yank, she extracted another two gloves from the box on the table and pulled them over her hands.

It only took a few minutes for her to compose herself enough to get back to work on the body, and it took just that long for thoughts of David to consume her as well.

Not a day went by that she didn’t think of him. After he left to L.A., she had gone to school and tried to move on. She had always planned to be a medical examiner, but that didn’t mean she had to leave the area like he did.

Aside from her mother’s death, getting over him was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Even then, at least with her mom dying, she had closure.

School was lonely and hard. All she did was sleep, eat and study. It did help take her mind off of David though, so at least there was that. But it took her a long time to get to a place where she didn’t hope for him to come back.

That last night after the dance, they had gone up to their spot at The Springs and he ruined the perfect day with the news that he would be leaving.

They were on the bridge, which overlooked stone pools that filled with water when they released the dam in the spring. In the winter they drained the water back into the creek. She and David were both sitting with their shoes off and their legs hanging over the moonlit water.

“Hannah, I have to tell you something.”

She turned and looked up at him. “What is it?”

He didn’t say anything right away. “What? David, what’s going on?”

Still, he kept silent and couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Now I know this is bad.” She reached up and turned his head toward her so that she could see his eyes. “Seriously, what is it?”

She stared into his deep blue eyes and saw that he was holding something back. Instead of asking him what was wrong again, she took his hand and laced her fingers between his.

“I’m leaving Summer Hollow.”

She felt her heart sink. That was not what she had expected. There were a million other things that could have made David act this way, with all the crap that went on with his parents, but she didn’t think he would ever just pick up and leave.

“What?” She stammered, “wh … why?”

He turned his head and gazed back out over the water. “I got accepted into the Police Academy for the LAPD.”

She let go of his hand and held back the tears, unwilling to let them loose before she fully understood. “You’re going to leave, just like that?”

He raked his fingers through his sandy blond hair. “You could come with me. We will go to L.A. together. It will be an adventure, the start of our new life.”

Yeah, those damn tears weren’t going to stay put. They spilled over from the corners of her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. “I … I can’t leave. I have school coming up.”

She told him it was school and that was an honest reason, but she also couldn’t leave her family. Her dad needed help taking care of the kids and the graveyard. If she left, that put more patrols on her dad, Greg and Dan. She needed to be there.

“Hannah, there are schools in there, bigger and better schools too. You’re so smart, you would get into one of them no problem.”

She tried to ignore the excitement in his voice and brushed away some of the wetness on her cheek. “It doesn’t work like that, David.”

For a moment there was silence and his excitement seemed to dissipate as he realized that Hannah truly wouldn’t leave Summer Hollow. “You really don’t want to come with me?” he asked her softly.

She choked back the lump in her throat and spoke slowly, afraid that she may end up sobbing uncontrollably if she wasn’t careful. “It isn’t that I don’t want to David, I just can’t.”

He nodded. “I guess I understand that. I shouldn’t expect you to just up and leave your life for me.”

“Well, I can’t expect you to stay here and not go after what you want because of me. I don’t want to be what holds you back in life.” Her voice had grown thick with sarcasm.

“You are what I want in life, Hannah. But, I want more than SHPD.”

“We had plans. How can you just leave?” She scooted back and stood up. “There isn’t anything wrong with being a small-town cop, look what Sheriff Davis did for you! You can help people right here.”

He also stood, catching her hand as she tried to turn away from him. “Hannah …”

She let loose a sob and then sniffed back some of the tears. “Don’t!”

“I have to live my life and make something of myself.”

She shook her head, trying to wake up from this nightmare. “So, Summer Hollow, me, everything here, isn’t enough for you?”

He didn’t say anything and when her brown eyes met his blue ones, her lips formed a thin line and she pulled her hands from his. “Seriously?”

“I love you, Hannah.”

“If you loved me you wouldn’t leave.”

He wandered over to the edge of the bridge and stood with his toes over the edge. “I have to go. I want you to understand.”

“Oh, I understand.” Leaving her shoes, she marched over the wooden planks of the bridge, intending to get to her car and get out of there as fast as possible. But, David was right behind her, he grabbed her arm, trying to spin her around so he could talk to her.

Without really knowing what came over her, she turned and slapped him. “Don’t touch me!” Her breathing was labored and the lump in her throat was so big that she felt like someone had shoved a hose down there.

He stepped back and touched his cheek where she had hit him. “Hannah, please …”

She faced him one final time. “Look, I get why you want to leave. Don’t for one moment think that I don’t understand that. But, don’t think that I can just up and leave my life either. I love you, dammit! I fucking love you and you can have a life here in Summer Hollow … with me.”

“Han—“

“No! You just don’t want to try!” With those last words she spun around and bolted for her car, leaving David to walk back to his house in the dark.

Coming back to the present, she shook off the memories and realized that she had finished her work on the body while lost in thought about that last night with David. They were just kids really and she had been in love. Now that she was an adult with real life under her belt, she realized that David had to live for himself, no one else, and that included her.

She understood this wasn’t some romance novel where one of them sacrifices everything for the other. It was real life and David had a shitty childhood. She really was the only thing that had been keeping him in Summer Hollow. Well, probably the sheriff and his wife too, they were the only real parental figures he had.

None of this took away the pain though. It was one thing to forgive someone when they aren’t around, but coming face to face with them again after so long brought back all the memories as if they were happening all over again.

Getting her head back in the game, she checked over the file one more time to make sure that she had filled everything out the way it was supposed to be. God, she could be fired for lying about everything on that report, but if she told the truth they would find her and take her to jail.

She was probably going to end up in jail anyway. There was no way they wouldn’t be able to find out it was her, not in this day and age. The real kicker was that David was the detective on the case. This had to be the worst day of her entire life.

Hannah closed her eyes as she thought about this last bit. It was one reason why it probably would have never worked between them anyway. Keepers usually only married other Keepers because their lifestyle was a secret, it was a commitment and it wasn’t something you could just ignore.

If she and David had stayed together, she would have eventually had to tell him about the Keepers and the Reapers, and then he most likely would have had her put into an institution. She would have never been able to prove it to him either. How did you tell your one true love that you were a Keeper of souls, that you guarded those souls from the Reapers until they crossed over to wherever they go afterward.

Yeah, basically, you were telling him that you saw ghosts and you felt the need to protect them from monsters. There was absolutely no way that was going to go over well.

These were exactly the reasons she had told herself long ago that it was probably for the best that they separated. Yet, once again, that didn’t take away the heartache and pain from the loss.

One of the souls approached her, shimmering underneath the fluorescent lights. The misty blue shimmers swirled around her arm, winding upward until the mist lightly caressed her cheek.

She felt her lips turn up into a wistful smile and another tear escaped from the corner of her eye. “I’m all right … thank you,” she whispered to the soul.

The soul seemed to shimmer a bit brighter and its molecules broke away from each other in a spray of beautiful, blue mist, floating away from Hannah and regrouping over by the vaults.

“Thank you,” she whispered again.

Closing the folder, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, mentally preparing to go out into the hallway and deliver it to David.

CHAPTER

6

DAVID

An hour later, David slowed for the reduced speed limit sign and entered the city limits of Summer Hollow. He passed the deli and the shitty motel, and the old firehouse that was now a tire shop. The liquor store caught his eye and he realized he wanted to drink … he wanted to drink a lot.

But, he had shit to do before he could do that. A lot of good he would be getting sloshed while he was investigating a murder case. So, instead of stopping and picking up a bottle of Patron, he turned left and took the back streets to the rodeo grounds.

He parked in the same place he had parked earlier in the day and opened the folder for the report. Any other day he would have opened that folder the second he got his hands on it. The longer they waited, the farther away the killer could get. But, now he had other things on his mind. Hannah was probably the only thing that could have made his mind stray from the job.

His eyes scanned the file for the information he was looking for.

There was nothing.

Not one fucking thing to go on. No skin under the nails, no hair, no residue … fucking nothing. This never happened, there was always some kind of evidence left on the body when someone was murdered, but this guy had zero.

He shut the folder and stared at the wooden corrals in the distance. It was possible that the killer knew what he, or she, was doing and managed to clean the guy up before they ran off, but that would rule out his theory of self-defense.

“Son of a bitch,” he mumbled, tossing the folder into passenger seat and shoving the driver door open. He took his time wandering over to the crime scene. All being in this place did was remind him of the last Summer Hollow rodeo that he had been at.

Rodeo time was always one of the best days of the summer. Nothing was better than eating BBQ while watching the barrel racing and the bronc riders. One of his personal favorites was the little kids’ sheep roping, since he had been a participant in that when he was in elementary school.

Hannah had been with him that last rodeo. They had walked the grounds together and stayed there all day, checking out the vendor booths, eating and laughing with their friends.

The dance started in the evening and ended around midnight. People drank keg beer and two-stepped all night long to the local bands while their children ran wild in the surrounding woods. He and Hannah were only twenty at the time, but they were no exception to the drinking and dancing.

Before he drove her home that night, they went to their spot at The Springs and that was when he told her he was leaving Summer Hollow.

Perfect. Fucking. Timing.

Obviously Hannah hadn’t taken it very well. He hadn’t been dumb enough to think that she was going to be totally on board so when that Estmond anger flashed, he took it full force. As if that weren’t enough, he let her brother Dan kick his ass the next day. The rumors were true, when you messed with one of the Estmond kids, you messed with all of them.

That was the second to last time he had spoken to her before his return to town.

He reached the yellow police tape and circled the area where the body had been found. The man had a fake ID and his prints didn’t match anything in the system, which meant he couldn’t question any friends or family. Without any evidence from the body, the best he could do at the moment was check around town and see if the victim had mentioned anything to anyone.

The mud had dried considerably since he had been there earlier, so he walked around, looking for anything else that might give him an idea about who either of them were. They did have the tread prints from the killer’s shoes, which was something. He had just hoped for something more. What he really wanted was for this to be an open and shut case so that he could get the hell out of Summer Hollow.

He pulled his cell out and checked the time. It was almost five, he could probably hit up a few of the businesses in town before heading back home for the night.

With a blown up version of the victim’s photo from his fake ID in hand, he strolled into the small grocery store. Flashbacks of the past swarmed over him immediately. It may have just been a little market to everyone else, but for him, it was the place that changed his life.

He had been thirteen years old when the SPD picked him up for shoplifting. After making a big show of putting him into the cruiser, the officer dumped him off at the station with Sheriff Davis.

“Son,” Sheriff Davis sat across the desk with a folder sitting in front of him. “Did you honestly think you weren’t going to get caught in there?”

David had glared back at him with the best defiant expression he could muster. “Doesn’t matter. I had to try.”

The sheriff leaned back in his chair, giving David the once over. “Says here you were trying to take a pound of hamburger, a bag of rice and a Snickers bar.” He glanced up from the papers on his desk to see if that got any reaction from David.

“Yeah, so?”

“So, you weren’t stealing simply to steal. Those are the things people take when they are hungry.”

David finally turned his head away and mumbled. “So am I arrested? Can I go now?”

“No, you can’t go. David, you committed a crime and there are prices to pay when you do that.”

“So send me to juvie, I don’t care.”

The sheriff nodded his head in understanding. “So was that your plan, to get caught? At least they eat three meals a day in juvie, huh?”

David hadn’t been able to say anything, because that was pretty much exactly what he had figured. If he had gotten away with it, he would have a food for the next couple of days and if he didn’t then he would go to juvenile hall.

“Look, Son, I’m not going to arrest you, but I’m going to make another deal with you if you are interested.”

“What kind of deal?”

“I need some work done around here and out at my house. I got a shit ton of yard work that the missus and I don’t have time to do. I will pay you a decent wage, if you’re not opposed to working.”

That statement was so far from what David had expected that he had only sat there with his mouth hanging open. The sheriff continued, “It’s summer and you have lots of free time. If it works out, then you can work after school when the school year comes round.”

David still could not use his words.

“Well?” The sheriff spread his hands wide, waiting for an answer.

“I don’t know if my parents will let me. They don’t like cops.”

Sheriff Davis gave a small nod. “I will talk to your parents.”

“No!”

The cop narrowed his eyes, furrowing his brows together. “Why don’t you want me to have a word with them?”

The fact that his parents would find out he was shoplifting wasn’t the issue, it was the fact that he had been caught and that would send his father into a fit. “They don’t like cops. Like I said before.”

“I won’t tell them what happened today.”

David shook his head again. “Look, I’ll figure out a way, just don’t talk to them … please.”

After a moment of silent contemplation the sheriff agreed. “Fine. I’ll leave it alone. But, if there is something you need to tell me … something that I should know about, I have an open door, all right?”

Relieved, David leaned back in his chair. “I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

“Now, it’s about time for me to head home.” He stood, grabbing his Stetson off of the hook near his desk. “Why don’t you come with me and meet the missus and then I’ll drop you off near your house.”

After that, he worked almost every day at the Davis farm. His parents didn’t care where he was, since he was bringing home food and staying out of their way. During the school year, Mrs. Davis would make him sit down and do his homework at the kitchen table before he could get his work done. While he was doing his homework, she would give him a sandwich and a tall glass of milk for an afterschool snack.

The Davis house became his second home and he pretty much owed everything to the sheriff and his wife. His life could have gone a completely different way, but instead, the sheriff took pity on him and that small gesture was what provided David with his dream of being in law enforcement.

With these thoughts thick in his mind, he realized that he probably could have been nicer to the sheriff earlier. But, he shook it off quickly and strode up to the first cashier to see if she had seen the victim come into the store.

He didn’t get any hits at the market, so he moved on to Brandy’s Café. “Hey Lisa,” he greeted the waitress behind the counter with a slight wave.

“Well, as I live and breathe, if it isn’t David Foster,” she teased “Left the big city to come back to the little town of Summer Hollow.”

David smiled and took a seat at the counter. “I’m not back. Just working on a case here.”

Lisa frowned. “You mean the murder? Oh, that’s right, you’re a big wig detective now.”

“Yes, I’m here for that case and yes, I’m a detective.”

She frowned again. “Where’s your partner? On TV, the detectives always have partners with them.”

David turned over his coffee mug and pushed it forward just a tad. Lisa got the clue and lifted the coffee pot from the burner. She filled his mug, leaving enough room for cream and sugar if he wanted it.

“I don’t have a partner yet. Things aren’t always like television.” He told her.

“Well, I would have figured it’s like the buddy system and all that. You know, safety in numbers.”

He nodded. “It is. The department is in between personnel right now, so I had to take this one by myself.”

Lisa smiled. “Ah, I see.”

Opening the file, David lifted out the picture of the victim. “Speaking of the murder, you wouldn’t have happened to see this guy lately?” He handed the photo over to her so that she could get a good look at the guy.

“Oh, yeah. I did see him.”

Yes! Finally, a lead.

“He came in here the other day, ordered a Philly cheesesteak sandwich.” She extended the photo out to him.

He replaced the picture into the file and closed it. “Did he say anything about what he was doing in town?”

She wrinkled her nose and tilted her head, thinking back. “Hmm … he did say that he was looking for a better place to stay. I don’t remember if he mentioned anything else.”

Smiling, David lifted his coffee and took a testing sip. “Well, let me know if you think of anything. So far, this has been very helpful.”

The doorbell jangled and she eyed the entrance. “Well, in that case, I am happy to have been of service. Now, I’d better get to work, it’s been nice seeing you, David.”

“Same here, Lisa.” He finished his coffee and threw some cash on the counter for her. She had said that the guy was looking for a better place to stay, which meant he had probably been staying at the motel in town.

He roared into the parking lot of the motel and swung into an empty spot in front of the office. Grabbing the folder once again, he got out of his car and hurried up the small stone steps into the minuscule office.

Inside, a plump woman sat at a desk, tapping away on a computer. “I’ll be right with you,” she mumbled without looking up to see who had entered.

“I’ll be right here,” he responded, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice. He could clearly see the screen of the computer had a social networking site pulled up, so she obviously wasn’t working.

He turned and checked out the office while he waited. There were two folding chairs up against the wall behind him, a cactus sat on a wooden table in front of the window and resting up against another wall was a rack which held brochures for area attractions.

“There.” The woman pushed the keyboard back and turned toward him. “Now how can I help you? Are you looking for a room?”

“No ma’am. I’m Detective David Foster. He flashed the badge attached to his belt. “I have reason to believe that this man may have been staying here.” He slid the photo onto the desk in front of her.

She peered down at the picture and then lifted her gaze back up to David. “Why, yes. He actually has a room occupied right now.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth a look of concern washed over her face. “What did he do?”

“Don’t worry ma’am, he’s not a threat. He was murdered sometime this morning.”

Her hands went to her face, covering her mouth. “Oh my God! Really?”

“Unfortunately, yes. So, you said that he has a room out with you now?”

“Um, yes,” she nodded.

“I am going to need to take a look at his room, if you don’t mind.”

She stood and grabbed a key off the wall behind her. They were actual keys too, not those plastic card jobs that every other hotel gave you now days. “It’s room twelve. Do you need me to show you where it is?”

David shook his head. “No, thank you, I think I can find it.” He accepted the key she held gripped in her extended hand, gave her a quick nod and headed out to find room twelve. So far, what bothered him was that the guy didn’t have a key on his body. If he was staying there, he should have been carrying a key around with him.

Once he found room twelve he fit the key into the lock and swung open the door. For a moment he simply stood in the doorway, taking in the room and its contents.

The bed was neatly made, there weren’t any clothes lying around, and everything appeared crisp and clean. This told him the housekeeper had been in and done her job, but it sucked because she may have cleaned up something that could have been useful for the case.

Over by the bed, on the floor, was a small, black duffel bag. He hurried over and grabbed the bag, unzipped it and spread what was inside out onto the bedspread. All his hopes were dashed when all he found was a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, underwear, socks, deodorant and a toothbrush.

“Shit.” He shoved all the items back into the bag and turned to look around the room. He bent down and looked under the bed, he opened the drawer to the nightstand, he searched the bathroom. Fucking nothing.

Who the hell was this guy anyway? The fact that he wasn’t in the system was a huge red flag in itself. The only people he came across that didn’t have prints in the system were professional killers. The lack of evidence was certainly leaning toward this guy having such a career.

He stood up and scanned the entirety of the room again. “Dammit, fucking figures.” He pulled the key from his pocket and shut the door behind him.

CHAPTER

7

AIDEN

Deep shit did not even begin to explain the situation that Aiden was in.

He contemplated this thought as he sat at the dining room table on his boat. The waves rocked the small yacht gently, which should have been soothing, but Aiden’s worry only grew with each day that passed.

His guns were spread across the table in front of him with an open gun cleaning kit and a bottle of Jack.

Jack.

His best friend … his brother.

Ever since the showdown in Napa, the Empress had put him on all the shit details. He had been one of her most trusted men in the Reaper Guard and then he had turned on her last second and saved Jack. He really didn’t give a shit about all the Keepers, they could have died for all he cared, but not Jack.

That presented the biggest problem though. Jack was in love with a Keeper, and not just any Keeper, she was the Chosen One. The one who was prophesied to bring an end to the Reapers. Because of Jack’s treason, his mother, the Empress basically disowned him.

Wait, no, that wasn’t right. During the battle Jack had renounced his family and everything that went along with it, including his title to the throne. But that didn’t change the fact that his mother basically didn’t give a flying fuck about her son.

He set the gun he had just finished cleaning on the table and picked up the whiskey. Tipping back his head, his pulled straight from the bottle instead of filling his glass. He shivered a little as the warm liquid flowed down into his empty stomach and then picked up another gun.

There was no way in hell he was going to let the Empress hurt Jack. But, there was no way in hell that Jack was going to let the Empress hurt his Keeper, or her family, apparently. He didn’t know what was going on with Jack and this Keeper, but he knew that they had a bond and it appeared to be unbreakable.

This whole situation was fucked up. It had always been his intention for Jack to take the throne and make a change among the Reaper society. Over the years he had covered for him and gave him credit for multiple missions so that his mother and father would see him fit to be Emperor. But, Jack had fucked it up … again.

Bottom line was this. He couldn’t stay here with the Empress now. The bitch had it out for him and severely questioned his loyalty, with good reason. The way things were at the moment, he knew he wasn’t safe in the Reaper society.

Back at the Napa compound, he had seen the Empress fall completely off her rocker. She kidnapped a Seer, whom she intended to kill and had some bullshit ideas about taking the Keepers blood and doing all kinds of experiments with it. These actions were of a desperate woman, not the deliberate, well-thought-out plans of a leader.

He couldn’t leave either. She would send the Reaper Guard after him and they would kill him.

So, what was a Reaper to do?

He finished cleaning his guns and put some of them up in his closet with his other babies. Then, he took the remaining weapons and shoved them into a black duffle bag. The duffle was basically his grab and go bag. At this point, he didn’t know if he was going to have to leave in a hurry one day.

Heading back to the dining table, he plopped down into the cushioned seat and reached for his bottle. After another long swig, he reached into his pocket for his cell and opened his contacts. He had tried to call Jack’s cell once, but it was no longer in service. He wished he could talk to him and get some of this shit off his chest.

He chuckled sarcastically to himself. Even if he was able to get ahold of him, what would he say to him anyway? The events that went down between them weren’t the kind you could just put behind you. He had taken Jack’s woman, kidnapped her right off her own property, knocked her out, gagged her and then taken her to the Empress for what he had thought was inevitably, her death.

With a sigh, he set the bottle back on the table and stood. Fuck this, he was going out. It had been too long since he’d had a soul. A real soul, not the bits and pieces of them that he was able to get from women.

Like Jack, he had learned that he could take enough to sustain him for a while. But, unlike Jack, he didn’t mind taking an entire soul. He was a fucking Reaper, it was his nature to live off the souls of the recently passed.

Quickly, he shed his tee shirt, replacing it with a black button up. He opted not to wear his holster, since he may be hitting the club afterward, so he tucked his Glock into the back of his jeans. He also selected a hoodie, but didn’t put it on right away, it was too freaking warm outside to wear the thing unless he had to.

After making sure he looked all right, he locked up the boat and hopped down onto the dock. It was a muggy Florida night and salty scent of the ocean was thick on the breeze. The moon lit the water, while the waves gently broke against the sides of the docked boats.

Damn, he loved living on the ocean. It was one of the few things that truly brought him peace. Sort of like therapy for the psychotic.

His black Mustang rolled to a stop in front of the large iron gate that led into the graveyard. Through the darkness of the night, he could see the glittering blue mist of the souls. He could also see the one silver aura that was almost identical to the mist of the souls except in color.

The Keepers had silver auras, so it was easy to spot them, especially at night. Although, as a Reaper, his red aura was a little bit easier to see, which was exactly the reason for the hoodie. He grabbed it off of the passenger seat and slipped it on over his button up. He zipped it up to his neck and then lifted the hood just before he stepped out of the car.

Keeping his footsteps light, he entered the graveyard, keeping close watch on the silver aura of the Keeper. He wanted to stay as far away from it as he possibly could. It wasn’t like he was afraid of them or anything, shit, he wasn’t really afraid of anyone, but it was the way of the Reapers to try and avoid conflict if at all possible.

The souls hovered above the gravestones, knowing the shell of their body was trapped within the earth below them. Many of the graves in the area were tombs, mausoleums, or vaults. A good quantity of the older plots had above ground caskets, but now days it was rare for people to be buried above ground.

He kept to the edge of the cemetery, making his way to the farthest corner of the opposite side of grounds from where the Keeper was patrolling. He veered off behind a large mausoleum, using it for cover. Once he could not see the Keeper anymore, he paused and scanned the area for souls.

Not too far from him, the swirling mist of a soul was attempting to solidify. He watched for a moment as the molecules gathered together and he was able to barely make out the form of a face and hands. Then, the form fell apart in a burst of shimmering blue light. After regrouping, the soul tried again. This time, the form of the face was a bit more defined and the hands were connected to arms.

He shook his head. Too bad that he was going to take that soul, it was pretty cool to see the process of how they learn to take solid form. When they learned to solidify, they appeared the same as their human shell did.

Oh well.

The soul was so busy with his practice that he didn’t notice Aiden creeping up behind him. Once he was close enough, he extended arms, reaching out until he felt that spark of connection between himself and the soul.

He felt the soul pull away as it realized what was happening. The shimmering blue brightened as fear registered within the entity. After he knew his hold was strong enough, he brought his hands and the soul closer to his body. As the mist drew nearer, he tried not to think about how it must be silently screaming, pounding on metaphorical walls, hoping that someone would save him.

Dammit Aiden, you are a Reaper, quit being a pussy.

He had never been in the habit of listening to the human side of himself, it was the Reaper side that he favored. Yeah, the one that just called him a pussy. So, he pushed away the previous thoughts about what he was doing and told the human side of him, the one who took pity on the soul, to fuck off.

Unwilling to wait a moment longer, Aiden parted his lips, let his jaw fall open and let nature take its course.

The moment the soul entered his body a jolt of energy spread within him, making its way to almost every nerve ending. He opened his mouth a little wider, letting in more of the soul at once, and his upper body jolted with an almost orgasmic feeling as the last of the beautiful mist was consumed into him.

Every part of him suddenly seemed stronger, as it always did after reaping. His blood was pumping hard through his veins, his muddled thoughts finally seemed to clear and every muscle in his body ached to be used. He felt like he could lift a fucking car.

Suddenly, a flicker of silver passed between the tombs nearby.

Dammit, the Keeper knows I’m here. Time to go.

Fighting the urge to kick the Keeper’s ass just for interrupting his high, he took off at a dead run. Dodging the plots, headstones and all the other types of grave markers, he made for his car, wanting to get out of there before the Keeper could catch him.

Yup, always better to avoid the fight, even when you wanted one.

He passed through the gate of the cemetery and skidded to a stop in front of his car. With a yank, he pulled open the driver door and slid behind the wheel. A turn of the key and his Mustang came to life with a low rumble. He shifted into drive and hit the gas, leaving the graveyard and the Keeper in the darkness behind him.

He drew in a long breath and then released it slowly from between his lips. Damn, he still wanted to punch something. Another meditating breath in and out didn’t help any more than the first one did.

“Son of a bitch.” Aiden slammed his fist into the wheel, causing the car to swerve over the road a little bit. Sometimes taking a soul had the same effect as snorting a line of cocaine. Once a thought hits you, you just had to fucking do it.

Keeping his eyes on the road, he took one hand off the wheel and struggled out of that damn hoodie. It was too hot to wear the thing for long, but it was necessary when he had to go into any of the graveyards.

Instead of going back to the boat, he decided to head on over to the club and see what was going on there. Maybe the urge to hit something would dissipate if he released his tension in a different way.

He parked in the back lot of the club and headed around the corner where a line took up most of the block. Some of the patrons waved to him as he strode by them and right up to the bouncer at door.

“Hey, Aiden! What’s doin?” Little John, the big, bald, tattooed bouncer held out his knuckles for a fist bump.

Aiden met the guys extended fist with his own and nodded. “Not much, or else I wouldn’t be here, now would I?” he teased.

“Aw, come on now. Don’t hate.”

Smiling, Aiden stepped forward when Little John unlatched the velvet rope to let him through. “Anything good in there?” he asked.

“Two brunettes, silver skirt and red dress.”

“Nice.” Aiden nodded, trusting Little Johns judgment on the ladies.

He turned his head just in time to see a couple of ladies in line staring at him and crinkle their faces in disgust. They had obviously heard the comments between him and Little John. Once they saw that he spotted them, they quickly put their heads closer together and the whispering started.

With a sigh, he shook his head and clapped Little John on the shoulder. “I’ll see ya later, man.”

“Have fun.” The bouncer nodded to him and clipped the velvet rope back onto the post in front of waiting customers at the head of the line.

Inside, techno music boomed at an ear splitting level. The colored flashing lights spun at a rate that could give a guy a seizure and the place smelled like stale, sweaty bodies. It wasn’t exactly the ideal place he usually liked to hang at, but when he was looking for something in particular it was easier to find it in a place like this one.

He pushed his way through the crowd and up to the bar. “Hey, Oliver, can I get a beer over here?”

Oliver, the bartender was a dude, but Aiden was pretty sure he was gay. There were several signs … for example, he was pretty flamboyant and wore his eyeliner sort of heavy. Aiden didn’t really care if was or not, but it was one of those things that you wondered about and just wish you knew for sure one way or the other.

“What kind?” Oliver called out.

Usually he went with Guinness or something similar, but this night he thought he thought he should probably just have an IPA. “Just give me an IPA out of the tap,” he hollered over the music.

Oliver pulled down a glass and pulled a handle on the tap, filling it up with hardly any foam on top. “Here you go.”

Aiden nodded and threw his credit card on the bar. “Run me a tab, please.”

The kid took his card and ran it through the machine and then handed it back. “You’re all set.”

“Thanks man.”

He accepted his card back and turned, leaning on the bar to face the crowd. This place was always crawling with women who were looking for one night stands. If they were looking, he was certainly willing to provide.

He sipped on his beer and scanned the club. The dance floor was an area in the center of the building that was sunken down two steps from the rest of the place. Tables, littered with drink cups, jackets and purses formed a ring around the dance floor. Beyond the tables, where the lighting was dimmer, couches were formed to look like booths with two facing each other and a coffee table between them.

It was on one of those couches that he spotted silver skirt and red dress. Damn, Little John wasn’t kidding, both ladies were hotter than fuck. The one in the little red dress had her legs crossed, exposing her tan, muscular legs all the way up to her thighs.

He grabbed his beer and trudged through the crowd, making his way over to their table. As he got closer, the ladies saw him approaching their table. Both sets of brown eyes gave him the once over. He felt their stares moving over every inch of his body.

“Hello ladies.” He had arrived at their table. “Are you having a good time this evening?”

The one in the silver skirt smirked. “I can think of better things we could be doing.”

He leaned down, setting his drink on the edge of their table. “Well, if it helps any, I would love to buy you both a drink.”

Red dress curled her lips into a smile and moved her fingertips over the condensation on her glass. There wasn’t a wedding ring on her finger, but she had a blingin’ diamond bracelet on her wrist. He noticed the matching earrings dangling from her lobes. “We were just getting ready to leave. It’s too loud here.” Her voice was soft and silky, as if she had never had to raise her voice in her life.

He stood up. Not disappointed at all, he knew that she wasn’t trying to get rid of him, not even a little bit. “Oh,” he turned as if he were going to walk away. “I suppose I should probably leave you to it then. But, if you change your mind about that drink, I’ll be by the bar.”

Before he could even take a step in that direction, red dress reached out and grasped his hand. “You wouldn’t happen to know a quieter place, would you?”

Aiden smiled and tilted his head. “Why, yes, I do.” He switched his glance between the two of them, “you ladies want to get out of here?”

Both women reached for their purses and left their drinks on the table. When they stood, Aiden held his arms out and each of them took an arm as he escorted them out of the club. He winked at Little John as they passed through the door, out into the warm summer night. The bouncer shook his head and then rolled his eyes in response.

Damn, he hadn’t been in the club for very long before he came out with not one, but two women. This had to be some kind of record on his part. It usually took longer, since most women wanted to drink and dance a little first.

“Where to?” silver skirt asked.

“My car is out back.” He led them around to his Mustang and opened the passenger door so they could crawl in. “Do you guys have a car here?” he asked, as he opened the driver door and slid behind the wheel.

Red dress shook her head. “We came in a cab since we knew we would be drinking.”

“Good choice.” He nodded and fired up the engine. “Oh, by the way, I’m Aiden.”

“Amy.” Red dress leaned back against the smooth leather of the front seat. “And that’s Cara.” She pointed her thumb in the direction of her friend in the back seat.

“Pleased to meet you, Amy and Cara.” With that, he hit the gas and took off. Ten minutes later, they were pulling into a parking space in an apartment complex. He kept an apartment here for sanctuary during hurricane weather. Plus, he didn’t like bringing women onto his boat. That was his private place. “Is this more what you were looking for?” he asked them as he killed the engine.

Another smirk from Cara and she nodded. “It’s perfect.”

Before he knew it, the three of them were in his apartment, naked and doing things to each other that some men only dreamed about.

Amy sat on the leather couch with her legs spread open and her friends face buried between them. He held Cara by her hips, slamming himself inside of her while he watched Amy’s facial expressions.

Hell … fucking … yeah.

He knew he was getting close to release when his cell, which was sitting on the coffee table beside him, chimed with the one damn ring tone he didn’t want to hear.

The Empress.

He glanced down at the phone. “Don’t you dare answer it,” Amy ordered, her voice low and husky. He didn’t respond, but he had no intention of answering anyway. Just as the ringing subsided and he was back in the groove, the fucker started up again.

He withdrew himself from Cara, giving her a slight push forward. “I have to get that. You two keep each other busy for few.”

Cara, lips pink and slick, had been on the cusp of orgasm when he pulled out, so she didn’t hesitate to lay back and let Amy take care of her for him.

“Son of a bitch.” He pulled his boxer briefs on and headed for the doorway of the room where he could still watch the girls. “Hello?”

“Aiden.”

“Empress.”

“When I call you, you are to pick up the phone.”

That’s what a fucking voicemail is for. “I apologize, I was using the restroom.”

“Well, I need you to do a job for me.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. What now, did he get to pick up dog shit off the royal property? “Anything, Empress.”

“I need you to go back to that god forsaken town in California, Summer Hollow. Jackson needs to come home. His father may not make it through the next couple of days and I feel that he should at least know that he is passing.”

Shit, that old bastard was finally going to kick the bucket. “Of course. When do you need me to leave?”

“Right now. You can stay at the Napa compound when you get there. There are cars in the garage as well. Your flight will leave in three hours.”

Aiden sighed. In a way he wanted to go and see Jack, but on the other hand, he didn’t trust the Empress at all. He did not want to have to bring Jack back with him. “I’ll start packing.”

There was a pause from the Empress on the other end of the line. “Do not disappoint me again, Aiden. You have a long way to go until you have made up for your previous actions.”

Just tell her what she wants to hear. “As always, you’re right. I swear to prove my loyalty to you once again.”

“And I am looking forward to that. Report to me when you get to Napa.”

“Yes, Empress.”

The woman clicked off before the last word was out of his mouth.

“Shit.” He threw his phone on the table and headed back into the living room. “Sorry ladies, this party is over.”

CHAPTER

8

HANNAH

After work, Hannah flew over the mountain and rolled into Summer Hollow just after seven. The evening sun was still high above the hills, leaving another couple hours of good daylight.

The whole way home all she could do was stress about the murder, her impending arrest and David’s return.

As she passed Knights bar, she saw a few people out on the sidewalk in front of the door and then, without warning, the sudden urge to get plastered hit her hard. Normally, she didn’t drink very much at all. She couldn’t do what she did for a living with a hangover every day. But, this day … she deserved a fucking drink dammit.

Doubling back, she turned down a side street and took the back way. The dirt lot behind the bar contained several cars already, considering it was still early. She pulled up beside a blue Chevy truck and killed the engine.

It was only after she had gotten out of the car and locked it that she realized she still had her scrubs on. “Screw it.” She mumbled under her breath and slid the scrub shirt over her head, leaving her in a white tank and black scrub pants. What the hell did she care, she wasn’t here to impress anyone, she was here to drink till she forgot all the terrible shit that happened today.

She threw the shirt into her car and rounded the corner to the front of the bar. A few of the patrons were loitering outside on the sidewalk, outside the door. They waved and smiled as she pushed open the heavy wooden door.

Inside, the jukebox blared, assaulting her ears with pop music disguised as country. Reese waved at her from behind the bar. “Hey Hannah, it’s a rare occasion to see you in here.”

Hannah made her way over to the end of the bar so she didn’t have to yell over the music and conversation. “Yeah, but have no fear, I come on a mission.”

“Oh yeah, what mission would that be?” Reese laughed and tossed a wave of dark hair over her shoulder.

“To get trashed.” Hannah pulled out a stool and plopped down onto it. “What other reason would responsible little me be doing in a bar?”

“You have a point there. So what’ll it be?”

Hannah surveyed the bottles of booze behind the bar. “Shots. Tequila shots.”

Reese raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t kidding.” She reached under the bar and withdrew a couple of shot glasses. “You have someone to drive you home?”

“I’ll call one of my brothers or sisters, someone will come and get me.” She dropped her keys on the bar in front of Reese. “If all else fails I can walk, it’s only a few blocks.”

With a nod, Reese took the keys and hung them on a hook behind her that was made from a crumpled license plate. Hannah knew the story. That plate had belonged to Reese’s father. He had owned the bar before her, but he died when a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned his car at the intersection in town.

“Can I have a coke to chase this with?” Hannah asked as she watched Reese fill the shot glasses.

“Sure thing,” Reese answered, returning the tequila to its place on the shelf with the other liquor. After pouring a coke and setting it on the bar beside the shots, she looked at Hannah expectantly. “Bottoms up, woman.”

Hannah stared down at the tiny glasses full of golden liquid and then picked one up. She put it to her lips and tipped her head back. As soon as the booze hit her belly she shivered and then did the same with the next shot.

“Ugh!” she scrambled for her soda and drank about half of it in one gulp. “So nasty.”

Reese laughed. “Well you’re stuck with it now. I’m not going to let you mix it up.”

Hannah pushed the glasses forward. “You’re a bossy bartender, you know that.”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Fill ‘em up again.” Hannah was already feeling the buzz, since she didn’t drink very often.

Bringing the bottle back down, Reese poured her two more shots. “Now who’s being bossy, huh?”

Another shot down, cringe, chase. “I’m the patron. I can be bossy if I want.”

“Ohhh, and sassy when on the booze.”

Both women laughed and Hannah had just lifted her shot glass when to take her next shot when the door swung open and David marched into the bar.

“Oh fuck.” Hannah shook her head in disbelief. She had never wished for a do-over day so badly in her entire life.

“What?” Reese asked, following Hannah’s stare. “Oh shit, is that…”

Hannah nodded. “Yup. That’s him.”

“I’ll get the tequila down again.” Reese turned and reached for the bottle.

Hannah and David were pretty much common knowledge among those who had grown up in Summer Hollow and were around her age. She and Reese were both thirty, so they had been in school together.

She knew that she should stop staring and turn around before he saw her, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. He stopped just inside the entrance and moved his eyes over the patrons.

Reese filled her shot glasses. “Did you know he was in town?”

“Yes,” Hannah answered with a nod. “He came into the morgue today for a case he’s working on.”

“Oh,” she wiped some spilled tequila off the bar with a damp white rag, “That’s right, he’s a detective. But I thought he was with the LAPD.”

“I don’t know what he’s doing.” Hannah shrugged. “I don’t really care either.”

“Sure. Like I believe that.”

Hannah turned back to face the entrance just in time for David to meet her gaze. Quickly, she turned back around and slammed one of her shots. “Ugh!” her hand went to her mouth to catch a few drops of liquor. “Tell me,” she asked Reese “why does he have to look so damn good? Why couldn’t he have gotten fat and … bald?”

Reese laughed. “I will admit, he’s even better looking now than he was in high school, and he was hot then. Uh oh …”

“What?” Hannah widened her eyes.

“He’s coming over here.”

“Dammit.” She didn’t want to turn around, so she grabbed her purse and pretended to be looking for something inside.

“Hannah.”

Crap, he was right behind her.

Slowly, she spun around on the stool to face him. “Detective.” She was perfectly aware that she was slurring her words, but there wasn’t really much she could do about it now.

His blue eyes were radiating intently as he stared down at her. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn’t know that you were working there.”

“Uh … don’t worry about it.” What did he really expect her to say?

“David,” Reese came to the rescue. “It’s been a long time.”

David nodded. “It sure has. I heard about your dad a few years back. I’m sorry, he was a good man.”

“Yes,” Reese smiled, “he was. Now, would you like a drink?”

“Absolutely. Surprise me with something good off the tap.”

“Sure thing.”

While Reese was keeping David occupied, Hannah opened her purse and discreetly set some cash on the bar. Then, she slid off the stool in a poor attempt to sneak away.

“Where are you going?” David asked her, his voice soft.

“I … I was just heading home.”

He glanced at the bar and then back at her. “You still have a shot to do.”

“You can have it. I have to go.” Ack. Why didn’t he just leave her alone?

“Please stay and have a drink with me.”

Hannah shook her head. “Sorry, detective. I have plans.” Intending to leave without any further confrontation, she took a stepped to the side and moved around him.

“Please, Hannah. I just want to talk.” He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her arm, gently turning her around to face him.

“Don’t touch me! I already told you to leave me alone.” She yanked her arm out of his grasp.

Unfortunately, David could not be swayed so easily. “Well, at least let me drive you home.”

By nature, Hannah was a fairly calm person, but this was getting ridiculous. When a girl says no it means no, dammit. She felt the anger spreading through her body like a deadly disease. “Fine, you want to talk. Let’s talk!” She threw her purse on the bar and stepped forward so that, if she had been taller, they would have been nose to nose. “You left, I get why, but we can’t just pick things up where they left off.”

David glanced around at the patrons in the bar. People had started to stare at them, wondering what the confrontation was all about. “I was thinking a more private conversation would be appropriate.”

She shook her head vigorously. “No way, buddy. You wanna talk, we can do it right here. Everyone in this town will know about it by tomorrow anyway.”

“I had to leave, Hannah.”

“I know that, you asshole. But, it doesn’t make the hurt go away.” She reached over and snatched the last shot off the bar and slammed it back. After swallowing down the urge to puke, she set the glass back on the bar and pointed at him. “I spent all those years trying to forget you. I wanted to leave it in the past, and I did. But, now your back and opening those wounds that took twelve fucking years to almost heal.”

Completely losing her composure, she pushed him in the chest so hard that he took a step backward. “So go back to L.A. and leave me alone.”

David wasn’t swayed by her outburst even one little bit. “I can’t go back.”

“Then go anywhere but here,” she spat.

“I’m going to fix this between us, Hannah. I’m not asking to go back to the way it was. I just want to help heal those wounds you mentioned.”

“Fuck off.” She spun around to leave again and like before, he grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him. He turned her toward him so she had to look into his eyes. His grasp was tighter than before, as he held onto both of her shoulders. “If you think you are the only one who has wounds, you are an idiot.” He gave her a little shake. “I hurt too, Hannah. I didn’t want to leave you … I wanted to make something of myself and I fucking did.”

“Well good for you! Now let me go!” She struggled against him, but he tightened his grip a bit more.

“I know that nothing I say will ever change what happened but we can try to forgive and start new.”

“I don’t want to start anything with you.” Despite the anger, she felt tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

“David,” Reese’s voice came calmly across the bar. “You need to take your hands off of her.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth, than the door swung open and a shit storm walked over the threshold. Lucy and Daniel Estmond strode into the bar with Jack close behind them.

Hannah didn’t see them come in. She didn’t see Daniel spot the confrontation between the two of them and she didn’t see his eyes flash with anger as he practically pushed other patrons over to get to his sister.

She did see when he grabbed David from the back of his jacket and yank him backward. “Don’t ever touch my sister!” he bellowed.

Surprised, Hannah staggered backward as David released her. “Dan!”

Dan ignored her and stepped in between his sister and her ex-boyfriend. “I told you before if you came near her again that I would give you another ass kicking.” He spread his hands wide, “And look where we are now.”

“Dan, I can take care of myself.” Hannah could not believe that this was happening. She grabbed the back of Dan’s trench coat and tried to pull him away from David. She wanted David to go away, but she didn’t want her brother to beat him bloody.

“Stay back, Hannah,” Dan ordered.

Hannah moved around him and squeezed in between Dan and David. The sudden turn of events had her mind reeling. Only a moment ago she was yelling at David to get away from her and now she was standing in between him and her brother, trying to save his ass.

“You don’t need to protect me, Hannah. Get out of the way.” David tried to move her aside so she didn’t get hurt.

“I’m not going anywhere until you two calm down.” She placed her hands on Dan’s chest and pushed just a little, trying to get him as far away from David as possible.

“Move Hannah,” Dan ordered.

Right, like she was going to move out of the way and let Dan beat him up. David was a freaking cop for crying out loud. They didn’t need this shit right now, with all the other stuff going on.

She peered around Dan and saw Jack and Lucy standing nearby. Jack looked like he was ready to jump in if he needed to and Lucy glared at David with a furious expression. Suddenly Hannah was afraid that Lucy might jump him too.

Reese with her bat in hand, had come around the bar so that she could also step in if needed. Hannah tilted her head, indicating that Reese should do something.

Taking the hint, Reese moved forward and poked her bat at Dan’s side, “Hey, back off.”

Dan shifted his eyes and glared down at her, then gently pushed the bat away.

She poked him in the ribs again and sighed. “Dan, you of all people know that I will hit you with this if I have to.”

There was a scoff from Jack. “Dude, did she hit you with that thing before?”

“Shut up, you prick,” Dan sneered at Jack, but one more poke from Reese’s bat had him backing up a little bit.

“Dan,” Reese shook her head, “please don’t make me kick you out of here today, let’s go at least a week without having to do that.”

Dan threw his hands up in surrender. “You all act like I’m the one doing something wrong here. He’s the asshole putting his hands on my sister.”

Hannah moved back toward David just a tiny bit. “He wasn’t trying to hurt me, you idiot.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Like he hasn’t hurt you already. I swear, I will kick his ass again just for looking at you.”

David laughed. “I let you kick my ass that day.”

Hannah shook her head at David’s lack of fear. I guess that would make him a good cop though, she thought.

Dan lunged at David again and Hannah reacted, pushing forward with both hands and shoving her brother back.

“Move, Hannah,” Dan growled under his breath.

With a shake of her head Hannah could not believe she what she was saying. “Not a chance.” She only had a slight buzz left after the rise of her adrenaline, which allowed her to think a bit more clearly and her thought was that David needed to leave and it didn’t look like he was going to be doing that anytime soon.

Unless she went with him.

Frustrated, David raked his fingers through his hair. “Look, I just wanted to talk to her. That’s it. We don’t have to be doing any of this.”

Lucy stepped forward and softly urged Dan back a little bit further. “David, she will talk to you when she’s good and ready.”

“Sorry Luce, but you don’t get to speak for her, neither does Dan.”

Fuck. He did not go there.

As expected, Jack pushed Lucy back and stepped in front of her. “And if you even look at my woman wrong I will destroy you. Understand?”

David narrowed his eyebrows. “Who the fuck are you anyway?”

“If you hurt any of these people in anyway, I am your worst nightmare, that’s who I am.”

Lucy grabbed Jack’s hand and pulled. “Okay, it’s over. Let’s go.”

Jack stood his ground. “I’ll go when we all go.”

Dammit, this situation wasn’t getting any better. It looked like she was going to be the only one who could end this. “David, drive me home.” She spat out the order, grabbed her purse and stalked toward the door. As a last minute thought, she turned and called out to Reese, “I’m sorry about this.”

Reese gave her a nod and shooed her away with a wave.

Her sister and brother called her name as she swung open the door and stepped out into the warm summer night. She ignored them and hurried toward the parking lot. She knew that David would be right behind her, so she didn’t even bother turning around to check, until she got to the parking lot. She skidded to a stop and spun around to face him. “Which one is yours?”

Not taking his eyes off of her, he pointed, “The Chevelle.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I should have known. Let’s go.”

Just because she was going with him, pretty much against her will, did not mean that she had to be happy about it. He wasn’t happy either, she could tell. She tried not to look at him as she slid into the seat and buckled up.

He went around and got in behind the wheel. When he turned the key the engine roared to life and they rumbled out onto the highway.

CHAPTER

9

DAVID

It only took about two minutes to get to Hannah’s house. He turned into the driveway and killed the engine.

“You don’t actually think I’m going to ask you in, do you?”

He cast an irritated glance her way. He’d had enough messing around. They were going to have this out … in private. “I don’t care if you ask me, I’m coming in anyway.”

“Fine. Whatever.” She pushed open the door and then slammed it shut behind her.

He followed her up to the front door where she paused and looked around. “Shit. I left my keys with Reese.”

“You have a spare?” he asked, keeping his voice soft. His blood was still pumping from the confrontation with her brother and that other guy. Not that he had been afraid, the whole thing just pissed him off.

“Yeah … under one of these rocks. I put it there a few years ago, so I don’t remember which one.”

He could tell she was already stressed out about him being here at all, so a missing key was just one more thing. She picked up a couple of rocks and looked underneath them, not finding anything. So he joined her, picking up a few larger rocks that were close to the front door.

“I found it.” She withdrew a key from underneath a good sized rock. The thing was covered in dirt and a bit rusty too. She blew on it and then wiped it on her pants. “That should work.” She tried it in the door and, luckily, it did open. “Come on.” She waved him inside.

The inside of Hannah’s house was pretty nice. Cozy, yet it gave off the feeling of class. Her living room was white with beige carpet and beige curtains hanging from the two windows that faced the driveway.

A dark brown, leather couch sat in the center of the room in front of a cherry wood coffee table. A large, flat television took up a good portion of one wall. David shook his head, thinking the thing had to have been at least sixty inches. Below the television were all the gadgets usually associated with an entertainment center, including a gaming system.

She had several dark wood cabinets with glass shelves and mirrors behind them. He strode across the room to get a look at what she had inside. He wasn’t surprised to see all kinds of Star Wars memorabilia strategically placed on the shelves.

“You still into all this?” He gestured to the cabinet.

She tossed her purse and the dirty key onto a small table by the door. “Of course I am,” she snapped. Then, she appeared to soften a just a bit. “What about you?”

“I grew out of that,” he lied. He didn’t know why felt like he should keep it from her, it was something he usually kept to himself. He went a really long time before he realized that if you told people about your love of all things nerd, you will never live down that label.

“Look, David,” Hannah moved into the kitchen as she spoke to him, “I don’t really know why you want to talk about this so bad. That part of our lives is over, let’s just forget about each other and move on.”

He followed her into a blue and white tiled kitchen. It looked like a room you would see on the cover of Country Homes or something. She opened a cupboard and pulled down a canister of coffee. He leaned against the counter and watched her while she got a pot brewing. “Honestly, I don’t know why, Hannah. I just … I need you to understand.”

Taking out two large mugs, she sighed and turned to face him. “I do understand. That’s what you don’t get and I don’t get why I’m so angry about it either. But, yes, I do get why you left and I know I’m a selfish bitch, but I didn’t want you to go. I understood that first day you told me. Like I said before though, it doesn’t take away the hurt.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Her eyes softened at his words, but she still stood behind a wall she had built. “I’m sorry too. But, here’s the thing. It took me far longer than I ever wanted it to take to get over you. For so long, I hoped you would call, that you would visit, even send a freaking letter … and you never did. That, is why I’m still so mad, not because you left in the first place.”

How did he explain to her that if he had done that, it would have made it harder on him? In the beginning, he wouldn’t have wanted to go back to L.A. if he had come to visit her. If he heard her voice over the phone, he would have just wanted to see her even more. It had been better with the clean break.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, unable to explain the rest of it to her.

The pot finished and she poured some of it into both mugs and then handed him one. “We can both be sorry all we want, but it doesn’t change things.”

He poured some of the creamer she set out into the strong black liquid. “We can change things now.”

“We are not the same people anymore.” She shook her head. “We have spent twelve years apart. I don’t even know if I would want to be your friend. Besides … it hurts to be around you.”

“I can’t just walk out of your life again. I hate that I did this to you.”

“But, this time I want you to leave, David.” He told himself that she didn’t mean it, it was the pain talking.

“Hannah, I’m not leaving again. I will make it up to you.”

She laughed and then shook her head. He spotted a few tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. “Make it up to me, seriously! How do you expect to do that?”

Time to spill it. No one else would ever, ever see this side of him. He was a cold, hard detective. But, with Hannah, he was just a man. He set the coffee mug down on the counter and strode across the kitchen to where she was leaning against the counter.

Her eyes widened as he gently took the mug out of her hand and set that one aside also. Then, he took both of her hands into his. “You … you are the only woman I have ever loved. I’m not just saying this to make you forgive me, I don’t do shit like that. Hannah, you have always been mine, even all this time we were apart and I am telling you right now that I am going to make this right. I want a second chance.”

The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks, but she didn’t pull her hands away. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.

“I’m just telling you how I feel,” he answered, bringing her hands up to his heart, which in turn brought her a bit closer to him as well. God, how he had missed having her close to him.

“You’re just going to leave again. You said this was temporary.”

He hadn’t thought about that part of it. Would he go back to the city if they let him? Fuck, that probably wouldn’t happen anyway. “I hoped it was temporary, until I saw you again.” It was only partially a lie.

She stared up at him. “David, this just isn’t good timing.”

He hated that she was crying, so he reached up and touched her cheek, wiping away the wetness with his thumb. “Is there someone else?” He hoped to God there wasn’t another man in her life. It was hard enough getting her to speak to him at this point, never mind having to fight another man for her.

“No. No, it’s not that.” She suddenly let out a sob, but still didn’t pull away from him.

“What’s the matter?” His instincts told him there was something else going on aside from the situation between the two of them.

“I … I … it’s nothing.” Her eyes betrayed her, there was something wrong, she just didn’t want to talk about it. “I’ll be fine,” she finished.

David didn’t want to let her go, but he forced himself to release her hands and take a step backward. “All right, I won’t push it, but know that I’m here if you need anything, even just to talk.”

Using a dishtowel, she wiped the wetness off her cheeks and took a deep breath. “All that stuff you said, about loving me and all that. Well, it’s the same for me.”

Holy shit, did she really just say that. He had thought that he was going to have to fight for her, to spend months or even years proving himself worthy of her.

“But …”

Aw shit, there was a but in there.

“Like I said before, we don’t even know each other anymore, how do we know we would even like the people we have become?”

David rolled his eyes and lifted his coffee cup off the counter, “Duh, it’s called dating. You know that thing people do to get to know each other. It’s not like I asked you to marry me or anything. I think we owe it to one another this chance to find what we once had.”

Closing her eyes, Hannah didn’t respond immediately. After a moment she regained her composure and opened them again. “Listen, David. Under normal circumstances I would say okay. But, I have a lot of issues going on right now at … work.

“Work?”

She nodded and turned to face the sink. “Yes, work.”

Yup, definitely hiding something. Oh well, fuck it, he was hiding something too. He didn’t have any right to invade her personal life.

What the fuck was happening to him? For the last twelve years he had thought about what it would be like when he saw her again, but he never thought that he was going to turn into a pansy ass who was suddenly professing his love.

As if the thought just occurred to her, Hannah spun back around and caught his gaze. “The other thing that bothers me is that you hate it here in Summer Hollow, you left me to get away from this place.”

It was true. “I did,” he sighed, “but, I won’t do it again.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I guess I will have to prove it to you then.”

She let out a bitter laugh and tucked a renegade strand of hair behind her ear. “I still have my issues to deal with first. Then we can talk about it again … if you’re still around.”

“Oh, I’ll be around, don’t worry.”

“This is so crazy,” she mumbled under her breath. “I never thought any of this would be happening.”

He had finished his coffee so he went to the sink and rinsed out the mug, then set it down on the counter. “Not me, I always knew I’d see you again.”

She either didn’t know what to say or didn’t want to respond because the room suddenly went silent. After a moment she rinsed out her own cup and then looked up at him. “I’m pretty tired. I need to get to bed.”

There it was. She was giving him the boot. “I’d better go anyway, I have work tomorrow.” He did not want to leave.

“Thanks for the ride home.” She assumed the proper hostess role as she followed him to the front door.

He pulled the door open and stepped out onto the porch. “I’m really glad we did this. Thank you for the chance to talk.”

“Well, it was either that or let my brother pound on you a little bit.” She smiled.

He let her think that would have actually happened and smiled back. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“You don’t have my number.”

“I’m a cop, remember.” With that, he backed away a couple steps before turning to jog over to his car.

CHAPTER

10

HANNAH

David stared at her as he backed away a few steps and then he reluctantly turned away. She watched him jog the last few steps to his car and that was when it hit her.

She wanted him.

This might be her only chance to be with him before they found out she killed that guy and she went to prison. All these years she spent longing for him to come to her and say the things he just told her in the kitchen, she deserved at least one night of happiness before things went to shit.

Bolting off the steps, she hurried across the driveway. “David!”

He turned just in time to see Hannah running toward him. With a look of surprise he opened his arms for her as she jumped up, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She felt him immediately give in, kissing her back with equal fervor.

Hannah didn’t hold anything back, she let all those years of missing him come through in that kiss. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her firmly up against his body so that she could feel every hard inch of him through his clothes.

She moaned against his lips and then whispered, “I want you to stay.”

He turned with her in his arms and stepped forward so that she was pressed up against the cool metal of the Chevelle’s door. “What about your issues?” he whispered.

“Fuck the issues. Take me inside.”

David pulled away from her lips with a hungry groan and then lifted her into his arms.

Finally … finally after all these years, they were going to be back together again. She looked up into the depths of his icy blue eyes and saw that he felt the same. Unable to help herself, she pulled his head down for more kissing.

Somehow, he managed to make it up the steps and over the threshold of the open doorway without separating his lips from hers. Once he made it into the house, he kicked the door shut behind them and set her back down onto her feet.

“Hannah.” He took hold of her waist with both hands, gently pulling her forward. “You’re sure about this.”

She nodded. “Positive.”

“Because if this goes any further …”

“I want it to,” she cut him off and pulled her hands from his and reached up, touching both his cheeks and then brought him down for another kiss.

Indeed, she was sure about being with him, what she wasn’t sure about was what was going to happen afterward. Forget about it Hannah, live for now, she told herself. With that thought in mind, she pushed everything else to the back of her mind except him.

In a move bolder than she had ever been before, she slipped his jacket off of his shoulders and pushed it down off his arms. She wanted him naked, like right freaking now. Her nerves tingled as she thought about how their bare skin would feel against each other.

He helped her with the jacket by wiggling out of it and dropping it to the floor. Then, he swept her up off of her feet again, carrying her in both arms, and headed down the little hallway to her bedroom.

She watched his gaze sweep the room and then focus on the bed. Before she knew it, he tossed her down onto the fluffy comforter and remained standing, staring down at her. She ran her eyes down his body, wanting to rip that shirt off of him if he didn’t take it off soon. But then, for a moment, her attention settled on his gun. He had a holster on, which she hadn’t really noticed, but the gun was just a reminder of what was going to happen soon and most likely he was going to be the one who arrested her.

Push it back Hannah.

He didn’t smile down at her, instead, the look he wore as he reached up and took his holster off, was one of longing and intensity. She wanted to help him, but after the holster and gun dropped to the floor, she kicked off her shoes and then wiggled out of her scrub pants, leaving her in only her lacey white panties and white tank top.

She heard his quick intake of breath and watched him finish unbuttoning his shirt, exposing the most fabulous set of abs she had ever seen.

My God, they weren’t teenagers anymore. What she was looking at was a man, not the young body he’d had when they were together.

After his shirt dropped to the floor, he reached for his belt buckle. She couldn’t resist any longer. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she reached for him, running her hands over his stomach and then bringing her lips to the soft skin and hard muscles.

“Oh, God … Hannah.” He released what sounded like a low growl.

Unable to wait, she pushed his jeans down the rest of the way, so all he had to do was step out of them. He was more than ready for her. She moved her hand lower, gently brushing over the hardness beneath his boxer briefs.

He pushed her back down onto the comforter where she immediately ripped the tank top over her head, revealing a modest white bra with no decoration whatsoever. Their gazes locked with each other and she gave him a slight nod. “Stop wondering,” she whispered.

“I’m not wondering, I’m thinking.” His eyes left hers and drank in every inch of her exposed body. I’m probably dreaming, but I was thinking about how long I’ve wanted this.” He leaned over the top of her, bracing himself with his left hand and brought his lips to hers.

Without separating their lips, he traced his fingertip up her arm and then downward, finally cupping her breast and grazing over the material with his thumb. Beneath the fabric, he felt her nipple harden and she moaned against his lips.

Her skin was tingling with expectation as his hand moved downward, continuing his exploration of her body. Over her ribs, tickling her stomach and then she felt his fingertip touch the edge of her panties.

Son of a bitch, she had never, ever in her life wanted someone to just rip her underwear off and take advantage of her. She didn’t want to go slow, they could do that later. She wanted him now.

Right. Fucking. Now.

It was hard to believe only a few hours earlier she had been pushing him away, telling him she didn’t want to see him. Now, she didn’t want anything else. Suddenly, her hips shot up when his fingers moved down and grazed between her legs.

She sucked in her breath, forcing herself to relax and let him do as he liked. She looked up and once again their gazes locked. Reaching up, without separating from his stare, she tugged the edges of his boxer briefs and slid them down. He helped her get them off the rest of the way and then returned the gesture by helping her with her own.

Once they were off, he slid his hand behind her back and unclasped her bra with one snap. The material fell away, exposing her average breasts to the man she once loved. He finally broke eye contact with her so that he could get a good look at her entire body.

Still not speaking, Hannah wrapped her fingers around the length of him. Holy shit, he was so fucking hard. Moving her hand up and down, she stroked him softly until a groan escaped his lips and let his weight fall down on top of her.

“Holy shit, if you keep doing that things will go a lot faster than you want,” he told her.

“Who said I wanted it slow?” She wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled her hips a little.

“Oh really? No savoring the moment for you, eh?”

She shook her head. “We can do that later, right now, I need you as close to me as possible.”

He grasped one of her hands in each of his and moved them above her head, holding them in place. Then he held them with only one hand, reaching down with the other.

He moved one of her legs aside and the next thing she knew he had found the sweet spot, gently massaging until she was practically dripping on the bed. “David, please…” she begged, moving her hips upward.

He smiled down at her, then lowered his head to give her a kiss. As their lips met, he slid his fingers inside of her and all of her senses erupted. “I need you now.” She was astounded at the huskiness of her own voice. “Right now!”

With no further invitation needed, he withdrew his fingers, moved himself between her legs and then slid into her.

She stared into his eyes the entire time. He kept hold on her hands and murmured something that sounded like “Thank you, God,” as he thrust into her.

She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist, allowing him to go deeper. He let go of her hands and moved down to kiss her, moving his thumb across her nipple at the same time. Warmth spread throughout every inch of her body as she felt her orgasm building.

David raised himself up again, bracing an arm on either side of her so that he could stare into her eyes. She saw his love swimming within those deep blue irises.

She came hard. Her back arched and her fingernails dug into his back as she cried out with pleasure. David watched her with a smile, obviously pleased. She felt him grow even harder within her and he pumped his hips a bit faster. Letting out a soft moan, he threw his head back and she felt his release.

He fell down on top of her, still inside her, and his lips found hers again. She kissed back, enjoying the taste of him, unwilling to let him go quite yet.

They lay there for several moments, breathing hard and finally savoring the feel of their bodies against each other. After a while, Hannah placed her hands on his chest. “I’m having a hard time breathing,” she whispered with a laugh.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry.” David rolled off of her and lay on his back.

Hannah turned onto her side and stared at him. “I’m sorry about everything. Like … everything, all the way back to the night you told me you were leaving.” She really was sorry too. Sometime in between the bar and the sex, she realized that it was in the past. She had hurt for so long, and built up the walls so high, that she had been incapable of forgiving him.

However, if she had to spend the rest of her life in prison, she would not do it while holding such a grudge.

He put his arm out and she moved her head onto it, using him for a pillow. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Let’s let it go and just start new.”

She closed her eyes so that she didn’t have to look at him while she said it. “David, we can’t get back together, not yet.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “I will just have to take you on dates and try to woo you into loving me again.”

She opened her eyes and saw that he was smiling. “I already love you. I always have,” she told him.

He leaned over and kissed her. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course,” she laughed. “Did you think I was going to kick you out after that?”

“I thought it might be possible,” he joked.

Hannah slapped at his shoulder and then pulled the comforter back so that they could slip underneath.

“Hannah?” he asked in a more serious tone.

“Don’t,” she answered and then yawned. “We can talk tomorrow. I just want to lay here and feel your arms around me while I fall asleep.”

And she did.

CHAPTER

11

DAVID

He woke to the sound of the shower running and the strong scent of coffee wafting through the air.

Nope, he hadn’t been dreaming. The spot beside him was empty, so obviously she was in the shower, but he wished that she was lying beside him so he could press his body up against hers one more time.

A glance at the clock told him it was just after eight in the morning. Shit, he was supposed to check in at the office before heading back into town to investigate the murder some more. He wanted to go up to the labs at the hospital and make sure there wasn’t a mistake on the report.

He could probably question Hannah about it, since she had performed the autopsy, but he didn’t want to bring up work with her just yet. They had better things to talk about.

With a yawn, he rolled over then sat up on the side of the bed. He smiled as he saw that there was still a pile of clothes on the floor, including his gun and holster. Pushing away the comforter, he leaned over to pluck his jeans from the pile.

Just as he grabbed hold of his pants, he spotted Hannah’s shoes. One shoe was flipped upside down so that the bottom of it was exposed. He bent and picked up the shoe, hoping that he wasn’t seeing what he was seeing.

There, lodged into the tread of Hannah’s nursing shoe, was a tiny pebble. “Oh no. No, no, no.” He mumbled and then glanced back at the bathroom door. The shower was still going, so he grabbed his jeans and sifted through the pocket for his cell phone. Quickly, he swiped the lock and then pulled up his camera so that he could find the picture of the marred footprint.

Holding it up beside the shoe he tried to compare. Dammit, it was too hard to tell on his phone. Clicking out of the gallery and back to the actual camera, he held up the shoe and snapped a couple of pictures.

The shower shut off.

The last thing he wanted was Hannah catching him taking a picture of the bottom of her shoe, so he dropped it on the floor and put his cell phone away. With a little more looking, he found his underwear and slid them on, along with his jeans and tee shirt.

He wandered into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. There was no way that Hannah could have killed this guy. Well, no, that’s not true. Everyone is capable of murder under certain circumstances. He had a sinking feeling that the tread in the picture was going to match the tread on the bottom of her shoe.

Shit. What the hell was he going to do? He couldn’t just ignore this, he was a fucking detective. His duty was to enforce the law. So if it was her, he was bound by law to turn her in.

But, what if it wasn’t her. They had this amazing night and he couldn’t ruin it by accusing her of murdering someone. Yeah, he didn’t see that scenario going over very well at all.

The problem here was that he would do literally anything at this point, even sacrifice his job, to protect her. He didn’t ever want to see her hurt again.

“Hey.” She appeared in the kitchen doorway, a slight grin on her face. “There you are. I thought maybe you had left while I was in the shower.”

God, she looked amazing. She was barefoot with blue jeans and a small, black camisole tank top that showed just enough cleavage to make him want to lift her up and throw her back down on the bed in her room. Her dark red hair was damp and hung down just past her shoulders. It was rare that she wore her hair down. Well, from what he remembered anyway.

No, there was no way she was responsible for that guy’s death. Not his Hannah.

Pushing it all back, he decided to worry about that later and enjoy being with her. He turned and took a fresh mug down from the cabinet above him. “I wouldn’t leave like that, not without saying goodbye at least.” He poured her a cup of coffee and held it out to her.

She accepted it and went to the fridge for creamer. “I … uh, hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, you didn’t, but I should have been up long ago. I have to go up to the station for a little while and do some paperwork.” While she was bent over, looking in the fridge, he checked out how nice her ass looked in those jeans. Suddenly he got a glimpse of a tattoo peeking out at him from underneath her tank top on her lower shoulder blade. “When did you get a tattoo? Let me see.”

She turned and flashed him a grin as he approached her. Then, she turned again and moved her hair aside so that her shoulder was exposed to him. He gently moved her tank aside and got a good look at the tat. Once he saw what it was, a smile spread across his face. “Holy shit Hannah! You had the symbol of the Jedi Order tattooed on you.”

She nodded. “Yes, yes I did.”

“Why did you pick the Jedi Knights, of all the symbols you could have picked?”

“Because, the Jedi is a protector, a guardian of sorts.” She faced him again.

He stared into her eyes. “For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old republic.”

Hannah narrowed her eyebrows. “For a guy who grew out of all of this, you sure quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, pretty well.”

He sighed and shook his head in mock resignation and then pulled his tee shirt over his head. There, in almost the exact same spot as Hannah’s tattoo, was a duplicate of hers. “I got this because officers of the law are supposed to be keepers of the peace. Like you said, protectors … guardians.”

He felt her fingertips move gently over his tattoo. “I think this fits you perfectly.” Her voice was soft and sincere.

He spun around and grasped her still lifted hand, pulling her toward him. “Well, why did you pick this particular symbol?” He asked, letting go of her hand and gripping her waist.

She pressed against him, reaching up and putting both arms around his neck. She looked up into his eyes and he saw something she was holding back. But, as quickly as he saw it, it was gone. “I guess I just have a thing for guardians and protectors.” She chuckled.

“Prove it,” he growled, and then reached down, pulling her legs up so that he was holding her. He turned and set her on the counter. Damn, she was so beautiful, even more so than she was before he left. He leaned down, one hand on her thigh and the other resting softly on her back, and kissed her.

She returned the kiss, so he knew that last night was not some fluke from all the tequila she had consumed. She moaned beneath his lips and their kiss deepened, becoming more urgent by the second.

He wanted her again.

To his pleasure, she apparently wanted him too because she ran her soft fingertips over the muscles on his chest and then slid in between the waistline of his pants and the sensitive skin underneath. His cock suddenly jumped and pushed hard against his the confines of his jeans.

Their lips separated and they were both breathing hard. Pushing him forward just a bit, she looked up and met his gaze. Then, she slipped off of the counter and quickly unbuttoned her own jeans. She let them fall to the floor, stepped out of them and then went for the button on his.

Once his pants were off, she went for his cock, taking the hard length into her hand. He threw his head back and groaned. Damn, she had a way with those hands. The mere touch of her almost sent him over the edge.

He turned her around and helped her take off the little black tank top. She raised her arms for him as he gripped the edge and lifted it over her head. She braced herself on the counter, to keep her balance, which in turn pushed her ass up against his cock.

Holy fuck, she was perfect. He looked down at her magnificent ass, clad in only a pair of silky pink panties. “I’m going to take you right here,” he told her, pushing himself hard up against her.

He reached around and found her nipple, grazing the hard nub with his forefinger. She arched her back and moaned. “You better,” she whispered huskily.

Without wasting anytime, he hooked his finger around the slick material between her legs and pulled it aside. She moaned again and wiggled her ass, begging him to be inside her. Using his knee, he spread her legs apart just a little bit more and then pushed into her.

She cried out, arching her back and thrusting her breasts forward. Watching her was what he wanted. Hearing her cry out with such pleasure, a feeling that he was giving her, had him coming almost immediately.

Gripping her hips, he kept thrusting, wanting to see and hear more.

Finally, he felt the hot walls inside of her clench hard against his cock with her orgasm. That did it. He threw back his head and erupted within her.

His legs practically turned to rubber and he fell into her, pushing her down onto the counter. “My God, you are amazing,” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear.

She chuckled, “no, you are.” She backed up, forcing him to get off of her and then turned around so her fantastic front was plastered against him.

He nuzzled her neck and closed his eyes, taking in the scent of her. “Ugh, I have to go to work or the chief is going to tear me a new one.”

She placed both hands on his chest and gently pushed him away. “Go to work. I know you have things to do.”

He stepped back and reached for his pants again. “Do you have to work today?”

“No, I’m off today and tomorrow.” She was gathering her clothes off the floor as well.

“Well, I’ll be back in town later today, can I swing by?”

She nodded, but her eyes took on that distant look again.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” he asked

She shook her head. “No, why?”

“Because I can tell there is something going on and I’m having a hard time believing its work issues.”

“What makes you think I’m holding back?”

“Two reasons. One, I used to know you pretty well, so I know your expressions … they haven’t changed much. Two, I’m a detective, it’s my job to know when people are lying to me.”

“I … I’m not lying,” she stammered.

He held up his hands. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to push you and I didn’t say you were lying, I just think you aren’t telling me something.” He paused for a few seconds, “You know that you can tell me anything, right?”

Holding her clothes in her arms, she offered him a small smile. “I know, David.” And then she hurried off into her room.

Aw shit, had that been too much? Had he scared her off before they even really got started again? Dammit, if she really had done this, she needed to tell him. But … maybe it really was something else that was bothering her and he was completely on the wrong track.

He followed her back into the bedroom and went for his holster and gun. She was looking through her drawer and just as he glanced over at her she produced a new pair of panties to put on.

“I’m going to take another quick shower. Did you want to take one before you leave?”

Hell yeah he would like to shower with her. “I’d love to, but I have to swing by my apartment before I head over to the office. I’ll change and shower there.”

He did, really, really want to shower but he knew that if the two of them were naked in a room together again that he would never make it to work.

“All right.” She hurried over and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you when you get back to town.” She pulled away and headed for the bathroom again. “Be safe out there, detective.” She smiled as she closed the door behind her.

“I will,” he called back.

He didn’t want to leave her, but several minutes later he was on the highway headed out of town.

On the drive, he called Mrs. Davis and made plans to have dinner with her and the sheriff at six. She told him she had a turkey already thawed and if she put it on right away it would be done in time. It was really nice to hear her voice and he realized that he couldn’t wait to see her.

Then, his thoughts turned to Hannah again. The night had gone far better than he thought it would, but at the same time, he was worried about her. This whole deal with the pebble was something he was going to have to check out and he was terrified that it was going to match up.

Under any other circumstances he would have confronted her about it. The problem was he didn’t want to scare her off when he finally got close to her again. He didn’t want her to think that he had pursued her because of the case.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Well, first things first, he had to check the photos.

Before going in to work, he swung by his apartment, which was in a cheap complex in a shitty part of town. He hated the place, but didn’t want to spend any more money than he had to in order to live in a place he didn’t even want to be.

He could probably get a place in Summer Hollow now, or close by, and drive to work every day. Hannah drove to Santa Rosa for work, lots of people commuted.

After a quick shower, he threw on a new pair of jeans and a different white tee. Over the top of the tee shirt he slid on a black long sleeved button up shirt. He wished he could opt out of the jacket, but he had to wear one to cover his gun. Not that he was hiding it, but people have a tendency to freak out when they see a guy walking around with a gun.

He spent less than twenty minutes in his apartment and then he was out the door again.

He pulled into the station, parked his Chevelle next to one of the patrol cars and stepped out into the sweltering summer heat. He checked to make sure his phone was in his pocket before heading in to face the music.

“What the fuck, Foster!” The chief didn’t even take him into his office. He laid into him right in front of everyone who happened to be in the area.

“I told you, I slept in, I’m sorry,” David apologized.

“And you’ve never heard of a telephone, you know, one of those little gadgets that allow you to speak with someone and let them know what you’re doing?”

“Yes, sir, I know what a telephone is.”

“Do you need someone to show you how to use it?”

“No sir.”

“Why didn’t you answer the last ten times you’ve been called today?”

“My ringer was off. I was sleeping.”

The chief closed his eyes and let out a long, frustrated breath. “I think you’re full of shit, Foster. You were on the shit list when you got here, this kind of shenanigan is not helping your case any.”

“I’m sorry sir, it won’t happen again.”

“It better not. Now go get some fucking work done and check in like you’re supposed to.”

The chief stormed away, grumbling about assholes and common sense. David let out a long breath and headed over to his desk, ignoring the stares and comments from the other officers along the way.

Once he was at the computer, he took out his phone and uploaded the photos of the footprints and the ones of Hannah’s shoe. He hit print and waited. He didn’t want to look at any of them until they were all printed out and he could see them all at once.

After the longest ten minutes ever, he lifted the stack of photos off the printer and brought them to his desk. One by one he flipped the photos, laying them on the flat surface. He turned the picture of the footprint and then finally the one of Hannah’s shoe with the pebble.

Fuck. It was a match.

The tread pattern and the placement of the pebble was exactly the same.

He dropped his head into his hands and closed his eyes. What the hell was he going to do now?

One thing was for sure, he had to talk to Hannah about it now. He gathered all the photos off of his desk and put them in a file folder.

“I’m heading to The Hollow, Chief,” he called out as he passed the open door of his office.

“Just answer your god dammed phone, Foster!”

“Roger.” He pushed open the glass doors and a blast of heat hit him hard, after being in the air conditioning so long, he instantly broke a sweat. “Ugh.” he jogged to his car and leaned in to start his baby up. There was no way he was getting in there until it was a few degrees cooler inside.

As he stood there, leaning against the door of the Chevelle, he suddenly felt prickles on the back of his neck. He reached up and rubbed where he had felt it, but then he was overcome by that strange feeling that people get when you’re being watched.

He scanned the area, looking for anything unusual or anyone that might be watching him.

Nothing.

Must be the stress. He tried to shake the feeling as he opened the door and slid behind the wheel.

CHAPTER

12

AIDEN

Aiden arrived at the Napa compound around noon. The sun was high in the sky and it was hot, but it was a dry hot, not the sticky heat that he was used to in Florida.

The taxi pulled up to the gates, informing whoever answered the intercom that he had Aiden as a passenger. Aiden had to show his ID to the camera lens and then the gate swung open. The long driveway leading to the house had vineyards on each side of it, but you could still see the mansion in the distance, rising above the grapes and the stone wall surrounding it.

When they pulled up in front of the massive home, the driver circled the fountain and came to a stop in front of the doors. Aiden got out of the car and grabbed his bag from the seat beside him. “Here you go.” Aiden threw they guy more than enough cash than needed for the fee and the tip.

“Thanks man.” The driver accepted the cash with a smile.

Aiden opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle. “No prob. They will open the gate for you on your way out.” The guy nodded, put the car in gear and headed out, leaving Aiden standing in the drive, looking up at the Empresses vacation home.

He used to come here with them a lot when they were younger, but now he only came when there was some kind of job that needed to be done in the area. The place was fully staffed and a few members of the Reaper Guard stayed here all the time. Basically, they were on call for the Empress.

With a sigh, he shouldered his duffel and jogged up the steps into the house. Inside, the place was dead silent. The silence only added to the cold, yet classy, atmosphere of the interior. He knew there were several people around, but still, he neither heard nor saw anyone.

The first thing he needed to do was to go upstairs and find a room. He chose one of the average sized rooms that had an adjoining bathroom. The room was all white with the exception of a maroon accent wall. The queen sized bed had a maroon bedspread, matching pillows and rested in a wooden four poster frame. The sheer curtains were also maroon, to match the rest of the décor.

He threw his bag on the bed and then headed back downstairs to find some food. It was in the kitchen that he finally found signs of life. A short Hispanic woman stood before the massive granite island chopping different colored peppers and sorting them into bowls.

“Hello, you must be Aiden?” She greeted him cheerfully and without any trace of an accent.

He nodded. “I am.”

“I’m Alma, the cook here. I heard you were coming so I stocked up the fridge. The other guys here empty that thing so fast I can barely keep up with them. I assure you, if you open it now there will be food. Tomorrow however, I cannot make such a promise.”

Alma put a smile on his face. She seemed a genuinely happy person and those type of people were contagious. “No worries, Miss Alma, anything will do at this point. I would like a beer though, do we have any of that around?”

She pointed to the double door refrigerator. “Same place. Help yourself. I hope we have a brand you like.”

“I’m not picky,” he told her, opening the door and peeking in. On the bottom shelf he spotted a twelve pack of Sierra Nevada, which he could tolerate. Snatching one up, he reached in his pocket and withdrew his keys so he could use his bottle opener.

After tipping his head back and guzzling nearly half the bottle, he returned to the fridge. He had spotted a container with what looked like cold fried chicken in it. Pulling the container from the fridge, he popped it open. Yeah! It was fried chicken.

“Did you make this?” he asked Alma.

She must have seen him grab the chicken because she had a plate in her hand and set it down on the counter in front of him. “Yes. I make a large batch twice a week and leave it for whoever is hungry. It disappears rather quickly.”

Aiden nodded as he set two thighs on his plate and then took a bite of one. “Mmm, I can see why it doesn’t last long.”

Alma offered him a smile and then wiped her hands on a dish towel. “I am going to have my break now. If you require anything you can either come find me or text me at the number on the refrigerator.

“Thank you,” Aiden mumbled with his mouth full. Alma disappeared through the side door, leaving him alone with his chicken and beer.

An hour later, he had taken an SUV from the garage at the compound and was headed over the mountain. He took his time driving and enjoyed the views. The vineyards were beautiful against the hills that surrounded them. It wasn’t like Florida, but the wine country had its own appeal.

Aside from enjoying the scenery, Aiden spent the drive trying to figure out how exactly he was going to approach Jack. He certainly couldn’t go to the Estmond house, that place was crawling with Keepers. Going in there would mean certain death.

He rolled into Summer Hollow and still hadn’t decided exactly how he was going to do this. His fuckin emotions were getting in the way too. He was supposed to be here to give Jack a message and then get the hell out of California, but he missed his friend … the only one he’d ever really given a shit about in his whole life.

As he passed the grocery store, he spotted a shimmering red aura among the cars in the parking lot. Without hesitation, he hit the break, causing the car behind him to slam on theirs. The driver leaned on his horn and then hit the gas, passing him where they weren’t supposed to pass. He looked over just as the car went around him and the driver flipped him the bird.

“Asshole,” Aiden muttered, even though he knew damn well he was the one in the wrong. He backed up in the middle of the road and then turned into the parking lot of the tiny ass grocery store.

Before he parked, he caught sight of the red aura again, the sign of a Reaper. Beside the red one, was a harder to see silver aura of a Keeper. Jack and Lucy.

Looks like his problem solved itself. None of them would do anything to him in a public place. Not that he was afraid or anything, he just wasn’t in the mood to fight with Jack, or any of the Estmonds.

He parked the SUV and stepped out of the vehicle. Mentally, he prepped himself for the meeting. The last time he had seen Jack, the bastard had stabbed him. But, he had done it for the woman he loved. Aiden only somewhat grasped that concept, as he had never been in love. He knew Jack though, and he knew that man would do anything to protect that Keeper.

Forgiveness didn’t come easy to Aiden, in fact he had never needed to forgive someone because no one had ever dared cross him. But, he forgave Jack for all that he did because he was Jack … his brother.

He entered the grocery store and scanned the front of the store. There were four cashiers, only two of which were open. A rack of those twenty five cent candy machines sat between the exit door and large freezers holding bags of ice. He smiled at a dark haired cashier who was ogling him and then headed down the main aisle to find Jack.

As he passed each row he peered down the aisle to see if his friend was there. He found him on the third one. Jack and Lucy stood in the freezers and appeared to be in a heated discussion. As he got closer, he could hear what they were saying.

“Luce, I don’t like frozen yogurt, it’s nasty.”

“Just try it, you pansy ass.” She opened the freezer and snatched up a carton.

“No, I want something with chocolate and nuts and more chocolate and lots of fuckin’ calories. Not your chick food.”

“What are you, on your period?” She slapped at him and threw the yogurt into the cart. “Should we rent a chick flick to complete your chocolate binging?”

“I like chocolate, sue me, that doesn’t mean I’m emotional enough for chick flicks.”

“Fine,” Lucy sighed. “We’ll get both, but you better promise me that you will at least try the yogurt.”

“I promise nothing.” Jack narrowed his eyes into a mock glare.

“Then no chocolate for you.”

“Shit, what will I eat while Dr. Phil is on?”

Lucy laughed and headed for the freezer that held the ice cream.

Aiden smiled at their interaction and then watched his friend bend down and give Lucy a kiss. He had truly never seen Jack so happy over something since they were children.

Then, as if Jack sensed his presence, he lifted his head and spotted him. Without hesitation, he moved in front of Lucy in one step, guarding his precious Keeper.

“What the hell, Jack!” Lucy tried to push him out of the way. When she leaned around Jack’s body to see what the problem was, her eyes landed on Aiden and widened. Oddly enough, it wasn’t fear in her eyes, it was interest.

“Aiden,” Jack nodded without taking his eyes off of him. “Why are you here?”

Aiden knew that moving closer would only make Jack even more defensive, so he stayed where he was. “I just came to give you a message from your mother.”

“We got the message loud and clear,” Jack retorted.

“That isn’t the message I’m talking about. Can I come closer so we can talk?”

“Fuck off.”

“Jack,” Aiden tried to explain, “I’m not here to hurt anyone.”

“You forget, Aiden, I know your games and what you’re capable of all too well.”

Lucy finally managed to step around her protector and stood by his side. “What is your message, Aiden?” Her voice was steady and firm.

Nodding gratefully at Lucy, he focused on Jack again. “Your father won’t last much longer. The Empress wanted me to come and tell you this … and give you the opportunity to come home to see him before he passes.”

This news was somewhat expected. Everyone was shocked the man had hung on for as long as he had already. He watched Jack process the news. First his eyes warmed a bit, then they went cold, blocking out any feeling he had for his father. Aiden knew what was coming.

“I can’t. I won’t leave Lucy. Even if I wanted to go back there and see him I wouldn’t. It’s too dangerous.”

Lucy slid her hands around Jacks and tilted her gaze up to his. “Jack, this is your father. Maybe you should go.”

“No,” he shook his head. “That part of my life is over. They are no longer my family. My mom almost killed me for fucks sake! I know my father would have tried even harder than she did to get rid of me.

Aiden agreed. “Yeah, and I wouldn’t be here either.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jack demanded.

Aiden saw his opening and took a chance by stepping forward a few paces. Jack noticed, but didn’t seem to care.

“After the mess at the compound, I fell from the grace of our Empress. When they were going to shoot you, I kicked the gun away and stopped it. That little action messed up everything I’ve worked for my entire life.”

“So why did she send you here?”

Why do you think, ass hat. “Because she’s not stupid, she knows that I am the only one of us who had even a chance of getting close enough to talk to you.”

“Well, you found me, we talked, now you can tell her I’m not interested.”

“All right, I will pass the message.” Dammit Aiden, talk to him some more. Don’t waste this opportunity. Jack slid his arm around Lucy’s waist, turning her away. “Uh, Jack?”

Their eyes met and locked. “What?” Jack demanded.

“I miss you, dude. I just wanted you to know and I’m going to try and get out soon. I’ll probably get caught though, cause she is having me watched.” He shook his head, choking back all those girly emotions.

Jack narrowed his eyes and his arm slid off of Lucy’s waist, but quickly grasped her hand. It was fascinating, almost like they always had to have contact. Plus, they didn’t have the burn that Keepers and Reapers usually have. “Okay. Come closer,” Jack told him, dragging Lucy to meet him half way.

“I thought you didn’t want to get near me.”

“I don’t, but I want to talk to you at a distance where no one is going to hear, if the Reaper Guard really is watching you. Now tell me what’s been happening.”

Aiden shrugged. “I just want out now.”

“You know there is no way to just get out.”

“I know that, I’m the one who told you I’d help you before all this happened. But now, I don’t like it. You’re not there, I don’t like the way the Empress rules, I don’t …” He stopped, it was one thing to say you missed someone or that you didn’t like the practices of your leader, to admit fear was not Aiden’s style. He was a killer. Fear should not exist to him.

“Don’t what?” Jack pushed.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Aiden hooked his thumbs on the pockets of his jeans.

Lucy’s eyes were swinging back and forth between him and Jack as they conversed. “Aiden,” She asked softly, “Is there something you want to tell us, something we need to know?”

“Nah, I think I covered it.” He turned, but before he could walk away, he felt Jacks hand wrap around his arm.

“Wait.”

Aiden stopped and turned to face his friend again. “Are you afraid, Aiden? Do you think they are going to hurt you?”

Aiden guffawed, “I’m not afraid of anything, but yeah, one wrong move and my ass is toast.”

Lucy spoke before Jack could get a word in. “Then don’t go back.”

He felt his lips curl into a small smile. “I have to, there is nowhere else to go just yet. I need time to plan.”

The three of them were silent for a moment and then Lucy tilted her head, looking up at Jack. “Uh oh, I see the wheels churning in there,” Jack teased her.

“I have an idea,” she whispered thoughtfully.

They were all quiet again, waiting for her to speak. “Well, tell us what it is?” Jack pushed her.

She moved her big brown eyes from Jack to Aiden. “What if you continued to work for the Empress for a little while, plan your escape and then when you are ready to come back, we will give you as much protection as we can in exchange for any information you can give us about what she is planning for me and my family.”

Aiden stepped back, a little shocked for several reasons. “You want me to be a spy?”

She nodded.

“No.” Jack raked his fingers through his black hair. “I don’t like it.”

“Why not?” She elbowed him. “It’s a good idea.”

“He could be pretending to spy on them, but really be spying on us and taking information back to my mother instead of the other way around.”

“They are already watching you, man. There are Reapers all over this town.” Jack and Lucy shared a knowing look, but didn’t elaborate on anything. “What? Did I miss something?”

“No,” Jack mumbled. “We know they are here though. We just don’t know how many, or how many more will be coming.”

Aiden thought about his choices for a moment. He could go back and keep doing shit jobs for the Empress forever and maybe … just maybe, someday earn his rank back. Or, he could spy for the Keepers, get out of the Reaper society like Jack did, which would also mean that he would be poor.

Fucked or fucked, should be easy to choose right.

“I’ll do it.”

Jacks head swung from Lucy to him. “What?”

Aiden knew he hadn’t seen that one coming. All his life he had been a loyal member of the Reaper Guard, it was his life mission and nothing got in the way of that. “I’ll do it. The Empress is going to turn on me sooner or later. If I can manage to get through this without being caught, I accept your offer.”

“I didn’t offer you shit!” Jack protested.

Lucy shoved him. “Well I did, so back off.”

“Lucy this is dangerous.”

She rolled her eyes. “We are already in danger, taking a chance with Aiden is worth it.”

“You are so stubborn.” Jack shook his head.

“So are you,” she shot back at him.

Aiden held his hands up to stop them. “All right, look. I probably shouldn’t be seen talking to you for very long if this is the way thing are going to go. Tell me your cell number so that I can call you from a phone that isn’t issued by the Empress.”

Lucy rattled off her phone number, which he memorized, and then moved just a little bit closer to him. She looked up and their eyes locked. “Aiden, I can forgive what you did to me, only because of what you did for Jack at the end. So, don’t disappoint me. I may seem sweet and innocent on the outside, but I can be a cold, hard killer too.”

Whoa, she was still feisty. No wonder Jack loved her, he needed someone to tolerate his snark. “There is one thing I don’t do, sweetheart, and that is lie. If I wanted to hurt you right now I could, even with Jack here. So, if I say this is how it is going to be, then this is how it is going to be. I’ll do what you ask, and you help me in return, deal?”

She nodded. “Deal.”

Jack rubbed his face. “Fuck, your family is going to be so pissed.”

“I’ll take care of them. Now let’s go.” She went back to the cart and began pushing it away from the two of them. Jack threw him a weary glance and then followed his woman down the aisle.

It wasn’t until he had already turned to go back to the front of the store when he heard Jack call out to him. “Aiden?”

He turned back around. “Yeah?”

“I miss you too, bro.”

Aiden only nodded and spun back around. He needed to get the hell out of this store, like right fucking now. What in the world had he just agreed to?

On the way to the SUV, he spotted another silver aura among the cars and then one of the Estmond sisters appeared on the sidewalk.

He couldn’t remember her name, but like the rest of the Estmond Clan, she had dark red hair and big brown eyes. Her hair was pulled into a bun, tight at the back of her head, and she wore jeans with a purple form fitting tee shirt. Her outfit was plain as far as clothes go, but somehow she rocked the look.

She spotted him and her eyes widened. It wasn’t fear or surprise he saw flaming in those pretty brown eyes, it was anger. “You should know better than to show your face in this town, Reaper,” she hissed as she approached him.

He ran his gaze from her toes all the way up to the top of her head. Why was it that all the women in the Estmond family were amazingly hot. His eyes settled on how her tee fit snugly against her chest.

“Hey, Reaper, my eyes are up here.”

He shifted his stare so that their eyes locked. “I’m not here for trouble. I had to bring Jack a message from his mother. It had nothing to do with Reaper activities.”

She blew a breath out from between her lips. “That is hard to believe. Everything that bitch does is Reaper related.”

Aiden didn’t agree nor disagree.

“So what was the message? I’ll give it to him and you can go right back to where you came from.”

“I saw him and Lucy in there.” He jerked his thumb toward the store. “I gave it to him already.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are they still in there? What did you guys discuss?” She obviously knew that he and Jack were … well, had been close, so she suspected there was more conversation than just delivering a message.

“You’re going to have to talk to Jack and Lucy about all that.”

“So there is something to discuss with them?”

He shook his head. “Do you only speak in questions?”

She rolled her eyes, “Only when I want to know something and the person I’m talking to keeps dodging it.”

“Well, as nice as it is to stand here and look at you, you need to ask them if you want to know anything.” He stepped around her so that he could continue on to his SUV, but she grabbed his arm as he tried to pass. “Ouch, shit!” He jerked as the electric sizzle cursed through both of them. She yanked her hand back as if she had forgotten about the burn between Keepers and Reapers.

“Do we need to be worried right now?” she asked. “There have been Reapers in town, watching us.”

“You should always be concerned where the Empress is involved.”

He should not be talking to her out in public like this. He needed to move on for exactly the reason she stated. There were Reapers watching and they might report back that they had seen him having a friendly conversation with an Estmond Keeper.

“What’s her plan, Aiden?”

She remembered him … or Jack talked about him. “I don’t know her plan. After what happened in Napa, I’ve been degraded to being nothing but a messenger boy. My rank is gone.”

She closed her eyes as if to gather her focus. “Because of what you did to save Jack, and everyone else?”

He nodded. That was either the most heroic thing he’d ever done, or the dumbest. Either way, life as he knew it was on its way down, not up. “I have to go.”

“Then why do you stay with her?” The Keeper’s voice had softened. “You know she is evil, the things you do are evil. Jack has proven that you can live outside of the Reaper society.”

“I’m not talking about this with you. I don’t even know you and I don’t want to. I have to go.” He spat out the retort in a cold icy voice.

“Then go.” She gestured toward the parking lot.

He stalked away and felt her watching him all the way to his car. Dammit, maybe this whole spy thing wasn’t a good idea. The last thing he wanted to do was make nice with a bunch of Keepers, especially hot, redheaded ones.

CHAPTER

13

HANNAH

Hannah turned into the gravel driveway leading up to her family home. The yellow farmhouse was on the same property as the cemetery, separated only by an expanse of lawn and a white picket fence.

Tall pine trees and thick oaks lined the edge of the property and were scattered throughout the graveyard itself. The wooded area gave the house, as well as the cemetery a lot of privacy.

When she pulled up to the house, the first thing she saw was that the parking area in front of the house was jam packed with cars. Even her brother Greg’s shitty little Escort was out there. Of course the family would have called him. He was the oldest of the seven siblings and just as much a part of everything going on as any of them were. The only car she didn’t see was her sister Liv’s car.

She found a place to park and headed into the house.

The place was noisy, as it always was when more than a couple of them were home. “Hannah, where the hell have you been?” Steph demanded when she entered the living room. “We’ve all been worried.”

Hannah opened her mouth to reply but was cut off before she could get a word out.

“I know where she’s been.” Dan burst through the swinging kitchen door with a bag of chips in his hand. “She let David fucking Foster stay the night at her house.”

What the hell?

“Dan! You stalked my house?”

He smirked. “I didn’t sit out there all night or anything, I just swung by after I left the bar and saw his car there and then I stopped by this morning … but, when I went to the door with every intention of knocking and being civil, I heard the most horrific noises I’ve ever heard in my life coming from inside.” He shuddered and closed his eyes as if trying to wipe the memory away. “I got out of there as fast as I could after that.”

Hannah felt the blood rush to her face and knew she was blushing something fierce. All heads in the house, including Jack and Lucy who had been at the bar, swung toward her. “What I do with my private life is none of your business.”

“Uh, yeah it is,” Dan told her calmly.

Lucy stepped forward. “He’s right, Hannah, we are all in this together. Everyone did the same thing for me a couple of weeks ago and they are still doing it now. So you’re going to have to deal with it. The biggest problem here is that David is a cop.”

Hannah straightened her shoulders and tried to calm herself down before she spoke. “I can handle David.”

Dan snorted, “Apparently.”

“Shut up.”

He moved toward her. “I’m not going to shut up, your my sister and that douche bag hurt you back then and now he’s back to do it again. I’m not going to sit by and let history repeat itself.”

The rest of the family, including Ethan and Jack, had their heads swinging back and forth, watching the argument unfold.

“We talked. We’ve come to terms with each other,” Hannah explained.

“Yeah, until he finds out what happened with that Reaper.” Dan’s face softened. “He left you once for his work. I don’t see him letting something like this slide for you.”

Dammit. He was right.

Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. “Listen.” Her voice was unnatural and controlled, “I know that, all right. I know that I’m probably going to go to prison so fucking sue me for wanting one night, just one fucking night with the man I’ve loved almost my entire life. It was my choice and I was the instigator in all of it, not him.”

“I’m sorry,” Dan apologized.

She didn’t respond, knowing that if she spoke that dam of tears would burst open. Greg pushed through the crowd gathered in the living room and took Hannah in his arms. “We are going to fix this, Hannah.” He squeezed her tightly against his chest. “All of us, all right.”

She didn’t know what they were going to do. There was nothing that they could do. She was going to get arrested and go to prison … and that was that. It was all part of the job.

Get it together Hannah, enjoy the time you have.

She sniffed and examined the faces of everyone around her. These people loved her, she was a protector of souls, but they were protectors of each other. “I’m all right.” She pushed against Greg so that he would release her from his brotherly hug. “I just need you guys to leave me alone about David right now, the situation is crazy enough as it is.”

Greg furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t even know he was back.”

Hannah let out a sigh. With the way everyone was reacting, it was probably best to leave out the part about David being the detective investigating the murder. If she told them, they would probably put her on lock down like they did to Lucy. “Yeah, he’s working for the county police department.”

“Okay.” Lucy stepped backward and let Jack wrap his arms around her, protectively. “We know that Hannah is all right for now, so let’s leave her alone and finish getting lunch ready. Liv should be here any minute with the bread.

As if on cue, Liv’s green minivan turned into the driveway. “Perfect timing.” Steph clapped her hands together once. “Let’s go finish up the pasta.”

Hannah watched Steph and a few of the others head to the kitchen to work on lunch. Would this be the last lunch she would ever have with her family? She knew the answer to that was yes, it could very well be the last meal she had on the outside.

Oh God, she so did not want to go to jail. She wasn’t cut out for the big house.

Liv pushed open the door, balancing a brown bag from her bakery and a coffee in one hand so that she could use the other hand for the door. Hannah rushed over to close it for her. “Hey Liv.” Then she took a closer look at her sister and realized she appeared to be flustered or something. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Here, take this bread into the kitchen.” Liv shoved the bag into her hands.

In the kitchen, the family was busy, each of them working on something to help with the meal. Ethan was setting the table and Greg was finishing up some kind of pasta dish that smelled amazing. Lucy gathered glasses and a pitcher of water for the table while James and Steph argued over the ingredients for the salad they were throwing together. The rest of them were scurrying around cleaning or delivering stuff to the dining room.

“Liv, you’re here.” Greg moved away from the stove long enough to give Liv a side hug. “Great, now we can have a family meeting during lunch.”

Hannah grimaced, knowing the meeting would revolve around her impending trip to prison. Hopefully they left David out of it this time.

“Lucy!” Liv called to her sister as she unloaded the bread from the bag Hannah had set on the counter. “Where were you? I saw Aiden outside the store and he said you spoke to him. When I looked inside, you guys were already gone.”

The room, which had been full of the comforting low chatter that the Estmond house was known for, came to a complete stand still.

Hannah had just hijacked an olive from the salad bowl and choked on it. “Aiden? You mean, Reaper Aiden?”

Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yes.”

As if Jack sensed her discomfort, he crossed the kitchen and positioned himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. “Aiden showed up while we were in town, he was sent to deliver a message to me. My father is finally kicking the bucket.”

Lucy elbowed him in the gut. “Jack!”

“Okay, fine, my father is finally reaching the end of his sickness and isn’t expected to make it. My mother wanted to let me know and was hoping I would go home. Don’t worry, I’m not.” He added the last bit when everyone in the room continued to stare at him with questions hanging thick in the air.

“Let’s move this to the dining room.” Greg hefted the bowl of pasta, which was big enough to feed a small army. “I’m starving.”

Hannah joined the family in practically running into the next room to sit down so that they could hear more about Aiden the Reaper and his visit. Once they were all seated and served, Lucy glanced over at Jack with a worried expression. “We need to tell them the rest of it. We can’t keep it a secret.”

Liv, who was slathering butter on her bread, spoke without looking up. “Yeah, he told me that if I wanted to know what you guys talked about that I needed to ask you, which indicates secrets.” She tore her eyes away from her bread and met Jack’s gaze. “I don’t know, the dude seems like this hard-ass killer on the outside, but I sensed something different about him today.”

Jack nodded. “I got that from him too. He is a hard-ass, and he can kill without remorse if needed, but he is also deeply loyal. His loyalty to the Empress was outsourced by his loyalty to me at the compound in Napa. My mother stripped his rank and doesn’t trust him anymore.”

Hannah tasted the pasta, wanting to stay out of the conversation to keep the focus off of her. She wished they were discussing normal stuff like work and school. It seemed like Reapers and danger was the topic of every single conversation. But, this one needed to be addressed. Aiden being in town was a big deal because he was, after all, one of the Empresses top Reapers.

Dan, for once wasn’t nursing his flask. He had already eaten a portion of his pasta, guzzled some water to wash it down and asked, “So what’s the deal with him then? The Empress obviously trusted him enough to send him to get you.”

Jack shook his head. “No, she knew he was the only one who even had a chance of getting me to leave here and if I was to go back there, she wouldn’t let me leave. She’s just using him.”

“So, what exactly is it that you can’t keep secret from us?” Greg wanted to get straight to the point.

Lucy spoke this time. “Aiden wants out and we are going to help him.”

Dan lost his cool. “Are you fuckin crazy? He’s still a Reaper and he’s still working for the Empress. I don’t give a shit what kind of bromance they have going on.” He waved his hand in Jack’s direction.

“Not so fast.” Jack stopped the rant before Dan could keep going. “He’s going to keep working with the Empress and give us a heads up when anything comes up that we need to know.”

“An informant on the inside,” James muttered thoughtfully.

Jack nodded. “Exactly. But it’s not forever. He needs time to get his affairs in order over there. If he is going to leave the Reapers, he is going to have to basically wipe himself from existence first. We promised to help him afterward, if he will help us.”

Oh man, this wasn’t good. Jack might trust Aiden, but she sure as hell didn’t and she could tell from the expressions on the rest of the faces around the table that they didn’t either. “Jack,” she asked softly, “are you sure this is a good idea? This could be a trap.”

“I know Aiden well, better than almost anyone and he is a good liar, but not good enough to fool me. I would know if he was trying to get one over on us.”

“And,” Lucy added, “he wouldn’t hesitate just to snag me again. If he wanted any of us dead or kidnapped, it would have happened already. This time, he just walked right up to us in the store. I don’t think he’s a danger right now.”

James snorted. “Yeah, right now.”

Greg finished with his pasta and leaned back in his chair. “All right, here’s the deal. We are already in danger all the time, so what’s it going to hurt. If this works out, it could give us the upper hand. If we had known about that Reaper before Hannah had to take care of it, then she wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Ah, there it was. She knew murdering that Reaper wasn’t going to go untouched.

“I don’t like it,” James said flatly, to no one in particular.

Dan scowled and pulled out his flask, “me either.”

Hannah pushed her plate away without finishing. “I’m with Greg. I don’t like it either, but if this is legit, it could really help us out. I’m already in trouble, but if we can avoid you guys having to go through this, then absolutely, let’s do it.”

There were several mumbles of agreement and a few protests, but in the end majority ruled and it was decided that Aiden would be their man on the inside.

When the conversation lulled, Hannah got up and took her plate to the kitchen, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. Greg followed her in and did the same with his plate. “I’m going out to talk to dad,” she told him, drying her hands off with a dishtowel.

He tilted his head, examining her face thoughtfully. “You want company or do you want to be alone.”

“Alone.”

“Keep your eyes open out there. We all need to be a little more careful. We’ve gone lax since we got Lucy back.”

She nodded and pushed open the back door. “I know, I’ll be careful.” She set a quick pace across the lawn and into the cemetery. It was harder to see the souls during the day because of the sunlight, but she knew they were there.

“Dad?” Her voice was low, he could hear her no matter how loud or soft she called. “Dad, where are you?”

She didn’t have to wait long before a glimmering blue mist floated between the trees and paused in front of her. The swirling mist of the soul began to solidify, forming slowly into a human form and eventually her father stood before her.

“Hannah, how’s my girl?” Greg Sr., dressed in his Hawaiian shirt and Khaki shorts, appeared exactly how he did the day they buried him. He had refused to cross over, so his soul stayed behind.

“I’ve been better.”

“What’s going on, honey?”

Hannah strolled along, with her dad following beside her, until she found one of the benches along the trail. She sat down and looked up at her dad’s soul. “David is back.”

A weary expression washed over her father’s transparent face. He, like most people in this town, had thought that Hannah and David would eventually get married and settle down in Summer Hollow. He was just as shocked as everyone else when David left town. “He’s back, huh?”

“Yeah. He said he is working with the county police department. He was in town yesterday for a case.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry you are going through this.”

“It’s all right. David spent yesterday trying to get me to talk to him. I finally had to pull him out of the bar before Dan got into a fight with him.”

Her father lifted a ghostly eyebrow. “So you guys talked about things?”

Yeah, a lot more than talking took place, but she wasn’t about to tell her father that. “Yes, but I didn’t expect David to tell me that he has never stopped loving me, that he wanted a second chance.”

Her father chuckled. “Oh Hannah, I don’t know how any man could fall out of love with you. I’m not surprised at all.”

“Dad,” she shook her head, “you’re only saying that because you’re my dad and you have to.”

He flashed her an incredulous look. “Not at all. You know me enough to understand that I don’t say things I don’t mean. You are a very special girl, honey. A woman who any man should fall over his own feet to be with.”

“But …” Hannah paused to gather her thoughts. “I don’t think I can go back to him. I am a Keeper … and I don’t think the family business is something I can hide from him for very long.” She sighed in frustration. “He and I still have a long way to go. All those years ...”

Her dad shimmered a little bit, causing his body to appear even more transparent. “Do you still love him?”

Hannah nodded, knowing she could be honest.

“Well then, I don’t see the problem. Love is love. Some people spend their entire lives searching for it, so why would you throw it away when it’s right in front of you.”

“I don’t know, Dad!” She threw her hands up. “I guess I don’t want him marching back into town thinking that things can just go back to they were.”

“I doubt he thinks that, honey.” Greg Sr. shook his head. “David is many things, but stupid is not one of them.”

“Ugh, this is too much.” Hannah buried her head in her hands.

Her father tilted his head and stared at her for a moment before asking, “Is there something else that’s bothering you?”

Yeah, I killed a Reaper and now I’m probably going to prison. Nothing much. “No.”

“Well, I think you should at least give it a chance. If he loves you and you love him, it would be wrong not to try.”

Strange, Hannah hadn’t expected her father to react this way. She had always known him as the voice of reason, tell it like it is, kind of man. But, he was also fiercely loyal, just as all of the Estmonds were, so she thought he would be more like Dan, angry with David for hurting her.

“I still need to think about it,” she told him and then stood, swiping at the dust the bench had left on her jeans.

“That’s understandable. Just remember that no one is perfect. We all make mistakes.”

She nodded and gave him a weak smile, wishing that it was possible to give him a hug. “Thanks Dad.” She glanced over at the house. “I’d better get back now.”

“I love you, Hannah.”

“Love you, too.” She replied as she headed back down the trail.

CHAPTER

14

DAVID

Once he was back in Summer Hollow, he drove by Hannah’s place. Her car wasn’t in the driveway so he didn’t stop. She was probably over at the family home, which was officially Lucy’s place now.

With no destination in mind, he found himself headed toward The Springs. Once he had made the turn into the small community, he wound his way down the narrow road toward the recreation area, the spot he and Hannah had always gone when they were younger.

It hadn’t changed much. Even the harsh summer heat couldn’t wilt the lush greenery surrounding the fresh water pools which were filled from the creek that was hidden beyond the trees and blackberry bushes.

The pools were actually on a continuous fill, the opening let water in and another let water out, emptied by another opening where the water was released. The release was located under the small foot bridge where he had told Hannah that he was leaving. Under the bridge, the water spewed back into another portion of the creek, creating a small waterfall.

One side of the recreation area was pavement with one section for parking and another with picnic tables. The other side was a sloped lawn with lush green grass. The pools took up a good portion of the space, but not a lot of people spent time there, mostly just locals from The Springs.

David parked and got out of his car, slamming the Chevelle’s door behind him. He stood for a moment staring at the dark water before him. Without warning, he suddenly delved into unwanted memories.

Beyond the trees, behind the recreation center, the creek ran gently. But, further up, it became deeper and ran faster. One sweltering summer day, he, Hannah, and a few of their friends decided to walk up the creek.

They had picked their way along the rocks and water, sometimes having to walk up into a neighbor’s yard to get around a difficult area where the banks wouldn’t allow them to pass. Eventually, the creek got so deep and the land so high, that they had literally been walking on a ledge that would have led to certain death had they fallen.

After several hours, the group had emerged before one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. Waterfalls, yes, more than one, fell majestically into bluish green pools of untouched water.

None of them had a clue that the waterfalls were there. It was one of those moments in life where you felt like you were the only people in the whole world who knew the meaning of life. The whole gang had just stared in awe, and he knew right then the trip upstream had been worth it.

For the next couple of hours they stayed by the waterfalls.

He and Hannah sat side by side on one of the large rocks while the others frolicked in the water. “How is it possible that we never knew this place was here?” Hannah had asked him.

David shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sure they aren’t a secret. I don’t think we’re that far from the highway, and a lot of people explore the creek.”

She shook her head. “Still, this is just …”

Her voice had trailed off as she gazed out upon their friends enjoying the chilly water. “I know,” he whispered in agreement.

As the sun threatened to set, the little group decided to keep going forward instead of back down the treacherous path they had come. After only ten minutes of walking, they found themselves on a paved road that led up to a factory at the top of the hill.

“Holy crap,” Kevin Morris frowned. “I know where we are, the highway is like two minutes away.”

Indeed, their friend was right, in no time they were trekking down the side of the highway back to The Springs. They had certainly taken the long way that day, but the adventure had paid off in the end.

David shook off the memory and brought himself back to the present. Nothing warranted the visit back in time, but it was one of those special times he would always remember because it was what he considered a perfect day.

Since no one was around he took off his blazer and draped it over his arms as he headed up to the bridge. Once he was up there, he had a better view of the water, which looked even darker from above. Even though the water was dark, it was peaceful and calming. He could hear the water falling back into the creek beneath him as he removed his shoes and sat down in the center of the bridge, letting his feet hang down over the side.

He had to tread delicately on this situation with Hannah, she had just come around to talking with him … among other things, and he didn’t want to ruin that. If she did murder this guy, there had to be a reason. He knew her and without a doubt, she would never commit a murder just for the sake of killing. She was a good person, he felt that all the way down to his bones.

On the other hand, he had trusted criminals before and look where that had gotten him.

No, she wouldn’t have done this for no reason. It had to have been self-defense, that’s all there is to it. But, how in the world was he going to talk to her about it.

As if on cue, Hannah’s car pulled into the parking lot. He watched as she parked and stepped out of the car. She glanced at David’s car for a moment and then her gaze lifted up to where he sat on the bridge. Their eyes locked and he knew she had come here for the same reason he had, to think about things.

She wore a small, tight fitting tank top with blue jeans and her red hair shone brightly in the midday sun that filtered through the branches of the trees. As she made her way up to the bridge, he stared down at her and wondered how he had ever left her in the first place.

“Hey,” she greeted him as she removed her running shoes and sat down beside him.

“Hey.”

For a few more moments neither of them said anything. They both sat in silence, listening to the water and the light breeze rustling through the leaves. Hannah was finally the one to break the silence. “Do you remember that time we walked up to the waterfalls.”

David let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I was just thinking about that when I first got here.”

She sighed. “You know what I loved most about that day?”

“What?” He turned to face her, but she continued to stare out at the water.

“That day … it was perfect. It was like we had conquered the world and nothing could stop us from doing the things we wanted to do. We were kings and queens.” Her voice was soft, but strong. “We had no idea what life was going to deal us in the future and we didn’t care either.”

Struck dumb by her thoughts, he couldn’t reply right away. It was true, the day was timeless and perfect, but what it had to do with their future at the time, he didn’t know. “I cared,” he whispered.

She nodded. “I know you did. You wanted something for yourself before any of us did. But, that day, I bet you didn’t think about your parents even once.”

Without taking his eyes off of her he reached over and felt for her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. “I never thought about them when I was with you.”

She laughed a little bit. “Whatever. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that, now, in this time and the age we are, time doesn’t just stop like it did then.”

He understood now. “Yeah, reality is beating down our doors no matter how hard we try to ignore it.”

“I wish we could go back to that day and just start over.” Her voice wavered as she said the last word.

“Are you all right?” He squeezed her hand, silently letting her know that she could talk to him.

She shook her head. “No, David, I’m not all right.”

“What is it?”

“A multitude of things.” Her hand pulled away from his and she reached up, tucking a stray hair over her ear.

“Do you want to talk about it?” It bothered him that she wouldn’t look at him. “Hannah?” he asked again when she didn’t respond.

“I want to tell you everything, I really do, but I can’t right now.”

“Is it that bad … that you can’t talk about it? Or is it that you just can’t talk about it with me?”

She finally turned her head and locked gazes with him. “It’s not you. I just can’t.”

“Hannah, I’m not going to pretend to understand why you don’t want to tell me. What I am going to tell you is that whatever it is … don’t let it fester. Things can only get worse if you keep them inside.”

She let out what sounded like something between a laugh and a sob. “When did you become so profound, David Foster?”

“I’m not. I just don’t like to see you like this.”

Her fingers entwined with his again. “Give me time.”

After a short pause, Hannah tilted her head and rested it on his shoulder. “I’ve missed you,” she murmured.

It was a simple statement, but there was so much behind it. Only the day before, she had wanted nothing to do with him and now here they were, sitting in their spot from the old days, and she was telling him she missed him. He hadn’t expected her to come around so quickly. “I missed you too,” he told her.

“Have you been to see your mother?” Hannah asked him.

The change of subject took him by surprise. His parents weren’t a subject he liked to think about, much less talk about. “No. I haven’t seen her for years. The last time I went up to San Francisco to see her, she was living with my aunt and they were both so high they probably don’t even remember that I was there.”

Hannah seemed saddened by his words. “Has she gotten worse since your dad died?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “There was a time I didn’t think it could get much worse, but it did. She’s a junkie, just like when I was a kid, and she will probably be like that until she overdoses like dad did.”

“I heard about that,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled, but it was a thin, emotionless smile, “Don’t be sorry. He lived life the way he wanted to live it. That’s just how it ends for people like that.”

“He was still your dad.”

“Only by blood.”

She didn’t argue with him because she had met his parents. He would never forget the day he had brought Hannah to his house. She had insisted on meeting his mom and dad. They had been together for a long time and she had never officially met them.

That day, with his hand on the door knob he stared into her eyes and said, “Please don’t judge me from anything you see in here. This … is not me.”

“You know better than that,” she’d told him.

“Just promise.”

She had let out an exasperated sigh. “I promise! Now let’s get it over with, all right?”

Taking her in to meet the people who were his parents, but didn’t give a crap about him, just seemed wrong.

They had entered the trailer and the sunny spring day outside suddenly turned stormy and gray. The interior of David’s home was dark, the paneled walls, the heavily curtained windows, the ugly green carpeting … everything about the place was without light.

Cigarette smoke filled the living room. He saw Hannah fighting back the urge to choke and led her forward. “Dad?” he addressed the thin man with long graying hair who sat in a recliner watching the small television in the corner.

“What is it now, boy?” his father asked without looking at him.

“I want you to meet someone.”

Only then, after realizing that someone else besides David was in the room, did he set his eyes upon them. “You know I don’t like you bringin’ people in here.”

“Dad, this is my girlfriend, Hannah Estmond.”

“Estmond?” His father squinted his eyes and gazed at Hannah through the smoke.

“Yes, sir. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Hannah stretched out her hand in offering of a handshake.

His father only stared down at her hand and then took a long drag of his cigarette, then blew the smoke in Hannah’s direction. “I know the Estmonds. Your one of those goody-goodies who will never know what it’s like to want for anything. Why would you be running around with a nobody like my boy here?”

Hannah stood up and straightened her spine. “You’re son, David, is not a nobody. He happens to be my everything. I don’t understand how you can sit here and treat him like this.”

He knew better. His father would never change and yelling at him about it wouldn’t do anything but piss him off even more and then he would have to deal with the violence that followed. “Hannah, let’s go.”

“What’s going on out here?” A female voice echoed from the back of the trailer.

David rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on Hannah’s hand. “Mom, it’s just me. I brought my girlfriend to meet you.”

A petite woman with long dark brown hair appeared from the dark depths of the hallway. Her hair wasn’t brushed and tangles were prominent around her pale, sunken face. She wore loose shorts and a tank top, but both were covered by a worn, pink, terrycloth robe. “Girlfriend?”

“Yes mom. My girlfriend, Hannah.” He turned to Hannah. “This is my mom, Sharon Foster.”

Sharon seemed confused but extended her hand out to Hannah. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about the condition of the house.”

Hannah shook her hand. “I don’t care about any of that,” she assured David’s mother.

“The hell she doesn’t,” David’s father roared from behind them. “Of course she cares how it looks. That’s all she’s here to do, judge us and how we live.”

Hannah released Sharon’s hand and turned to face David’s father again, fire lit within her eyes. “I already told you I don’t care about any of that.”

“Then why are you here. Why are you with this good for nothing boy when your pretty little ass could probably be dating the star quarter-back or some other rich preppy.”

“Dad!” David pulled on Hannah’s hand, “Let’s go, Hannah.”

She yanked her hand away from his and marched toward his father. She bent down right in front of him and looked him in the eye. “If there is one thing I want you to remember from this visit, it’s that I love your son. I don’t care about money, I don’t care about where you live, I don’t even care about the fact that you are a big asshole. You can hate me all you want, call me names, I don’t give a flying fuck. But this man… that is your son and I’m not stupid. I know he is the only reason you even have food in your refrigerator, so you need to show him some respect.”

“Listen here, missy …”

“No, you listen. Your wife did not give birth to him to for him to be your slave. He is a person, a living breathing person …”

“Hannah, that’s enough.” David desperately grabbed at her hand in attempt to get her to stop. As much as he loved what she was saying, the wrath of his father was going to be worse than ever after this.

She seemed to realize what was happening, that she had unwillingly lost it and stood up straight. “Oh my God, I’m sorry.”

“Let’s go.”

“You get that little bitch out of this house right now.” David’s father stood and pointed at the door.

He pulled Hannah toward the exit, which was only a few feet away but seemed like the length of a football field at the moment. David threw a quick glance at his mother as they made for the door. She said nothing, but still appeared distant and confused. He knew she was going to be the one who took the backlash from all this, but all he wanted was to get Hannah out of the house and far away from them.

Coming back to the present, David shook off the terrible memory and used his left hand to tilt Hannah’s face toward him. “I know it makes me a bad person, but I purged my parents from my life even before my dad died. Leaving to go to L.A. was part of that. I couldn’t stay here as long as they were here.”

“I know,” she whispered.

He placed a kiss on her soft lips. She kissed him back, and then gently pulled away. “I do understand. I’ve told you that. It doesn’t take away the hurt or bring back lost time, but I do get why you had to go.”

“I shouldn’t have gone.”

She closed her eyes for a second as if gathering her thoughts, and then opened them again. She stared into his eyes so he could see the honesty within them. “You had to. If you had stayed, and not gone on to live your dreams, you would have ended up resenting me in the end. You’re back now … and we have that, so let’s start over.”

Hell yeah! She was giving him another chance. “I promise to do it right this time,” he told her.

“I don’t need promises, I only need you.”

He couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across his face. “Well, how about our first date then. Would you have dinner with me at the Davis’ house tonight?”

She grinned back at him, but a little bit of sorrow still lingered in her eyes. “I’d love that.”

CHAPTER

15

HANNAH

After leaving The Springs, Hannah headed home to change and get ready for dinner at the Davis house. David pulled his Chevelle into the driveway next to her and hurried out of the car.

“I don’t see why you have to change, you look fine.” He skimmed his eyes over her, tracing her body from head to toe.

Hannah felt more like he was picturing her without clothes, rather than with them on. She laughed and gave him a shove before heading to the door. “Because, I want to look better than fine, there is nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess.” He shrugged and leaned the porch railing while she unlocked the door.

While David waited in the living room, she hurried into her bedroom to change. After going over the pathetic inventory of her closet, she finally chose a white sundress with teal flowers scattered across it. It only took her a few moments to slip the dress on, twist her hair into a simple braid and finalize the outfit with a pair of white sandals.

Even though it wasn’t a real date with just the two of them, it was sort of like a date and she wanted to look like she halfway cared about what she looked like.

Maybe for a few hours she could forget the dead Reaper, forget her impending jail sentence, and have a little bit more normal before shit hit the fan.

She emerged from her room and found David examining her video collection. “Wow!” he exclaimed when he saw her. “You weren’t kidding, you look fantastic.”

Hannah felt the blood rise to her cheeks and offered him a small smile. “Thank you.”

He turned back to the movies and pointed at the stacks. “You know that this entire movie collection screams nerd, right?”

She shrugged. “So, I like being a nerd and those are all awesome movies. Why would you care anyway?”

David tilted his head and thought for a moment. “I don’t. I love you’re nerdish qualities.” He moved away from the shelf of videos, toward her.

“You can’t fool me, David Foster, I know that underneath that jacket and badge your own nerdish qualities have been repressed, and they are screaming to be let out.”

He threw his head back and laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, you think so?”

She nodded. “I know so.”

“Well, we’ll see about that. I am a hardened cop now, it may be hard to get that guy to resurface.”

Hannah grinned. “Challenge accepted.”

David rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Let’s go, nerd.

They left Hannah’s car and took the Chevelle out to the Davis Farm. It wasn’t far and took them less than five minutes to get there.

She hadn’t been out to the farm since before David left, so she stared out the window and happily recalled the past as they drew closer. White wooden fences lined the perimeter of the farm that was exposed to the road. Several horses roamed the field, grazing on the grass, and a few cattle occupied the field on the other side of the gravel driveway.

The moment they pulled up in front of the white Victorian with its wrap around porch, Mrs. Davis came running out of the house waving a pot holder in her right hand. The thin woman wore her gray hair in a short bob and a floral print apron covered her tee shirt and jeans. “David!” she called out as she approached the Chevelle.

He turned to Hannah and flashed her a smile before pulling the handle on the door and jumping out. He left the door of the car hanging open and hurried toward Mrs. Davis. When they reached each other he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground in a giant bear hug.

Hannah let herself out of the vehicle and watched them for a moment. The sheriff had come out onto the porch and watched his wife and David with a glint of happiness in his eye.

“Boy,” Mrs. Davis whispered tearfully, “Where have you been?”

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her shoulder.

“Well, you’re here now.” She swatted him on the back with her pot holder. “Now put me down.”

David set her back down on the ground where she immediately smoothed the invisible wrinkles out of her apron and then finally noticed Hannah standing beside David’s car. “Oh, hello dear.”

Hannah smiled and waved. “Hi Mrs. Davis.” Now that she and David were done with their moment, she felt more comfortable moving forward.

“Oh, good grief, girl, call me Darcy. We’re both grown women now.”

“Some habits are hard to let go of,” Hannah replied with a little laugh. She had grown up calling her Mrs. Davis. Her father never allowed them to address adults by their first names.

“Come on y’all. Let’s go in the house and have some supper. It’s almost ready.” Darcy turned and headed for the porch.

The sheriff, not in uniform, greeted Hannah and David. “Glad you two could make it over. I know how busy you both are.” He stared curiously at the two of them, which didn’t surprise Hannah at all. Everyone in town knew what happened between them when David left.

They followed Darcy into the house where they passed through the sitting room and into the kitchen. “I have to check the potatoes,” she explained and hurried over to the stove where a large pot was nearly boiling over.

The sheriff pulled out a chair at the wooden dining table and indicated that Hannah and David should do the same. After they were all seated, the sheriff switched his eyes back and forth between Hannah and David. “Yeah, I’m just gonna ask, are you two back together now?”

Hannah hadn’t really expected the question in such a direct manner, so she opened her mouth to answer and then shut it again, looking to David for help. He glanced at Hannah, giving her a gentle smile. “We are getting to know each other again.”

The sheriff lifted an eyebrow.

“You know,” David explained, “Dating. Well, sort of dating.”

Darcy appeared beside the table and set a tray of deviled eggs in the center. “Now don’t eat all of those. We have a huge supper to eat still. There are soft drinks and tea in the fridge, help yourselves.” With that she went back to cooking.

“I think dating is a good idea.” The sheriff leaned forward and plucked an egg off the tray. “But, you both know you are kidding yourselves, right?”

Confused, Hannah frowned. “Kidding ourselves about what?”

“You are one soul already. Aside from my own true love,” he looked over at Darcy, who met his gaze with a soft smile and light in her eyes, “I’ve never met any two people in my whole life who belong together as much as the both of you.”

David expelled a nervous laugh and pushed his chair out. “I didn’t expect such a deep conversation tonight.” He strode over to the fridge and opened it. After disappearing behind the door for a moment, he stood up with two cokes in his hand. He bumped the refrigerator door shut again and headed back to the table where he set one of the cokes in front of Hannah and opened the other for himself.

Hannah cleared her throat. “Sheriff …”

“Good Lord, do you see a uniform on me right now? Call me, Frank.”

“Sorry, um, Frank. But, I was just going to say that I think you are right about us belonging together, but we have a lot of issues to get past before we can make it official again.” She turned to David so he could confirm and she found him staring at her, his eyes bright with excitement.

“We belong together?” he asked softly.

She rolled her eyes and nervously sipped her coke. “Yeah, now stop acting like an idiot.”

He tore his eyes away from her and looked to Frank. “How do you know that about us?”

“I just know. You don’t need me to explain it. Bottom line is this, you’ve been apart for twelve years and the feelings didn’t fade. That means something.”

A short awkward silence followed. Hannah didn’t want to say anything, mostly because he was right about everything.

“Now, Frank, you leave them alone and help me with this turkey.”

The sheriff rose to do as his wife asked. Hannah stood up as well. “Can we do anything to help?”

Darcy shook her head and pointed. “Absolutely not. You two just sit down and let us tend to this.”

Hannah lowered herself back down into the chair. Preparing the food was always a group effort at her family home, so it was strange to let Mrs. Davis wait on them. It wasn’t for long though. After a few minutes the table was loaded with all the traditional sides for a Thanksgiving dinner and right in the middle of everything was a small, perfectly roasted turkey.

“Tell us about L.A., David.” Darcy’s question received a scowl from her husband. She shook her head, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut.

David shrugged and finished chewing his turkey. “For a while, it was amazing. Well, not at first. When I first joined the LAPD I had to go through all the training and then be a rooky for what seemed like forever. After that, when I got to start working on big cases, was when I really started to love it.”

“Why did you leave then?” Frank asked.

“All right, fine. I know you aren’t going to leave it alone until I tell you.”

“It’s a simple question, son.”

David used the cloth napkin to wipe his face and sat there for a moment as if he were gathering his thoughts. Hannah saw the discomfort make its way to the surface of David’s demeanor.

“In L.A. I made detective, and after a few years of that I was given a case which required me to go undercover. I was in deep with a circle of big time criminals. Drug trafficking was their game. In the end, I blew my cover and they were gone by the time our raid took place. Chief blamed me and told me that he wasn’t going to fire me, but if I wanted to work somewhere else then I better hit the road.”

Hannah had known he didn’t really want to be working in Lake County, but she didn’t know why. So this was it, he was forced to find a job somewhere else.

“How’d you blow your cover?” Frank asked, his voice smaller than normal.

David shook his head, “You know I can’t talk about it.”

“Why? It’s over now.”

After closing his eyes for a second, he opened them and met the sheriff’s eyes. “Let’s just say that I see the good in people when I probably shouldn’t. I wasn’t the right man to send undercover.”

Hannah watched the interaction with the two men closely. Frank nodded and took a bite of mashed potatoes. “So, you trusted one of them and told them who you really were?”

With a nod, David silently agreed.

“Well, it’s a shitty situation, but I believe everything happens for a reason.”

“Frank, it was more than shitty. The entire operation failed because the man I confided in, told the others who I was and they up and moved. Gone. Basically wiped off the map. They are probably in Mexico now, hiding out and soaking up the sun on a beach somewhere.”

Frank shrugged. “Like I said, I think it all happens for a reason.”

Darcy, who had been quietly watching her boys and Hannah, apparently decided that it was time for a topic change. “Hannah, how is the family fairing since your father’s passing?”

Even though Hannah wanted to hear more about what David was involved in over in L.A., she was grateful that David wouldn’t be uncomfortable anymore. “Everyone is adjusting, it’s different not having him around.”

“I can imagine,” Darcy agreed.

“I think it was hardest for Dan to take, since his wife and all, he’s lost so much.”

It was the sheriff’s turn to look uncomfortable. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to find out who the killer was.”

Hannah finished the last of the food on her plate and took another swallow of coke. “It doesn’t matter now. I don’t think it would make things any better for him to know who did it. He just needs to cope with real life right now.”

Again, silence filled the room for a moment. It seemed like all they had to talk about was subjects that would depress them.

“Well,” the sheriff continued. “I miss your dad. He was a big part of my life too.”

“Thank you.” Hannah smiled because she meant it.”

The sheriff shifted in his seat. “I already told David, but I’m gonna say it again. There is always a spot for you here on the Summer Hollow PD, if you want to stay in town.”

Hannah watched David lower his eyes and wondered if it was because he didn’t want to move back to town. How would things ever work if he didn’t want to come back anyway?

“I’m not sure just how things are going to work out right now, but thank you, I’ll keep that in mind,” David answered, without making a solid commitment.

Once again Darcy changed the topic of conversation. “So, not to be nosy, but I just have to ask, who is that young man your sister Lucy has taken up with?”

Hannah laughed. “Oh, that’s Jack. He was drifting through town last month and he and Lucy fell in love. Now he’s here for good, officially part of the Estmond Clan.”

“So, all of your sisters and brothers approve of him?” Darcy asked. “He seems so … rough.”

“I know he does, and he really kind of is, but when it comes to Lucy he’s a puppy.”

The older woman nodded her head. “Well, I hope so. I’m happy for her if that is the kind of man she wants.”

Hannah resisted another grin. It wasn’t truly about Lucy wanting his type, it was about the fact that the two of them shared some sort of crazy bond. Lucy and Jack being apart had proven to be more dangerous than them being together.

A phone rang.

“It’s me.” David pulled his cell from the pocket of his jeans. “Oh crap, I’ve got to take this. I’m sorry.” He apologized as he stared at the screen and the phone rang again. He stood and left the room as he answered the call. “Foster.”

Left alone with the sheriff and his wife, Hannah stood and offered to help clean up.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, dear.”

Hannah began collecting some of the dishes. “Nonsense,” Hannah responded. “You cooked, we clean.”

Darcy smiled and shook her head. “Well, if you insist.”

Another phone rang, this time it came from Frank’s pocket. “That’s me this time.” He swiped at his phone and headed out of the room.

“Oh the life of a law enforcement officers wife. You know they never stop working? Being off duty is not really off duty for them.”

Hannah nodded. “I’m beginning to understand that.”

After a few moments of cleaning up the kitchen they heard raised voices from the other room.

“Good Lord, what is going on in there?” Darcy threw her dishtowel down and hurried out of the kitchen. Hannah dropped the dishes she had into the sink, following right behind her. She couldn’t think of any reason right off the top of her head why David would be arguing with the sheriff.

“I already knew this was going to happen,” David was telling Frank.

“Dammit kid, you can’t hide evidence like this.”

“It’s our case now, we can handle it however we want.”

The sheriff snorted. “You aren’t handling this one like a cop and you know it.”

“What’s going on?” Darcy screamed, shoving her tiny frame between the bodies of the two men.

“I thought you would understand,” David accused Frank in a sad voice, “you know why I didn’t say anything right away.”

“What?” Darcy yelled. “Say anything about what?”

Hannah had been watching the interaction between the two men and a sinking feeling began to grow in her stomach.

They knew.

Confirmation of her thoughts came when both of them turned their heads toward her.

Frank spoke first. “One of the seniors at the center called and said they saw Hannah running from the crime scene.”

Darcy furrowed her brows. “So, that doesn’t mean anything.”

“No, it doesn’t,” the sheriff shook his head, “but she still has to be questioned and she is now a suspect.”

“Well I don’t see why you guys are arguing about it.” Darcy stared at her husband, confused.

“They found a piece of fabric at the crime scene that matches the description of what Hannah was wearing that day. David knew from other evidence that she was there.”

Hannah’s felt her stomach flip flop. Okay, so he knew already. How come he didn’t say anything? David met her gaze and started toward her. “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew more about why you were there.”

Hannah moved her lips, but nothing came out. It was here. The time had come already. “He attacked me.” Hannah managed to get the words to stumble out of her mouth.

David nodded as did the sheriff. “We know, but right now, you probably shouldn’t say anything more,” David explained to her.

For some reason, she had thought she would have more time. She thought that maybe she would wake up and the whole thing would be a nightmare. But no, here was her long lost love telling her that the time was up.

David tore his gaze away from her and glanced at the sheriff, then Darcy and then back to Hannah. “I have to place you under arrest now, Hannah.”

CHAPTER

16

AIDEN

“Oh, fuck yeah!” The blonde Aiden had picked up at the coffee shop in town was now bent over the ugly ass desk in a cheap hotel room. She was a yeller, but that was all right with him, it wasn’t like he was trying to hide or anything, she could scream about how awesome his fucking was all day long.

He gripped her hair in his hand and thrust into her even harder, the more she cried out with pleasure the harder he pounded.

“God damn, yes! Fuck me harder.” she ordered, breathlessly.

He pulled out and hauled her up into a standing position, then reached down, gripped her legs and sat her on the desk. After her ass was safely on the desk, he pulled those gorgeous legs up and placed them on his shoulders.

She leaned back and braced herself with her hands. Her wavy blonde hair was no longer the perfect hairdo she had entered the room with, her skirt and button up blouse were laying on the floor by the door and her eye makeup was smeared underneath her eyes. This chick shouted fuck me, even fully clothed and waiting for a latte. All he had to do was wink at her and he’d had her within his grasp.

He did not, however, fail to notice the wedding ring on her finger. It was not like you could miss that gigantic diamond anyway.

He guided himself inside her and continued to fuck her. He knew that when they were done here she would go home and fuck her husband, but it would never be the same. Now she would be wishing it was his cock instead of her husbands.

Ah, their sex life probably wasn’t that great anyway if she was so willing to do a guy she picked up in a coffee shop.

Just as he felt her getting ready to come, his fucking phone went off.

“Shit!”

“Let it ring.”

He couldn’t let it ring. It was the Empress. Couldn’t that bitch ever call when he wasn’t in the middle of sex? It was like she had some kind of radar that said ‘Aiden is having sex, call him right now and interrupt.’

“Ugh, Dammit!” Aiden pulled out and reached for his phone.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” The blonde angrily swept some hair out of her face.

He ignored her and flopped down onto the bed, “Hello?”

“Aiden, why haven’t you called me yet?”

“I can’t really talk about it right now.” He explained to the Empress, hoping that she would get the hint that he was around people.

The blonde eyed his still hard cock and waltzed over to the bed. “Is that your wife?” she whispered as she crawled up onto the bed and straddled him.

He shook his head.

“Seriously, Aiden. This was a simple task and should be done by now.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve taken care of it and will … oh God!” He couldn’t help the outburst, but blondie had slid herself right down onto his cock, taking the length of him inside of her.

“What is wrong with you?” The Empress asked with surprise clear in her voice.

“Oh, fuck! I … I stubbed my toe.”

“Jesus, Aiden. Call me back when you can contain yourself. I want a call within the hour.”

“Yes, yes. I can do that,” he quickly agreed as blondie rode him, moving her hips back and forth, and rubbing her nipples as she stared down at him.

“Goodbye, Aiden.” There was a click and Aiden had never been relieved to get that bitch off the line.

Blondie leaned over, so that she could whisper in his ear, “Sit still and enjoy.”

And he did, he gripped her hips and let her ride him until they both reached their orgasm. Afterward, there was no lying side by side and cuddling. There never was. He rolled over and reached for his jeans, while she searched for her clothing and then made an attempt at fixing her hair and makeup.

Neither he, nor she, spoke. They didn’t need to. Both of them seemed to understand this was a one-time thing that was not going to happen again. But, as she was leaving, she turned to him and offered a smile and a weak “Thanks.” Then, she was gone.

Aiden knew he had to get back to the Napa compound and also call the Empress back. This little shit-hole hotel charged by the hour and he didn’t want to pay for any more time than he had to. Damn, it was strange having to watch where his money went.

He checked out and pulled out his phone as he headed for the SUV. With the push of a button the Empress’s line was ringing through.

“Aiden.”

“Empress.”

“Is your toe better now?”

“Why yes it is, thank you for asking.” He knew she didn’t care and she also knew that he hadn’t hurt his toe. He was a soldier, a killer, he didn’t cry over a stubbed toe.

“Have you spoken with Jack?”

Yup, that was the Empress all right, straight to the point. “Yes and he refuses to come back.”

She sighed and he could just see her shaking her head. “I thought as much. I figured he should have the chance to come and see his father though.”

“I’m sorry. I tried to convince him it was the right thing to do.”

“I am certain you did. In any case, you can tell me about the Keepers and how they are getting on when you get back. Get your things together, you can be on a flight in the morning. I will send you further details.”

“Yes, Empress.”

“Till then.” She clicked off the line, leaving him standing there, staring at the phone with surprise.

Dammit. He thought he was going to have more time here. He rather liked this area and it was nice not to be right under the thumb of the Empress all the time.

He stepped up into the vehicle and turned the key. Well shit, it looked like this was just one more thing that wasn’t going his way.

CHAPTER

17

DAVID

The look in Hannah’s eyes as he told her he had to arrest her made him sick to his stomach. She had nodded and held her hands out. “Do you ... need to, like, cuff me or something?” she asked, glancing from him to the sheriff.

“Not unless you’re going to try and run. Are you going to cooperate, Hannah?” He kept his voice soft, and what he hoped was non-threatening.

This shit made him hate his job. He had never before hated his job. He loved being a cop, but he’d also never had to arrest the one person he loved more than anything in the world.

“Yes.” Her voice was smaller than he’d ever heard it. “I’ll cooperate.”

“Okay, let’s go get in the car.” He moved toward her, but didn’t touch her. He didn’t want to freak her out even more than she was already.

“But, we need to help clean up first.”

Darcy stepped forward and took Hannah’s hands in her own. “Don’t worry about that, honey. You go on and get all this cleared up. I know everything will turn out for the best and the faster you get this part over with, the faster it will be over.”

Hannah met her eyes and nodded. “Thank you, and thank you for having us over for dinner. It was wonderful.”

“You go on now, dear. David and Frank are going to help you as much as they can.” Darcy patted the top of Hannah’s hands and then released them. “David.” She turned and opened her arms wide.

He hurried into her embrace, needing reassurance and comfort for the moments to come. “You take care of her, understand.”

“I will,” he promised.

“And call me if you need anything, or if you don’t. You’re always welcome here.”

He tightened his arms around her once more before letting her go. “Thank you.” After placing a kiss on her cheek, he shook hands with Frank who nodded. “You want me to go with you?”

David shook his head. He needed to talk to Hannah alone before they got to the station. This was one moment that he was actually happy the station was a good half-hour drive away from Summer Hollow. “We’re all right.”

He guided Hannah toward the front door. The sheriff and Mrs. Davis followed them out and stood on the porch while he helped Hannah into the passenger seat of the Chevelle. She got in and sat down, her eyes lowered as if she didn’t want to look at him.

“I’m sorry, David.”

He patted her leg and then bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “We can talk about it on the way there.”

He jogged over to the driver side and slid behind the wheel. The next part was probably going to be the hardest for him. After releasing a long sigh, he put the car in gear and turned the car around. When they were finally headed down the long driveway, David glanced over at her. “I have to tell you your Miranda rights now.”

She nodded as she stared straight ahead. “I know. Go ahead.”

With each word that passed his lips, David fought the urge to vomit. She sat there silently the whole time, staring out the window and nodding that she understood.

“All right Hannah, it’s time to tell me everything.”

She finally turned her head to look at him. Tears had pooled at the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Don’t you already know?” she accused.

“All I know is that you’ve been upset about something and holding it back and this.” He reached over and flipped open the folder sitting between them. The picture of the footprint was on top. “Now turn to the next one.” He instructed, after she had given the first one a good look. Her gasp told him that she knew it was her shoe.

“David …”

“I’m sorry, Hannah.”

She didn’t say anything, but he knew she was holding back her temper and going over things in her mind. “I heard you tell Sheriff Davis that you didn’t tell anyone. Does that mean you haven’t shown this to anyone?” she pointed at the photo.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you turn me in?”

Instinctively his anger flared. Did she really think he would turn her in without talking to her about it first? Well duh asshole, of course she did. You left her to become a cop, so yeah … she thinks you care more about your job than her.

Fuck.

He pushed back the anger and frustration so she would stay calm. “I didn’t turn you in because I love you, Hannah. I don’t think you’re capable of killing someone just to kill. If you did this, there has to be a reason and I wanted to find out from you first.”

She looked away again. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, stop being sorry and tell me what happened, dammit.”

“I … I …”

“Start at the beginning.” He forced a gentle voice.

She drew in a deep breath and then exhaled long and steady. “Okay. That morning, I wanted to drop off Mrs. Bradley’s casserole dish that she’d left at Lucy’s after the funeral. I knew she was at the center for bingo that day, so I went there to drop it off.

“After I did that, I went out to the car and the storm had just hit, so when I opened the door my mortgage check flew out and caught the wind. I ran all the way over to the corrals to get it. After I was finally able to catch it, I started back when I noticed a man in the woods. At first I didn’t think anything of it, people walk around over there all the time. But then I got a good look at him. It was Jeff, this guy I went on a date with a few months ago.”

So she knew the name from the guys fake ID, but then again, she’d also done the autopsy and it was in the report. “Keep going,” he urged.

She still wouldn’t look at him. He hoped to God that was just because they were driving, since not looking at the person you’re talking to is a sign of dishonesty.

“After we went out, I decided I didn’t want to see him again … he creeped me out. So I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. But, he wouldn’t stop coming by the house and a few times he showed up at the hospital when my shift was over.”

“And you never told anyone this guy was bothering you?”

“My family knows. They are the only ones I told.”

David nodded in acknowledgement. That made sense because he knew that family well enough to know that if someone hurt Hannah, they were going to have to deal with the entire Estmond Clan, and they were all scrappers when it came down to it. “All right, go on.”

“So when I saw him that day, I got pissed. I just wanted him to leave me alone, so I went over there to tell him exactly that. I yelled that I wanted him to stay away from me and a whole bunch of stuff about how crazy he was acting … and then he grabbed me.” At this last part her voice wavered and faded off.

“What happened next?” He knew it was hard for her to talk about, but he had to know the whole story.

“He … he attacked me. Threw me to the ground and pulled a knife, telling me something about how he would make me do what he wanted or he would kill me. I … I fought back, that’s really all I remember about it. I fought back and ended up stabbing him. It, I … when I realized what I’d done, I ran.”

It was a good story, he’d give her that much, but he knew she was still holding back. His senses told him there was more to it than she was saying. But he also knew that Hannah would never kill just for the thrill of killing.

“Jesus, Hannah.” He shook his head. “Stop hiding whatever it is you’re hiding. Tell me all of it.”

“I am!” she cried out. “Dammit, if I hadn’t fought back, he would have killed me.”

Inside, David wanted to shake the truth out of her, but instincts and experience told him to continue to be gentle.

“Hannah. I need to know everything before we get to the station.”

She sat back and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. “I am telling you everything. That is exactly how it went down.”

“Fine! Fuck. Fine, just make sure it doesn’t fucking change.” God dammit! She was fucking lying. All he could hope for was that the only reason he could tell was because of their connection. Yeah, he’d been away for a long time, but he still knew her.

“You don’t believe me?” she asked in a small voice.

“I believe you had to fight for your life and the murder was an accident. I believe that much, but I know that there is something there that you aren’t telling me.”

When she didn’t respond, that only confirmed his suspicions. “We’re here,” he told her, turning into the parking lot. After he found a spot, he killed the engine and turned to her. “Now, I am going to have to put the cuffs on you to go inside. This has to be legit. Okay?”

She sniffed and nodded then turned to the side and put her hands behind her back. Hating every moment of it, he slipped the cool metal cuffs onto her slim wrists and clicked them tight. When she turned back to him, he stared her straight in the eye and said, “Do not talk to anyone yet. You tell them you want a lawyer and you won’t talk until your lawyer comes. Got it?”

She choked back a sob and nodded. “Got it.”

“Hannah.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

Her face was wet with tears and at his words, even more of them spilled from the corners of her eyes. “I love you too.”

With a heavy heart, David led her into the station and sat her down at a booking desk.

“Hey McMillon, book her in, will ya? I’ll be back in a minute.”

The young, dark haired officer nodded his head. “Sure thing, Foster.”

He didn’t want to leave her, but he had shit to do. He threw Hannah one last look before he headed over to the chiefs office.

“Chief,” he rapped on the frame of the open office door.

“What do you want, Foster.” The older man looked up from the paperwork on his desk. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I just wanted to check in and let you know I brought in a suspect for the murder in Summer Hollow.”

The chief raised his eyebrows. “Good. We’ll get her into questioning.”

“She’s not talking without her lawyer.” David shook his head, hoping she would take his advice and tell them that.

“Well isn’t that a fucking surprise.”

“Not really. I’m going to help finish up her booking and get her in a pod.”

The chief went back to his paperwork and waved him away. “You do that, but bring me the paperwork and get started on your report too.”

“Yes sir.”

Right a fucking way.

He hated watching Hannah go through the humiliating shit the inmates had to do when they came in. After booking, there was the search, the shower, and then putting on the blue jailhouse clothes that looked almost exactly like the scrubs she wore at work.

After she’d finished all of that she was put into a cell, what they called pods, with four other women. When he walked her into the pod, he leaned in and told her, “I have to get started on the paperwork now. This is going to be a long process.”

“I’ll be fine,” she told him, but he could see in her eyes that she was far from fine.

“You want your phone call right now?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll wait. I need to think for a little bit first.”

David wondered if he should give the family a heads up before Hannah called, but quickly decided that was a bad idea. “All right. Remember what I told you about your lawyer. I’ll be back soon.”

“I know you will.” She nodded and walked away from him, her red hair was down, and still a bit damp from the shower, but it was also dull from the crappy medicated shampoo they made all the new inmates use when they came in.

Good god, he hated this shit so much.

He left her in the pod and went to his desk. He’d only been working on the report for about ten minutes when the chief showed up, looming over his desk like a uniformed Sasquatch. “Foster!”

“Yes sir?” He turned away from his paperwork and looked up at his boss.

“Please tell me it’s not true that this suspect is your ex-girlfriend.”

Aw fuck. “She is,” he answered.

The Chief put his hand to his forehead and shook his head. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. You know I have to pull you from this case now.”

Even though he knew that was procedure, he sat back and stared at his boss. “Why, I haven’t seen her for twelve years.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Foster, you know as well as I do that you are too close to the case now. As of right this minute, you’re done with it.”

“Come on chief,” he plead

“Don’t …” the older man held up his hand. “Just don’t.” He turned and stalked away from David’s desk.

“Well, I’m going to watch the questioning,” David called after him.

“I didn’t fucking hear that,” the chief hollered back at him.

David ignored that last comment and went back to his paperwork, which was a total bitch to concentrate on since all he could think about was Hannah locked up in one of their cells.

After a few minutes, he realized he’d forgotten the file with the report on the victim and the photos in his car. “Shit. He rolled his chair away from the desk, got up and headed out.

Once he reached the Chevelle, he yanked open the door and leaned over to grab the folder of the seat. His fingers had just brushed across the edge of the folder when a sharp pain flared in his neck like he’d been bitten by a big ass spider.

“What the fu …” he turned his head to the right, searching for the source of the pain. His muscles weakened and his vision began to blur. Aw fuck, he’d been tranqued.

Just before he faded away into unconsciousness, he heard a voice that sounded familiar … a voice he’d hoped he would never have to hear again, for the rest of his life.

CHAPTER

18

HANNAH

She could feel the eyes of the other women on her.

She sat on the bunk they had given her and scooted back into the corner of it so that it felt like she was hiding in a cave. None of the others had spoken to her since she’d come in and she sure as hell wasn’t going to talk to them either. She felt like a dead piece of meat being circled by buzzards.

This was it, she was a criminal. Her record was going to be marred for the rest of her life and she would probably never be able to do her job again either. All those years of college down the drain.

Dammit.

“So …” a pale woman with hair so blonde it was almost white, plopped down onto the edge of the bunk and turned to face Hannah. “Not to sound cliché or anything, but what are you in for?”

Hannah so did not want to make friends with any of these women, but she also wasn’t stupid. She knew that she might be here for a while and her best bet would be not to get on anyone’s bad side, so she responded with a clipped, “Murder.”

There was totally a reason that Hannah didn’t say, ‘suspected for murder’ or add ‘I didn’t do it’ to the sentence. Let them think she was capable of murder and maybe they would leave her alone.

The blonde shook her head. “Damn. Who’d you kill?”

“I can’t talk about it,” Hannah told her, in hopes that would be the end of it. Luckily, the woman did drop the subject, but she didn’t go away. She reached out, extending her hand to Hannah, “I’m Sophie, what’s your name?”

Accepting her hand, Hannah gave it a brief shake. “I’m Hannah.”

“Nice to meet you Hannah.” She pointed toward the other women. “That there is Nicole, the tall one is Shanna, and the one on the bunk over there is Brandy.”

She managed a weak wave and a soft “Hello,” but none of them returned the greeting. It looked like Sophie was the social one out of the bunch.

“Soooo,” Sophie leaned back on Hannah’s bunk and examined one of her fingernails. “I’m in for drugs. Not meth or anything like that, just weed.”

Looked like she wasn’t going to get rid of her, so she may as well talk it up too. “You’re in jail cause you smoke weed?”

“Smoke some, grow some, sell some. I did a little of everything. They busted my place and confiscated everything … including my kids.”

“Shit …” No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find anything appropriate to respond with. “Sorry.”

“Ah, it happens. I’ll get my kids back when I get out. They’re with my mother now.”

“That still sucks though.”

She nodded. “It sure does, but whatcha gonna do, ya know?”

Hannah nodded as if she did, when in fact she did not know even the slightest bit about that.

Suddenly the door opened and a deputy stepped inside. “Estmond, you ready to make that phone call yet?”

“Yes.” She nodded and scooted off the bunk. “Yes, I am.”

“Come on, then.” The male officer waved her over.

She wasn’t looking forward to the phone call at all, but at least she could be thankful that the family would know what was coming. Once they got to the phones, the deputy stepped back, giving her only the slightest bit of room while she made her call.

She dialed the numbers to the family home and waited for someone to pick up the phone. After three rings Jack answered. “Hello?”

“Jack?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Hannah?”

“I’m in jail.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, I don’t know anything yet. I haven’t been in any kind of questioning and I probably have to see a judge before I can get a bond.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” Hannah knew why Jack wasn’t saying much. He couldn’t give away that he knew anything about why she was in there.

“Ok. Hannah, I’m going to tell everyone and we will come up there. But, listen, it’s going to be a little while before we can get there.”

“It’s all right. Like I said, it will probably be at least tomorrow before I can see a judge.”

“Lucy’s going to climbing the fucking walls until you get out of there. They all are.

Hannah almost smiled, yeah, she certainly didn’t envy Jack right about now. The poor Reaper was going to have to deal with the whole Estmond Clan, plus Ethan, and they were all going to be moody until she was free again.”

“Sorry, Jack.”

“No worries, you just sit tight and keep ahold of your soap.”

She shook her head. Only Jack would be able to make jokes about her incarceration. “On second thought, maybe you should work on getting yourself a bitch. Throw your soap on the floor and make one of the others pick it up for you.”

Aside from avoiding the community showering for as long as she possibly could, that scenario was one that she was pretty sure was never going to happen. “Shut up, Jack. Just tell the others and get here when you can.”

“Roger that.”

“Goodbye Jack.”

“Bye.” He clicked off before she did and she was met with an empty silence which spoke volumes. This was now her life … and it sucked.

The deputy walked her back to the cell where she immediately went to her bunk and told herself not to cry. She was supposed to act tough so that no one would fuck with her. She would have been fine being left alone, but for some reason Sophie still wanted to chat with her. She sat on the edge of the bunk and peppered Hannah with more questions.

Finally, Hannah had enough and leaned forward. “Look, I know you mean well, but I need some quiet time to think.”

Sophie managed to put a super offended expression on her face and jump up off the bed. “Sure, whatever,” she muttered, stalking off to chat with the other women in the cell. None of the others even tried to speak with her, and she was totally all right with that.

Where was David? She knew he had to keep his distance, but he had said that he wouldn’t be long. Maybe he decided that he couldn’t love a criminal after all. The thought brought tears to her eyes, so she lay down on the bunk and turned toward the wall. She didn’t want the other women to see that she was crying.

“Estmond!”

Hannah’s eyes fluttered open and she realized that she must have fallen asleep. Too bad this whole thing wasn’t a bad dream.

“Estmond.” The same deputy who took her to her phone call was there again. “Come on.”

She didn’t ask where they were going. She simply rose from the bunk and made her way over to where the deputy stood just inside the door. “All right,” she told him when she got close enough. “Let’s go.”

“Moving with Estmond.” He said into the little mic attached to his ear piece. Only a second later the interior lock clicked, freeing the heavy door. He moved aside and let Hannah walk in front of him as he directed her toward the interrogation rooms.

The inside of the interrogation room was just like the ones you saw in the movies. There was a table with two chairs on one side and one chair on the other. The side with one chair faced the mirror, which everyone knew was a two way mirror that was used to look at the person being interrogated.

“Wait here,” the deputy told her, leaving her inside the room by herself. She wasn’t dumb, she knew this was a tactic too. Leave the prisoner alone to stew for a little bit before coming in to ask questions, it shook them up.

With nothing else to do she pulled out the chair and sat down. She tried to avoid looking at her reflection in the mirror, but it was basically impossible since the mirror was so damn big. She had only been here for a few hours and she already looked haggard.

“Dammit,” she whispered to her reflection.

After a few more minutes, which felt more like hours to Hannah, the door opened and a dark haired detective entered the room. “Hello, Hannah.” He pulled out one of the other two chairs and sat down across from her. “I am Detective Jonah Avery.”

Hannah smiled sweetly, “Hello Detective.”

“I am the detective in charge of this case and I need you to answer a few questions for me.”

Hannah leaned forward. “Where’s David?”

Jonah flicked his eyes up toward the mirror. “We … he has been removed from your case because of your history together.”

Boy, this guy wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions. She knew right away that he didn’t expect her to ask that question and he didn’t know how to answer it.

“Now.” He set a folder on the table in front of him and flipped it open. “Let’s get to it.”

Hannah shook her head. “You know that I’m not supposed to talk to anyone without my lawyer present.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow. “Well, we are here now, so why don’t you answer a basic questions.”

“Sorry.” Hannah shook her head again.

He leaned back in his chair and stared at her. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I’m not stupid you know.”

“Well,” he closed the folder, “that’s all right because we’re still trying to track down your paperwork. Foster took it with him when he left.”

Ah, a well-executed statement to let her know that David wasn’t here and possibly shake her up. “That won’t work on me, Detective. Now you better take me back to my cell until my lawyer arrives.”

Reluctantly, he took her back to the cell and left her there. Sophie glanced at her when she entered but didn’t try to approach her. Hannah nodded acknowledgment and then went to her bunk. She lay down on top of the covers and stared at the bottom of the bed above her. Even if her family got here tonight, they weren’t going to be able to do anything since they probably had some kind of visiting hours at the jail. So, there wasn’t much else she could do but go back to sleep.

And she did sleep, surprisingly better than she had thought she would. It was breakfast when she woke. A different deputy than the night before stood just inside the door with a cart that held the breakfast trays. Each of the trays held a small portion of scrambled eggs, toast and oatmeal.

Mechanically, Hannah rose from the bunk and walked slowly to the cart to accept her tray. The pod had a small rectangular table with benches on either side. The benches were bolted to the floor, but at least there was a table where they could sit and comfortably eat their food. After she had her tray, she approached the bench and chose a spot on the end beside Brandy.

It was an awkward breakfast, at best. No one spoke at all. Sophie acted like she wanted to, but the other women just stared down into their food and ate slowly. As they ate, Hannah wondered what each of them had done to be in jail. She already knew Sophie’s story, but the others were still a mystery.

After breakfast, a deputy arrived to tell her that her lawyer was here and wanted a meeting. So, again, she was directed out of the cell and taken to a room much like the interrogation room, but this one was for lawyers and clients to speak privately.

She entered and saw a friendly looking gray haired man, who was also surrounded by a shimmering silver aura, waiting for her at the table. He rose when she entered and waited for the deputy to leave before shaking her hand. “Hello, Hannah. My name is Andrew Ainsworth, and I am to be your lawyer.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Ainsworth. Did my family call you?”

He nodded and sat back down in his chair, gesturing for her to take the seat across from him. “Yes, your brother Greg, to be exact.”

“Do I have a chance?” she asked in a low voice.

Mr. Ainsworth nodded emphatically. “Yes, of course you do. It won’t be hard at all to prove that this was self-defense. But, our first order of business is getting you out of here. You are going before the judge in about two hours and a bond should be posted then.”

Hannah looked down. “It’s going to be a lot. I can stay here, it’s no problem.”

He shook his head. “Your family has informed me that no matter the cost, they have it covered.”

She smiled weakly. Of course they would say that, because that is exactly what she would say if it were one of her sisters or brothers in here. “All right, then. Tell me what I need to do.”

Mr. Ainsworth leaned forward, “I know the whole story about the Reaper and also the story we are sticking with, what I need from you is for you to repeat to me what happened. We have to make sure that every detail is covered.”

“Thank you Mr. Ainsworth.”

“No problem at all, this is my job. Someone has to make sure that the innocent don’t pay for the problems caused by Reapers.”

Hannah nodded in total agreement. “I wish my family was here with me.”

Ainsworth looked up from the paperwork in front of him. “Well, they are, sort of. They are all out in the lobby. They’ve been there all night, but it’s not visiting hours so no one will let them in.”

Hannah smiled. “Really, they’ve been out there all night?”

He grinned back at her. “Did you really expect them to do anything else?”

She shook her head. Of course she didn’t. They were the Estmonds and what happened to one of them, happened to all of them.

“Now, Miss Hannah, let’s get down to business.”

CHAPTER

19

AIDEN

Aiden couldn’t sleep. He lay under the sheets in only his boxer briefs, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. In all his life he’d never had so much on his mind that he couldn’t sleep. Normally, he was a straight to the point kind of guy who dealt with things the same way. He took orders, fulfilled the mission, had a drink, got laid … lather, rinse, repeat.

Now… now he wanted out of the Reaper world simply to have a life at all. If he stayed with the Empress, he would be her lap dog for the rest of his life and he had too much respect for himself to do that.

His cell lit up on the night stand as it jangled the tone that wasn’t designated to anyone in particular. His eyes flicked to the clock before he picked up the phone. Almost midnight. Whoever was calling at this time of night had better have a damn good reason.

“Hello?”

“Aiden?”

“Jack?”

“Yeah man,” Jack responded. “Look, I don’t know if you can … or will help, but we need a favor.”

Aiden flung the sheet away and sat up on the bed. “What kind of favor?”

“Hannah, Lucy’s sister has been arrested. One of my mom’s men attacked her and she killed him. She freaked and didn’t take care of the body. It was found by the authorities and now Hannah has been arrested for murder. We can’t make a case that she didn’t do it, because she clearly did. But, we can have a witness come forward who can claim he saw the whole thing go down.”

“You want me to tell them she was fighting for her life and ended up killing him?” Aiden rose from the bed and turned on the lamp beside the bed.

“Yeah. You think you can do it?”

“I can, yeah, but the question is, why the fuck would I want to? The Empress will have my head on a platter for something like that.”

“I spoke with the family, we will offer you full protection. You will come live here until we can fully extract you from the Reaper society.”

“Fuck.” Aiden shook his head. He knew he wanted out, but he didn’t realize it was going to be like five seconds from the original thought. “Who was the Reaper?”

“You know Jeffery Myers?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, one of our not so finest Reapers. The good thing is he’s part of the Guard, so he isn’t in any system. You know how it goes, these guys are born and bred for this, so there won’t be much on them anywhere and nothing will lead the authorities back to the Reapers.”

“Aiden, will you do it?”

He went silent before he answered. He knew why none of them could come forward as a witness, they were all too close to Hannah. But, he … he was a stranger and would have perfect reason for not coming forward immediately.

“This could free her of murder charges Aiden. You know it wasn’t her fault.”

“Yeah, I just don’t understand why I’m supposed to give a fuck.”

Jack laughed through the receiver. “Because, you shithead … because you care about me.”

Well, he did have a point there.

“And I care about Lucy, which in turn makes her family my main priority since it hurts her to see her sister in jail.”

“All right!” Aiden almost shouted into the phone. “I’ll fucking do it. Just shut up already.”

“Thanks man.” Jack let out what sounded like a sigh of relief.

Before Aiden hung up the phone they hashed out the smaller details of the situation like where to go and what to say, that kind of shit.

When, he was finally able to hang up, he headed straight for the shower. As he scrubbed, he silently cursed himself. Why did he tell Jack he would do this for a Keeper? Man, this was probably one of the dumbest things he’d ever done.

But, he was still going to do it.

Mother fucker.

He shut off the shower and headed into the bedroom where he slid on his jeans and a dark blue tee shirt. After he laced up his boots and threw a hoodie on over his tee shirt, he packed up his bag and headed out the door.

Instead of taking the SUV from the garage, he called a cab to pick him up. When the taxi arrived, the driver hopped out to take Aiden’s bag and throw it in the trunk. “Where you headed sir?” he asked, slipping behind the wheel.

In the back seat, Aiden fastened his seat belt and then leaned forward. “Summer Hollow.” The cab driver turned and shot him a surprised look, “Serious? That’s quite a distance.”

“It’s not that far, and I’m good for it,” Aiden assured him.

The guy looked up at the mansion looming before them and then back to Aiden. The size of the estate must have convinced him because he simply started the meter and then hit the gas. “All right, then. Let’s go.”

As they drove off into the darkness, Aiden couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing the right thing. But, then again, what the hell was the right thing these days. This was certainly better than some of the shit he’d done in his lifetime.

Maybe leaving the Reaper society wasn’t the only thing changing for him. Maybe he had to change the kind of person he was too.

Shit, now he was becoming some sort of goody two-shoes.

After contemplating this for less than a minute he decided that he would never be a good man, he just wasn’t made that way.

CHAPTER

20

DAVID

Son of a bitch! His head felt like he’d been hit with a fucking brick.

David moaned and attempted to open his eyes. His lids lifted just enough to let in a sliver of light and spikes of pain shot through his head. Dammit, what the hell happened?”

Why couldn’t he move his arms? He jerked one arm and then the other, discovering that neither of them could move. Shit, he was fucking tied up! With another jerk, he realized that he wasn’t actually tied up, he was handcuffed to a chair. They were probably his own damn cuffs, too. He shoved back the pain and forced his eyes to open against light that hit him like shards of glass.

The first thing he saw was Marcus and Aaron sitting on a dirty, gold couch straight out of the seventies and staring at him. Oh wait, he knew that couch. He let his eyes wander further, taking in the surroundings.

Dark paneled walls, green shag carpet, ugly ass couch full of cigarette burns, big gaudy lamps … yup, it was his old house. It looked just like it did the day he left.

“Foster, this is one fucked up house.” Marcus stood. “Please don’t tell me you actually live here.” The Hispanic man towered over him at an intimidating, six foot five. He had scars on his face and tattoos covering his neck and arms. The bad ass look wasn’t merely for show either, he was Julian’s top enforcer.

David had thought he was done with Julian and his goons for good since he left L.A. He had been undercover, on a case, trying to take down drug trafficking operation that had a certain brand of meth spreading like fucking wildfire.

When he went into the operation, it took a full year before he was trusted enough to meet the guy in charge of the Los Angeles branch, Julian Hernandez. Julian was the very kind of man you would imagine would be the leader of a drug trafficking operation. He was rich, ruthless and worst of all, smart as hell.

Julian was also who David was after. He needed to nip it in the bud, take the ring out where it began. A man who ran such a successful drug business wasn’t exactly easy to get to though. He’d had to work his ass off to move up the ranks.

Living undercover sucked big time, to put it mildly. When you were forced to live a life that wasn’t yours, there was basically no contact with those you knew outside the operation, so any friends you made were on the inside. And, most of the time, those people weren’t really your friends.

He had been one of Julian’s many delivery boys. That’s what they called the guys who delivered the drugs, picked up the money, and also took care of any loose ends that may have complicated things. Yeah, delivery boys were the guys who offed people and buried them in the backyard, the ones who cut off fingers to make a point … shit like that. David thanked the powers that be, every fucking day, that he never had to be the one to perform any of those executions. Sure, he’d had to watch a few times and that was more than enough to last a lifetime.

Going into the operation, David had been terrified he would be forced to use drugs in order to maintain his cover. His story was that he didn’t use the product he sold, that it made people get sloppy and his work was never sloppy. Everyone he worked with seemed to accept this, especially since he wasn’t the only one who worked with Julian and didn’t use.

In any case, he’d thought he was done with those people and that part of his life when Julian’s operation disappeared and he left L.A. But, no, here he was with the delivery boys, one of them being Julian’s number one enforcer, and he was the one under the knife this time.

“Jesus, David, did you really think we’d never find you?”

David sniffed defiantly, “I don’t know, Marcus, you guys disappeared … dropped off the face of the fucking earth. What was I supposed to do?”

Marcus narrowed his eyes and glared at David. “You’re a cop.”

Since he wasn’t exactly in the best place to be sarcastic, he just nodded. “Yes, you know I am. Now why the hell are we in this dump and why am I cuffed to a chair?”

Aaron rose from the ugly couch and stalked toward David, “Where the hell is Coop?”

David’s eyebrows shot up? “Coop? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“Like you don’t fucking know,” Aaron accused. “After Coop outed you, he took off and we haven’t seen him since.”

“So,” David shrugged as best he could with his hands restrained.

Marcus shook his head. “So … he also took five hundred thousand dollars with him, you dumb fuck! Now where the hell is he?” Marcus pulled his arm back and before David knew what happened, his head rocked back as stars exploded behind his eyes.

“Dammit!” David cursed. “What the fuck? I don’t understand why I’m the one who is getting the shit beat out of him. I don’t know where that asshole is.”

Aaron turned and strode away a few paces. “See, that’s the problem. We don’t believe you.” He picked up a broken photograph of his parents off shelf by the wall. “You and Coop ended up gone at the same time, right after we found out you were a fucking cop. So, no man, we don’t believe that this wasn’t some sort plan from the beginning.”

David rolled his eyes and sighed. “You have this whole thing fucked up. He is the one who wanted out, I told him I’d help him and then he ratted me out to Julian. Why the fuck would I help him. If it wasn’t for his dumb ass I’d probably still be working my way up Julian’s ladder.”

Wham, Marcus’ fist slammed into David’s mouth.

His head cocked to the side as the large man’s knuckles connected. He felt his lip split and the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.

“Where. Is. He?” Marcus demanded.

David spat blood through his teeth. “I. Don’t. Know.”

Aaron replaced the photo. “Listen, all you have to do is tell us where Coop … and the money are, then we let you go. Simple as that.”

With a laugh, David shook his head. “I’m not fucking stupid, I know what you guys do to people. I’ve witnessed that shit for myself. So, even if I knew where he was and told you, I would still be a dead man.”

Making his way back to the couch, Aaron flopped down onto it and the old piece of shit groaned under the extra weight. “So tell us, Detective David Foster … what happened between you and Coop?”

David didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to talk to these mother fuckers. Jeez, they were beating the shit out of him and now they wanted chit chat over tea and cucumber sandwiches … fuck that.

Marcus rolled his eyes and set one foot on the dusty, scratched up coffee table, still towering over David. “You may as well talk. We have all the time in the world.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and then decided it wouldn’t hurt anything. In reality, the longer he kept them occupied, the longer it gave him time to think of a way to get the hell away from them.

“Coop wanted out. So, I told him I could help him and confessed to him my true identity.”

Aaron lit a cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke up in the air. “Sounds so very super heroish.”

“If you want me to tell the story then shut the fuck up, Aaron. Anyway, after he understood that I could help him get away from Julian’s reign, he told me he would help me in return, but the next thing I knew, he had outed me to Julian and the entire operation was gone … basically wiped off the face of the earth. Then, Coop was gone too. I never heard from any of you … or Coop, ever again. Well, until now.

His eyes flicked back and forth between Marcus and Aaron. “I actually thought that you guys had already found him. That would have explained why he just disappeared.”

Marcus shook his head. “You see, David, I would absolutely love to take your word for it. But, the problem is that you are a liar … and a fucking good one, at that.” He casually examined his fingernails. “You had us all believing that you were one of us. We trusted you and took you in. Come to find out you were a cop the entire time. Someone who lies that well is someone you never believe.”

“I’m not lying!” David jerked forward in the chair, pushing his wrists against the cuffs. “Take these fucking things off me.”

Aaron stubbed his cigarette out on the dusty coffee table, rose from the god awful couch and glanced at his partner. “Looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”

“Not if he can tell us where we can find Coop, and the money.”

“Dammit, Marcus!” David knew they were not going to let him go. These were the kind of people who would kill you before setting you free to tell the world about them. Which left only one other option, he was going to have to try and fight his way out of the place.

“Come on man, tell us. It’s best this way because we’re going to find some very interesting ways to persuade you into spilling it if you don’t tell us on your own.”

David tilted his face upward so that he could look Marcus in the eye. “Fuck off.”

Wham

Marcus’s massive fist slammed into his cheekbone. “You are one cocky little bastard. But, your tough as hell too, I’ll give you that much.”

When Marcus lunged forward again, David did the only thing he could possibly think of to defend himself. He swung kicked out and his boot connected with Marcus’s balls. It wasn’t a move he was proud of and normally he would never consider hitting below the belt, but under the circumstances, it was all he had.

“Mother fucker!” Marcus immediately doubled over, clenching his legs together.

David took full advantage, the second his foot had made contact, he stood, bringing the whole chair with him and surged toward Aaron, who had drawn a .45 from the inside of his jacket. He flew toward Aaron as if he were trying to take down a brick wall.

Aaron, slow on the draw, had just raised his weapon when David made contact. The gun flew into the air as both men tumbled back down onto the couch. Aaron shoved David off of him, which actually allowed David to get back on his feet instead of falling over as intended.

David spun quickly, nailing Aaron in the stomach with the chair leg. “Ugh! Shit!” Aaron grunted.

By this time, Marcus was back up. Turning, David saw Marcus was even angrier than he had been before. “What kind of pansy ass move is that? Nailing me in the nuts,” he growled, grabbing David by the shirt and throwing him down so that he fell to the floor on his side, still attached to the chair.

Aaron had retrieved his gun and aimed it at David while Marcus stood over him, with his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

Game over, David thought. But then, Hannah’s beautiful face crossed his mind and he imagined her sitting in prison, surrounded by real murderers, drug users and other fucked up people. Stick with it Foster, you can survive these guys.

Marcus reared back his leg and then swung it heavily into David’s midsection. “You fucked up, bro. Fucked up, bad.”

David grunted as he was forced to expel a large breath. Marcus kicked again, and again, his boots bruising flesh and breaking ribs. Eventually David grew numb to the pain and darkness began to claim him. He was vaguely aware of the two delivery boys dragging his chair upright, but then … he could last no longer, his lids fluttered shut and the world went black.

CHAPTER

21

HANNAH

She didn’t get a chance to see any of her family before they came to take her to see the judge. Hands cuffed behind her back, two deputies led her through the station and out to a cruiser. They put her in the back seat and whisked her away to the courthouse.

Mr. Ainsworth was already waiting for her when she entered the courtroom. The deputies escorted her to the chairs behind a table where her lawyer sat, file open in front of him. He nodded to her in greeting as she sat down awkwardly in the seat beside him.

A numbness had crept into her since she’d been arrested. She wanted to cry and at the same time she wanted to scream out in frustration, but in the end, she kept silent. She did the crime, so she couldn’t really claim to be innocent. However, she wasn’t exactly guilty either.

A few minutes later, they rose and the judge entered the room. The judge was an old man who had the look of a man who had spent many years in the military. He sat behind the bench, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, reading over the paperwork on Hannah’s case.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he addressed Hannah. “Ms. Estmond, you are pleading self-defense?”

Standing, she nodded, “Yes, Your Honor, I am.”

“Would you please explain what happened to cause the death of one, Jeffery Myers.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Hannah answered and then proceeded to spill the same story she’d told David. After she was done, the Judge peered over his glasses at her and then glanced back down at his papers.

“This case is going to be moving into a full trial where all the evidence can be examined. For now, the bond is set at two hundred thousand.” He pounded his gavel and rose, nodded to the room and then exited out the special door just for the judge.

At his words, Hannah’s heart sunk. It was so much money, no one in her family could afford that. Not to mention, if they did have that kind of money, she sure as hell didn’t want them spending it on her.

Since the case was going to be examined, it would certainly turn up that she acted in self-defense. She could sit in jail until the end of the trial, it wouldn’t be that long. There was no way she would let anyone spend that much money on her if she was getting out eventually.

Back at the jail, she returned to her cell and paced back and forth in front of her bunk, hoping her family would request a visit with her before posting any bail.

“What’s a matter with you?” Sophie, who was sprawled out on her bunk, peered at Hannah over the top of the paperback.

Hannah rolled her eyes and shook her head. “What isn’t wrong, right now, is the real question.”

Sophie shrugged and returned to her reading while Hannah continued to pace the floor. “Just asking.”

Realizing she was being kind of a bitch, she stopped and turned toward Sophie. “Sorry, I’m just stressed out.”

“Don’t be sorry, I understand.”

Hannah eyed the other girls too. They hadn’t even tried to talk to her since she’d come in the night before. “I know I haven’t been very friendly … or nice even. I just have a lot going on.”

Nicole sat on the bed with Shanna on the floor in front of her. She was silently pleating Shanna’s hair into delicate little braids. Brandy lay on her bunk, pretending to sleep. At Hannah’s words, her eyes twitched but she didn’t open them.

“No worries,” Nicole assured her. “A lot of people come in here and don’t want to talk. It’s totally fine.”

Hannah shook her head. “No, it’s not all right. This isn’t the kind of person I am.”

Just then, the door clicked open and a deputy entered the room. “Estmond. Your bond has been posted. Let’s go.”

Dammit.

After being allowed to put her own clothes on and then an excruciatingly long process of paperwork, Hannah was escorted to the door leading out into the lobby. They clicked the locks and the deputy opened the door to one of the best sights she’d seen for a long time.

There, taking up most of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the lobby was her family. Mr. Ainsworth was also there, standing idly by the coffee machine and staring at his phone. Her eyes filled with tears, blurring her vision and causing her to gently dab the corners of her eyes.

Lucy was the first to lift her head and see her standing there, staring at them. “Hannah!” she cried out, jumping to her feet and rushing toward her sister. Jack, her dark haired Reaper, was right at her side.

The rest of her brothers and sisters hopped out of their chairs and hurried toward her, as well. Ethan was with them, as always, and, to her utter surprise, Aiden was also with them.

She didn’t have time to wonder why he was there, that was something they would have to talk about later. At the moment, she wanted to get the hell out of there and then cut into them for paying all that money.

“Hannah!” Greg was one of the first to reach her and he opened his arms wide, taking her into a tight embrace. “We’re so sorry you had to stay here for so long.” The rest of her siblings murmured their agreement and encircled her, joining in, until they formed one large mass of hugging family.

When it was over, everyone detangled themselves from the group hug and stood back. “Come on.” Dan threw his arm around her. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You guys should have never paid that bail money,” she whispered, tearing up again. “It will take me forever to pay you back.”

Dan shook his head and pulled her toward the glass doors leading out to the parking lot. “Don’t worry so much. We only pay a percentage of it and after all your court appearances we shouldn’t have to pay anything else at all.”

“What? Really?” She hadn’t known this, still even a small percentage of two hundred thousand, was a hell of a lot to come up with.

“It’s going to be fine,” James assured her, giving her arm a squeeze.

Well, that was a relief. At least that was one less thing she had to worry about at the moment. But, even with all of her family there with her, she let her mind go to David. Where the hell was he? The way he’d been acting, she figured he would have been as close to her as possible this whole time.

Anger simmered below the surface of her calm. That Estmond trait was never one that any of them could bury within themselves for very long. Maybe Dan was right when he’d said that David had left her before and he would again.

No. He said he loved her, that he wanted to be with her. Something wasn’t right.

The group moved through the doors, pouring out into the parking lot, with her lawyer, Mr. Ainsworth trailing behind the group. Obviously, he was waiting for the family to finish with their reunion hugs before he approached her.

Once they were outside, with the hot, midday sun pounding down onto them, she took a moment to eyeball Aiden. Oh fuck it. “What’s he doing here?” She directed her question to Jack and Lucy.

Jack looked over his shoulder at his friend. Well, sort of a friend, who kidnapped her sister and threatened to kill more than one member of her family. “We can trust him,” Jack told her. “He’s going to help with your case. We have to talk about it later.”

Aiden chose to stay silent and let Jack do the talking for him, but he offered her a small grin.

“I don’t know if I can trust him,” she responded.

Lucy guided her further down the sidewalk. “He said we will talk about it later, not here, all right.”

“Fine,” Hannah breathed out, she just wanted to go home and crawl into a steaming hot bath to relieve the tension in her muscles. It was then that she caught sight of David’s car on the other side of the lot. Exactly where he’d parked when he brought her in the day before. “What the hell?”

Her voice was soft, but Jack and a few of the others heard her. “What?”

She stopped and then after a minute decision, changed direction. “That’s David’s car.”

Liv fell into step beside her. “So?”

“So, it’s in the same spot as it was when he brought me in yesterday.”

“What the fuck?” Dan hissed. “He was the one who arrested you?”

She looked up at her brother, meeting his angry stare. “Don’t. He had to. We were at dinner at the Davis farm when both he and Sheriff Davis got a call that one of the seniors saw me at the scene and they found a piece of fabric from my clothes there. There was nothing he could do except bring me in.”

“That son of a bitch,” Dan mumbled as they drew nearer to the Chevelle.

“Stop it, Dan.”

“Fine. But I still don’t like that bastard.”

She circled the Chevelle, rounding the front of the car and looking closely for any clue that he’d been gone at all. If he had been at the station the entire time, he surely would have come in to see her. As she approached the driver’s door, she noticed that it wasn’t closed all the way. It had been open just enough that any passerby probably wouldn’t notice unless they were looking closely.

“Shit.” She hurried forward, reaching for the handle. “He wouldn’t have left his door open like this … not with this car.”

“So, what does that mean? Steph asked. “Did someone break into it?”

“I don’t know.” Hannah bent and peered through the window. It looked exactly as it had when they had exited the vehicle, including her file folder on the seat. “This isn’t right.” Hannah shook her head.

“Look.” Jack pointed down at the pavement. “That looks like blood.”

Sure enough, Hannah looked down and a small spatter of blood not far from where she stood beside the car. “I knew it, something isn’t right here. He’s in trouble.”

“What do you think happened?” Jack asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know, but I better go tell his boss.” She started back toward the station and panic began to take hold. “Maybe they can like … trace his cell or something.”

She knew the entire group was following her and she could hear their voices mumbling in the background. “Wait.” Jack hurried to fall into step with her. “Don’t, we might be able to help without bringing the police into it.”

She stopped and spun on Jack, “And why the hell wouldn’t we want to get the police involved. It looks like someone attacked him … took him.” Her voice caught in her throat. “What if it’s more Reapers?”

Jack didn’t touch her, because unlike with Lucy, it still burned when he touched any other Keeper. “That is precisely why we want to keep the cops out of it, Hannah. What if it is more Reapers and we have to … uh, anyway, you can tell the cops if you want, but we have a few resources at our disposal as well.”

“I don’t know.” She narrowed her eyes as she thought about the choices.

Mr. Ainsworth, who had been silent thus far, stepped in front of Hannah. “The young Reaper is right. If it is his kind whom you’re up against, it makes more sense to fight fire with fire. The authorities, as wonderful as they can sometimes be, won’t be as much help this time.”

Not exactly convinced, Hannah considered his words. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I believe that in this case, you must handle things on your own.”

Hannah didn’t respond. She was still unsure of what to do. But, she knew that David was in trouble and she wanted to do whatever she could to help him. If Reapers did take him then it was her fault anyway.

“I must go, Miss Hannah.” Mr. Ainsworth handed her a card. “We still have much to discuss about your case. I will give you today to rest, but tomorrow we have to meet. Call me in the morning and we will figure out the details.”

“Yeah, okay.” She took the card from his outstretched fingers. Her mind was somewhere else completely though. “Thank you so much for helping me out, Mr. Ainsworth.”

He gave her a nod and then backed up. “Thanks to all of you,” he addressed the entire group. “It’s been a pleasure.”

Her family exchanged goodbyes with the lawyer and then he was headed across the parking lot. “So, what should we do?” She turned to Jack and Aiden.

Aiden offered her a small smile. “I need his cell number, first of all.”

Hannah hadn’t had David’s cell number long enough to know it by heart, so she had to get out her phone and search through it for his contact information. Once she rattled off the numbers, which Aiden wrote on a scrap of paper, she waited for him to tell her what he was going to do.

“All right, I’m going to step over there and make a phone call. I don’t have any access to a secure computer, so I’m going to contact someone who does.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How do I know you’re not going to call someone and tell them you have us all together and that they can come and get us? A massacre of Estmond Keepers?”

He tilted his head to the side and slid his eyes over her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “Because, Red, I’m a man of my word.”

Hannah scoffed at the ‘Red’ remark. She was a thirty year old, red head, like she’d never heard that one before.

Liv stepped up beside Hannah. “We don’t have time for this. Let him do whatever it is he’s going to do. If he wants to help, we should let him.”

Oh great, everyone in her family was becoming a Reaper lover. Good lord.

Aiden waved the paper in front of her and pointed to a bench over by the entrance to the station. “I’ll be back in a few.” With that, he strode away.

Immediately, Hannah turned to her family. “I know you all aren’t crazy about David, but we have to put that aside right now. If it’s my fault he’s gone …” her voice trailed off.

The rest of the group looked at each other as if they were confused. Finally, Dan was the one who spoke. “I may not like the guy very much, but that doesn’t mean I want him dead, Hannah.”

Steph nodded. “We’re just looking out for you.”

The few minutes it took before Aiden returned to the group was almost painful, but she managed to keep herself from running over there and pestering him.

They were all staring when he finally clicked his phone off and jogged over to the group. “Well, we can be thankful that his phone wasn’t dead. I have an address.” Again, he waved the little paper.

“Let me see that!” Hannah lunged forward and swiped the paper out of Aiden’s hand. When she looked down and saw the address scrawled across the paper, confusion settled over her. “This can’t be right. This is David’s old house in The Springs.”

Greg threw his arm around her and led her over to where all of their cars were grouped in the parking lot. “Listen, we are going to go there, ready for anything. Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“But first,” Jack added, “we need to make a weapons stop.”

CHAPTER

22

DAVID

Slowly, muffled voices began to clear. David realized that he must have passed out at some point during the time Marcus and Aaron were beating the crap out of him. He was still handcuffed to the chair, but the two men had left him alone after he lost consciousness.

His face hurt like hell and he didn’t have to see it to know it was bad. Plus, his clothes were covered with blood, which wasn’t a good sign.

From the sound of their voices, they were in the tiny kitchen, discussing the situation. David didn’t open his eyes because he would rather them think he was still out of it, but he listened carefully to every word that passed between them.

“Dude, Julian is going to be so pissed,” Aaron muttered in a low voice.

“Yeah, he will be, but not as bad as you think. He knew that finding Coop, or the money, was a long shot.”

“Then why are we here, in this fucking dump. That pig isn’t going to tell us anything.”

Marcus coughed, “Because, we have to be sure, and he fucking deserves it for what he did to us. It’s humiliating to know we let a cop infiltrate our operation … that we didn’t have a clue about who he really was.”

“True that,” Aaron agreed.

“Don’t worry, we won’t stay another night here,” Marcus assured his partner.

“That’s just what I wanted to hear. I want to go back to my senoritas and margaritas.”

Obviously, David couldn’t see them, but he imagined a sick smile pasted across Aaron’s face. The man had never been gentle with women and picturing him with any woman made him want to vomit. The problem with that was the women tolerated it because he paid them well. When money does the talking, it usually wins.

“I do too, man. I do too.”

“So what are we going to do with fuck head in there?”

When Marcus answered, his voice didn’t hold one ounce of remorse. “You know what we have to do. Julian said to kill him either way. He done fucked up when he crossed the boss man.”

There was silence, which meant Aaron was probably nodding in agreement.

Shit. He knew this wasn’t going to end well. He should have known from the beginning that case was going to haunt him for the rest of his life, or get him killed, neither of which was something he wanted. Now, he was supposed to be helping Hannah and he was stuck here, at the mercy of these goons.

Just fucking great.

He heard Marcus and Aaron returning from the kitchen and kept his head down so they wouldn’t know he was conscious. It was a small thing, but would probably give him a few extra seconds.

“You gonna talk yet, cop?” Marcus leaned down, his face hovering near David’s.

David’s only wish at that moment was that he was free so he could return all those punches and beat the shit out of Marcus.

“Answer me.”

Without speaking, David only shook his head the tiniest bit to let him know that he wasn’t talking. Even if he did know where Coop was, he would never tell these assholes.

Wham.

Marcus’s fist slammed into his cheekbone. His head rocked back and stars appeared behind his eye lids. Then, before he could react, Marcus hit him on the other side. Son of a bitch, that hurt.

“You are such a piece of shit, Foster. I’m trying to understand how you were able to make us believe you were one of us.”

He suppressed the urge to talk back, to fight, knowing that Marcus would still keep beating him. So, he just let his head hang limply, waiting for it to end. His eyes were pretty much swollen shut anyway. Even so, he didn’t try to open them.

With sound being the only usable sense he had left, he knew when Marcus withdrew the gun from the waistband of his jeans. He knew when he raised it and released the safety, and he knew when the hammer clicked back, that his last few seconds on earth were utterly pathetic ones.

CHAPTER

23

HANNAH

The sun slipped behind the mountains in a plume of orange, pink and red, leaving the earth aglow in the short time between dusk and darkness.

Hannah sat in the back seat of Liv’s minivan, watching the scenery whiz by as they sped along the twisty back roads. They were headed for The Springs, to where David’s phone had been tracked. In a way, she hoped that it was a mistake and he was indeed, back at the station. But, inside, she knew he was in danger.

“Knock it off.”

Hannah turned around in the seat to face her baby sister. “Knock what off?”

“You know … the worrying,” Lucy responded.

“I can worry if I want to. And you have to admit that you’re a little stressed out about all this too.”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah, I am. But, you have a lot more going on than I do right now.”

Hannah laughed at the thought. “Yeah right, with all the ‘Chosen One’ crap and avoiding Reapers who want to kill you because you mean the end of their race? If that’s what you’re talking about then, yeah, you totally have less to worry about than me.”

Her little sister rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. She was wedged between Jack and Aiden on the rear bench seat of the van.

“Listen, I just want to find David, make sure he’s all right, and then get through this murder trial. Until then, I’m going to be a complete wreck. You all are just going to have to deal with it.”

“We’re almost there,” Liv called from behind the wheel.

“Good.” Hannah nodded. “I want to get this over with.” She had just turned back around so she was facing forward again, when she heard Lucy cough and then gag. “Luce! Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m …” she gagged again and her hand flew to her mouth, covering it as if she hoped to keep whatever wanted out barricaded inside.”

“Liv, pull over,” James demanded from the passenger seat.

“Hurry!” Jack added, his dark eyes full of concern.

“I am.” She slammed on the breaks to slow the van, causing them all to lurch forward in their seats a bit.

Once she had the van pulled all the way off the side of the road, Hannah bolted out of her seat and slid the side door open with far more force than necessary and hopped out. Lucy lunged for the opening and tripped on her way out, falling to her knees in the dirt. Immediately her stomach emptied out whatever she’d had to eat throughout the day.

Hannah, as well as everyone else turned, trying to give her a bit of privacy. Except Jack, who hovered beside her, trying to hold her hair back so she didn’t puke on it.

“Jack! Get away from me, I’m throwing up.” She shoved him away with her elbow and then dry heaved. “Man …” She wiped her mouth with her sleeve, “I don’t know where all this came from. I must be car sick, or something.”

“Yeah, these twisty roads can do that to you.” Those were the words that came out, but Hannah had a few ideas of her own about what might be making her sister nauseous. However, she wouldn’t say anything in front of Jack, the last thing she wanted to do was freak him out too. When Jack went into freak out mode, it usually involved alcohol and stupidity.

She let her gaze shift to Aiden for a brief moment, the man had the face of a fucking angel, but she knew how cold he could be. The blond Reaper had kidnapped her sister and threatened to kill several members of her family. She had absolutely no reason to trust him and it would take a hell of a lot to change her mind on that one. It bothered the crap out of her that he was with them in the first place, even if he was the one who had traced David’s phone.

She had just turned around, since it sounded like Lucy was done, but her sister coughed and then she gagged again. In a flash, Hannah turned back so that her vision was directed toward the pavement.

“Ugh, this is so gro …” Lucy wasn’t able to finish her sentence. Her words were followed by the distinct sound of vomit hitting the ground. A collective groan of disgust rose from the rest of the group. At least they could be thankful this didn’t happen inside the van.

“I’m so sorry you guys!” Lucy cried from her spot in the dirt.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jack crooned, reaching out to push a lock of her hair away from her face. “It could have happened to anyone.”

She inhaled deeply through her nose and then released a long, slow, breath. After doing that a few times, she held her hand out so that Jack could help her to her feet. “I think it’s over now.”

“Drink this.” Liv pushed a gallon jug of water into Lucy’s hands. “But, rinse your mouth out first.”

“Thanks.” Lucy accepted the water and immediately tipped it back, taking some of the liquid into her mouth, swished it around and then spat it out. “All right, I’m ready.”

“Good.” Hannah nodded. “Let’s go.” She knew she sounded bitchy, but she was anxious to get to David. Hopefully the Reapers hadn’t sucked his soul or harmed him in any other way. God, she would never forgive herself if he wasn’t all right.

They all hurried back into the van and piled inside. Twenty minutes later, they were turning into the recreation center at The Springs. It had been agreed upon that they would meet there, leaving the vehicles and taking the trails to David’s house. Using the trails would keep their presence quiet, which was far better than driving right up to the house and alerting the kidnappers of their arrival.

Liv pulled the van into a parking spot right beside Greg’s Escort. Hannah slid open the door and jumped out onto the pavement, quickly followed by everyone else.

“Where the hell have you been?” Dan demanded.

Hannah rounded the van. “Lucy got car sick, we had to stop.”

“Well why didn’t one of you call and let us know. We were getting ready to come back and look for you.”

She ignored him and opened the back doors of the van. He got like that when he was irritated, but her brother was one of the most caring people she’d ever met in her life. He was one of those ‘bark is worse than their bite,’ kind of people.

Inside the back of the van, was a bag full of weapons. Mostly knives, since a Reaper’s weakness was silver. Keepers, in this day and age, rarely used guns. It was too messy and could kill too easily. Because of issues like what Hannah herself was dealing with, they tried to avoid killing if at all possible.

She reached in and plucked her daggers out of the bag. They had made a quick stop by her house so that she could get them, plus change out of the sundress she’d worn to dinner at the Davis house. It would have made a pretty silly sight, Hannah running around in a summer dress and sandals with knives strapped to her calves. So, yeah, she was grateful for the jeans and strapped the daggers to their proper place on each leg.

After the weapons were in place, she reached in and grabbed a black hoodie off the pile beside the bag. With the night having fallen around them, they were going to need as much cover as they could get to hide their glittering, silver auras. If the abductors were indeed Reapers, they would be able to see the auras glowing in the darkness.

She pulled the hood down as far as she could around her face and then slid a pair of thin gloves over her hands. These particular gloves had a rubber grip on the inside over the palm and fingers so that her knives wouldn’t slip out of her hand.

Finally, she slid the zipper of her hoodie upward until it was completely zipped. “I’m ready,” she announced.

“Well, now you have to wait for us,” Dan told her, bending over the bag.

Instead of responding with a smartass comment, which would have been what she normally did, she shut her mouth and walked around the side of the van where she found Aiden leaning against the vehicle.

Instantly she turned, intending to go the other way, when he spoke. “You can trust me, you know.”

She shook her head. “Actually I don’t know that. What I do know is that you kidnapped my sister and took her to the Empress. That’s what I know.”

“Well, you can. I don’t know how to make you believe it.”

Hannah backed up a few paces, “Prove it.” She jerked her head toward Jack. “That’s what he did, so it’s possible that you can too.” With that, she spun around. “Come on, guys,” she urged her family. “You all are slow as molasses.”

“Okay.” Dan finished with the bag and closed the rear doors of the van. “I’m ready now.” He had opted to leave his trench coat on, only he had on a light hooded tee shirt underneath it, which had been pulled over his dark red hair. He also wore a pair of thin gloves, as did the rest of the Keepers.

Greg stepped forward. “Hannah, you lead, since you know the trails best.”

She nodded in agreement. She did know these trails well. Although she hadn’t used them in twelve years, she still knew the way and could find it just as easily as she could then, even in the dark.

I’m coming David.

With a final nod, she headed up the hill and into the trees where the first path began. After a stumbling over the trail at an excruciatingly slow pace, the path forked and she veered to the right. It was another few minutes of walking beside the creek until they found the small foot bridge and carefully crossed over it.

It seemed like forever, but in reality it was only a few minutes until they finally found themselves crouched in the woods surrounding David’s childhood home.

“Yeah,” Dan whispered. “There are people in there, for sure.”

The place was completely lit up. Yellow lamp light spilled out of the windows, illuminating the brush near the outside of the trailer. Hannah scanned the area. She couldn’t see any movement coming from inside … not yet.

“We have to move around the side, over to where the sliding glass door is,” she whispered. “We will be able to see inside from there.” Silently, she led the group around the trailer, sticking to the woods for cover. Eventually, they ended up on the far end of the trailer, where there was, indeed, a sliding glass door.

“Dude, these guys are dumb asses.” Jack shook his head. “They didn’t even close the curtains. What kind of bad guys don’t close the curtains?” He shook his head in disbelief.

Hannah ignored Jacks observance, because what she saw inside caused her breath to catch in her throat. There, handcuffed to a chair near the couch in the living room, was David.

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “No.”

David wasn’t moving. His head hung down, chin close to his chest. His face was so swollen that unless you knew it was him, you would not be able to tell. Cuts and scrapes covered his face and arms, dripping blood which stained his clothes with dark red.

Without thinking, she began moving toward the doors, needing to get to him. “Hannah, don’t.”

She felt Dan’s hand on her arm and jerked away. “Stop it, Dan. We need to get him out of there.”

“No,” he countered. “We need to watch first, to see what we’re up against in there. We don’t even know how many there are.”

“Besides, this could be a trap,” Greg added.

Consciously, she knew they were right, but there was a part of her that wanted to charge in there and free him. So, she continued forward, but quickly paused when two men appeared in the living room, stalking in from the direction of the kitchen.

She gasped and stepped back a couple paces, feeling Dan and Greg flanking her. One of the men was huge, Hispanic, and looked mean as hell. The other was a rather average looking blond man.

“It looks like just the two,” Jack whispered. “And they definitely aren’t Reapers.”

The Hispanic man leaned over in front of David and appeared to ask him a question. When David didn’t move, the man reared back and then slammed his fist into David’s cheekbone.

“No!” Hannah charged forward again, determined to stop this violence, when she felt arms wrap around her waist, pulling her back. “Let me go!” she hissed at whoever it was that stopped her.

She didn’t bother turning around, because the guy hit David again, this time on the other side. “He’s going to be so fucking sorry.” She bent down and pulled one of her daggers from its sheath. When the guy hit David again, she shook her head, trying to erase what she was seeing.

And then what happened next made her want to erase it that much more. The Hispanic man reached behind him and withdrew a pistol from the waistband of his jeans. He pointed it at David’s forehead and appeared to be speaking to him.

“That’s it, I’m going.” Hannah charged, but stopped when she heard Aiden’s voice.

“I’ve got this.” Aiden stepped up beside her and tossed a pebble at the glass. It wasn’t much, just a tiny ping of stone on glass to cause a distraction. A reason to look away.

The man lowered the gun and stared at the glass door for half a second before leaving his place in front of David and stalking toward the door. At the halfway point, Aiden threw another pebble.

Both men neared the door, intending to see what was out there causing the disturbance. Aiden lifted his hand gun and waited a beat. The Hispanic man took two more paces and Aiden pulled the trigger.

Glass exploded and glittering shards rained down onto the porch and inside the house. The bullet found its target and buried deep within the forehead of the large Hispanic man. He stumbled backward a few steps and fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

The blond one, realizing what was happening, turned and ran. All it took was a shift and Aiden pulled the trigger again. The back of the man’s blond head burst open as the bullet lodged inside his skull. He fell mid-stride, landing on the hideous green shag carpet with a horribly loud thud.

Without another thought, Hannah lunged for the house. She leapt the two steps up to the landing of the porch and then crunched over the broken glass, determined to get to David as fast as she could.

Avoiding the bodies, she finally reached the chair and fell to her knees in front of him. Taking a moment to breath in, and then exhaling long and slow, she reached up and touched her fingertips to his cheek. “We’re here, baby. We’re here.”

His only movement was a slight eye twitch, but it was enough to let her know that he was alive. “David, wake up.”

She heard footsteps behind her, but really didn’t give a crap who it was. “David, please …”

And then, finally, he pried open one of his swollen eyes, peering at Hannah as if she were a figment of his imagination. “Am I dead now?”

Hannah smiled, and was going to answer till he frowned and shook his head slightly. “No, Heaven doesn’t have green shag carpets.”

She laughed. “That’s right, not heaven, but it looks like you weren’t far off from that.”

He didn’t respond, he just moved his gaze over the situation of the room. The dead bodies, Hannah’s whole family, the broken glass door.

“How did you guys know where to find me?” he asked.

Hannah shook her head. “We can talk about that later, right now we need to get you out of here. Where is your handcuff key?”

His head lolled a little bit and then he snapped back, “Uh, check that big guys pocket for my car keys.”

Jack marched over to the body and lifted his wallet out of his back pocket, then turned him over and searched his front pockets. “Found ‘em.” Jack tossed them up in the air a little then caught them again. He rounded the body and then crouched down behind David. In a flash, he had the cuffs off and David was free.

“Aw, fuck, that hurts,” he groaned, testing the movement of his arms.

Hannah held out her hand and helped David to his feet. After he was standing, she pulled his arm around her shoulder so she could help him walk. “Come on. We’re going to get you out of here.”

“Not yet.” Lucy stood in the center of the room, staring at the bodies with a shocked and very worried expression, “Right now we have a whole new issue to work out. What the hell do we do about these guys?”

CHAPTER

24

DAVID

The gunshot never came. He had closed his eyes and must have passed out again because when he did open his eyes, he thought he’d died.

She was there, in front of him. Her beautiful red hair peeked out from beneath a black hood. He should have known her face would be the last thing he thought of before death took him, but he never thought that the Grim Reaper would come and get him in the form of his true love.

“David, wake up.”

Oh, her voice, how he had longed to hear it over the years. Thank God he’d had the last couple days with her. That made everything worth it.

“David, please …”

Something wasn’t right though. He painfully pried his eyes open. “Am I dead now?” he croaked. He had to be, Marcus shot him. But … he shifted his eyes away from Hannah. The surroundings sure as hell weren’t what he expected he would find when he died. Then, realizing that he hadn’t actually died, he shook his head. “No, Heaven doesn’t have green shag carpets.”

She laughed. “That’s right, not heaven, but it looks like you weren’t far off from that.”

Suddenly, it all came back, hitting him like a ton of bricks. Marcus, Aaron … where were they? He tore his eyes away from Hannah so he could take a look around.

Holy shit, the place was filled with people. Marcus and Aaron were both dead, their bodies lying on the ugly ass carpet. Hannah’s entire family milled around, whispering and staring at the bodies. There was a blond man he’d never seen before hanging out near Jack and Lucy. He really hoped that guy was legit because whatever just happened in this house was real fucking bad.

“How did you guys know where to find me?” He turned his attention back to Hannah.

“We can talk about that later, right now we need to get you out of here. Where is your handcuff key?”

Damn, his head hurt so fucking bad, but he pushed the pain away and thought about where his key ring would be. “Uh, check that big guys pocket for my car keys.”

Jack was the one who took initiative and rolled Marcus’s dead body over so that he could check the front pockets of his jeans. “Found ‘em.” Jack pulled a key ring out.

Thank God. He wanted to be able to move. Jack hurried over and knelt down behind David, he heard the first click and then felt the cool metal being removed from his wrist. The next one followed and he was free.

He brought his arms around, intending to wrap them around Hannah, but pain flashed through his stiff muscles. “Ah, fuck, that hurts.”

She held out her hand for him and he took it, letting her help him to his feet. This was embarrassing as hell, he’d never needed a girl to help him before. But, bottom line, he was fucked up.

“Come on. We’re going to get you out of here.” She lifted his arm so that it was around his shoulder.

But then Lucy brought reality back to them, “Not yet. Right now we have a whole new issue to work out. What the hell do we do about these guys?”

Both David and Hannah, as well as everyone else, set their gazes to her. “But, David needs to go to the hospital,” Hannah insisted.

Lucy shook her head. “Seriously, Hannah. Do you realize what just happened here? There are two more dead guys lying on your boyfriend’s floor and you’re on bond for murder already! I think we need to clean this up before you go anywhere.”

David blinked. “That’s right … she’s right. We have to take care of this.”

Hannah shook her head. “Oh shit. I didn’t realize the repercussions of this. Oh fuck.”

With a quick squeeze of her hand, David lifted his arm off of her shoulder. “Don’t worry. This was all me. Those guys were going to kill me, and we have a history, I can get out of this on my own. There isn’t any reason anyone should even know that you all were here.”

The strange blond guy raised his hand a bit and stepped forward. “No you can’t. I shot them with my own gun.”

“Shit,” David cursed. “I forgot about that part.”

Hannah nodded. “The bullets will trace back to his gun, which is not the same as yours.” She plopped down onto the chair he had just vacated. “Dammit! I can’t believe this shit is happening again.”

“It’s all right. We will figure it out.” Greg crossed the room and rested his hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “Why did these guys want you dead, anyway?” he asked, the question obviously directed at David.

Time to let it all out … to share with Hannah’s family what a fuck up he was. He gave them the short and sweet version, but it got the point across. “So, they were supposed to find me, in hopes that I knew where Coop was so they could get their money and probably off Coop as well. Those two hated me because I fooled them, I pretended to be one of them and they believed I was. It pissed them off.”

The Estmonds, Ethan, and the blond guy, who he still didn’t have a name for, stood in a semi-circle around him, listing to his story and gaping at him. “Holy shit, Dave!” Dan reached into his trench coat, withdrew a flask, twisted the cap off and took a long pull. “You were a fucking gangster, man.”

David shook his head in denial, “No, I was never one of them. I didn’t have it in me.”

Hannah closed her eyes for a second and then peered up at him. “Yes you did,” she told him softly, “or they wouldn’t have believed you were one of them. Guys like this, and that Julian, they aren’t dumb. Their business did well because they were smarter than most.”

It was true, but he didn’t ever want to be called a gangster or a mobster or anything of the sort. He was completely the opposite, a cop … one of the good guys. The most disturbing part of all of it, though, was that he was good at being the bad guy.

James glanced around the house again. “Well, as nice as it is to know why all this happened, we still have two bodies to deal with.”

Aiden stepped forward. “I’ll take the blame, they were my guns. I can tell them what happened and just leave out the fact that you all were here, which would protect Hannah.”

“No,” Jack shot the idea down. “You can’t if you are going to be Hannah’s witness for the other murder.”

“I don’t mind doing it. Just tell me what you need me to do,” Aiden assured them.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” David began, “but who the hell are you anyway?”

Aiden and Jack eyed each other, a question clearly being asked there.

“That’s Aiden.” Hannah finally rose from her spot on the chair. “And he’s Jack’s friend, our friend.”

Aiden moved his gaze and met hers, then nodded acknowledgement of something. Apparently, the two of them had just reached some kind of terms with her statement.

Knowing who the guy was had to be enough for him though, at least he had a name for the blond guy now. “Nice to meet you Aiden. Wish the circumstances were better.”

Aiden smiled. “The circumstances could always be better, man.”

James paced back and forth with Steph right on his heels. “What is it James?” she asked.

He stopped pacing and stared at the bodies. “I know this isn’t going to be the suggestion everyone wants to hear because you all keep talking about who is going to take the blame for this. Well … fuck.” He paused and ran his hands through his dark red hair. “Has anyone considered the option of us not telling anyone this happened? I mean, shit, these guys are drug dealers … sent here to assassinate you. Do we really think anyone is going to come looking for them?”

Dead. Fucking. Silence.

James turned away, waving off the group. “It was just an idea. Sorry man, I know you’re a cop and all that.”

David held his hand up. “No. No, it’s not that. I would do anything to protect Hannah, and all of you, not to mention myself at the moment. That option is actually the best one we have right now.”

“No, David, if anyone ever found out about this …”

“They won’t.” David cut Hannah off before she could say anymore.

“But, your job?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m happy just to be alive right now.” He shot Aiden a grateful glance and received a nod in response.

Greg switched his eyes back and forth between the bodies and the group. “Okay. I never thought I would be saying this, but I’m going to have to agree with James.”

Hannah’s eyes widened, “Greg!”

He held his hands up, signaling her to stop. “Enough. It’s the only way all of us are going to walk away from this.”

“I’ll gladly turn myself in, but we have the issue with the guns to work around. I could take Aiden’s gun and tell them I used that.”

Aiden shook his head. “Nah, that would only cause more questions, like how did you get my gun and now if I testify as witness for Hannah, it links the two incidents.”

“See.” Greg spread his hands as if demonstrating, “This is our only option.”

Hannah began to pace. “I don’t like it. This whole fucking thing, from the Re … guy who attacked me to this mess.” She flung her hand out. “It’s one thing for me to have a dead guy on my conscious, but you all don’t deserve it. I’ll take responsibility. I’m already a suspect, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if I killed two more people.”

The entire room had gone silent, but it was David who first went to Hannah. He stopped her pacing by grabbing her hands and pulling her toward him. Every move sent pain flashing throughout his body, but that was all right, they had to take care of this issue right now. “Hannah, listen to me.” He reached up and tilted her chin so that she was staring up at him. “I would never, never let you or your family take the blame for anything I was responsible for. Do you hear me, if anything happens, if we are ever found out, I will come forward. I uphold the law, but this isn’t about protecting myself as much as it is about protecting all of you.”

“I don’t know. Covering it up is so dangerous.”

He flicked his eyes over to Marcus’s body. “They were dangerous. They would have killed me if you all hadn’t arrived when you did. A minute more and I would have been the body on this nasty rug.”

She closed her eyes, as if trying to block it all out.

“Hannah?”

“I don’t like it.”

“None of us do.”

“Fine.” She opened her eyes and he stared down into her big brown irises. “Let’s do it. God, when did my life turn into a fucking crime show?”

David only grinned, his life was like a fucking crime show, and most of the time … well, up until Hannah ended up back in his life … most of the time he liked it that way.

James stepped up beside David and tapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt bro, but that still leaves us with the question of what to do with these guys.”

Jack had his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. “Yeah … again, this probably isn’t the suggestion anyone wants to hear, but … what about the graveyard?”

Lucy turned to her man with her eyebrows knit together. “Our graveyard?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s fucking perfect. You bury people there anyway so who the hell is going to look for missing people in a graveyard?”

Greg nodded. “It’s so simple its genius. It’s ours too, so no one is going to go snooping around without us knowing about it.”

It was true, taking the bodies and burying them in a place no one would ever look was probably the simplest solution. However, in his experience, simple usually meant easy to figure out.

He ran over every possibility in his mind. Every way that they could possibly make this better, but every solution other than this one was one that would land one of them in jail and he would rather cover this up than see one of these innocent people go to jail for his fuck ups.

If he thought he would be the only one who went to jail he would go to the cops right now and tell them what happened. But he knew better. It wasn’t his gun that shot the two men, and they would want the man whose gun it was.

Then it would link them to Hannah … and he couldn’t have that.

Especially not that.

He rubbed his wrist where the cuffs had been. “Okay. Turn all the lights off in here except the living room. Where are the cars, are they here?”

Hannah shook her head. “No, we left them at down at the recreation area and used the trails to get here.”

“Go get them, do you have one big enough to hold these guys.”

Liv pulled her keys out of her pocket. “I have my van. Come on, Greg, let’s go.”

He watched while Hannah’s brother and sister headed out the side door and into the darkness.

Okay, now, this is so cliché, but I’m going to grab a shower curtain and one of you needs to go out and get the tarp from the woodshed, if it’s still there.”

Aiden rubbed a boot on one of the bodies. “What about this carpet, it needs to go.”

“Yeah,” David agreed. “After we get them moved let’s just roll it up. We can move it tomorrow.”

James took off one of his gloves and scratched his neck. “We have a machine at work that will munch that thing up. I’ll bring it over tomorrow, tell them I’m doing a remodeling job. We can rip a bunch of stuff out and toss it in there. Probably best to burn the segments with blood on them though.”

“Thanks James, that would be great.”

Liv glanced around. “I’m going to clean some stuff while we wait. Those guys probably touched all kinds of shit in here.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “Let’s all help with that.”

David watched everyone start in on various jobs, knowing that he was the one ultimately responsible for this and his stomach sunk. He felt Hannah’s arms wrap around his waist from behind. “If I’m not to feel that way, then neither are you. We are all in this together now.”

“I know,” He told her flatly.

“Do you really?”

“I’ll get used to it, I guess.”

“It’s going to be all right,” she told him.

He turned, so that they were face to face. “It’s not going to be all right until you are cleared. How are you out anyway? Bond?”

“Yeah. The family posted it. I have a good lawyer and we are going to trial. Aiden is going to testify as witness to the murder.”

At least she was out of the jail and could prepare for the trial with her lawyer as a free woman.

“I have to get that shower curtain.” He bent down and painfully placed a kiss on her lips and then pulled out of her arms. “Oh,” he turned back, “I just have one more question.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Why are you all wearing black hoodies and gloves?”

She laughed and shook her head. “We knew you were in trouble and thought it best to come prepared.” Then she followed him down the hall and told him the whole story of how they found him.

CHAPTER

25

HANNAH

Back at the Estmond property, with only their headlights to give away what was taking place, they traveled up the narrow cemetery road until they reached the oldest part of the graveyard.

Hannah sighed with relief the minute they rolled to a stop. The sooner they got these guys buried, the sooner she could rest a little easier. She was just glad she could get out of the van. She had been crushed in the back between a guy wrapped in a shower curtain and another in a tarp. Normally, dead bodies didn’t bother her, but these two unnerved her. They had all the windows open and the dead guys weren’t stinky yet, but she desperately wanted to be out in the fresh air.

As soon as Liv set the van to park, she slid the side door open and hopped out into the night. With a long breath, she gratefully inhaled the crisp September air. Everyone else exited the vehicles quickly too. All of them were tired already, and they still had a big job ahead of them.

She took a good look around. David was the only one of them who didn’t carry a shimmering aura. The silver light of the Keepers glittered, mixing with the red illumination of the Reapers. She sighed, the auras were so beautiful and should be a badge of honor, but it was a real pain in the ass when you didn’t want to be seen by either. Both the keepers and the Reapers could see the auras of both factions, and occasionally a sensitive caught sight of one, but for the most part, it was only the guardians of souls and the takers of the souls that could see them.

“Well,” Jack rubbed his hands together, “let’s get this over with, shall we.” With that, he threw open the back doors of the van and hefted the feet of the dead guy in the tarp.

“Good God,” Liv covered her face with her hands in frustration, “My van is going to need professional sterilization. I have to deliver food in this and now it’s been contaminated with dead people!”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yeah Liv, we heard you bitching all the way here. We get it.”

“Shut up. Would you want your muffins delivered to you in a hearse?”

“I told you, we get it. Okay.”

James and Aiden reached in and extracted four shovels. “This is all the shovels,” James told them with a frown. “It would go so much faster if we had more.”

Greg took a shovel. “We’ll take turns. That will make it go by quick, since we can just hand it over when the other gets tired. He accepted another shovel and they started out a bit further, beyond the last of the headstones and markers in the old section.

Jack, Aiden, Dan and James carried the corpses to the chosen spot and dumped them onto the soft earth. Greg started the first hole with Liv, and then Jack and Dan started the next. “You guys rest up cause you have the next shift,” Dan told them, hefting a hunk of dirt out of the ground.

None of them felt right about leaving the others, so the ones who weren’t digging just milled around, waiting for their turn. Except David, who leaned against the side of the van with his arm across his ribs.

About twenty minutes later, a familiar voice popped up. “What on God’s green earth is going on here?”

Hannah stopped pacing around the shallow graves and straightened her shoulders. She looked to her brothers and sisters, who also suddenly wore worried expressions, but kept up what they were doing.

They all knew their dad would find them out there sooner or later. What ghost wouldn’t be able to see the mass of sliver and red in a graveyard? “Hello? Any of you want to clue me in on why you’re digging graves and there are two dead bodies here?”

Still, no one answered.

Their father had fully solidified and the sparkling blue of his soul illuminated the area for the Keepers and Reapers. David was the only one who couldn’t see or hear him. His expression was to be expected, he looked utterly pissed. Not worried or upset, but straight up pissed.

Hannah glanced at David and then back at her dad. “So, those guys were the only ones you think might come after you?”

“Who knows,” David shrugged. “Julian has lots of delivery boys, but these two were his most trusted.”

Gregory Sr. shook his semi-transparent head, “I need more than that sweet heart. And also, what the hell is he doing here?” He pointed at Aiden. “That bastard kidnapped Lucy and knocked Greg upside the head with his gun.”

Aiden glanced at Jack, but kept on digging. “Um, Lucy, will you walk back to the house with me for a minute,” Hannah asked.

David squeezed her hand. “I’ll go with you, no need for Lucy to go.”

“Oh, uh, I just wanted to talk to her about something.”

“Yeah,” Lucy nodded, “something personal.”

“Bring beer.” Jack tossed a shovel full of dirt out of the hole he was in.

Not to be outdone, Dan tossed his own shovel of dirt and added, “And Whiskey.”

Their father palmed his face with his shimmering left hand and closed his eyes. “If I wasn’t dead already, you all would give me a heart attack. I swear.”

David knit his brows together, obviously sensing that something was up. He was a detective after all, they notice things like that. “Well, if you’re sure.”

“We’re sure,” Hannah and Lucy said in unison.

“Let them go.” James tossed his shovel out of the hole and climbed up beside it.

Hannah gave David one final glance before leaving him with the others and taking off into the darkness, heading for the trails that were illuminated by the dim lamp posts.

“Jeez Dad, you know you can’t do that! We can’t talk to you when other people are around.”

He had followed them to the trails and spoke as they walked. “Really now, you can bury a body … or two, with him, but you can’t talk to your dead father with him around. Oh the irony.”

“Seriously, Dad!” Lucy scolded him. “It’s hard enough doing what we’re doing out there.”

He stopped, as did Lucy and Hannah, and narrowed his eye brows. “Speaking of which, why don’t you go ahead and explain all that to me and then you can tell me why that other Reaper is out there helping you dig the goddamn holes.”

Hannah and Lucy took turns telling him the whole story, all the way back to when Hannah killed the Reaper at the rodeo grounds. There was no avoiding it, and really no reason not to tell him now. She had to go to trial, but things were looking in her favor so far.

Even though he wasn’t technically breathing, when they finished, he appeared to draw in a long breath and then released it. “Okay. All right. Wow girls, this is one hell of a shit storm you all got yourselves into here.”

“We know,” Lucy agreed. “But, we’ve taken care of it and things are going to be fine now.”

Greg Sr. nodded and then shot a glance back to where the rest of his children were busy digging holes for dead delivery boys. “I think you need to tell David about you.” He directed the statement to Hannah.

“But, wha … you mean about the family business?”

He nodded. “Yes, if he loves you, he needs to love everything about you and that means he will understand this part of you, as well as the rest.”

“Dad, I don’t know if I can tell him.”

“You can, and you will. It’s best to do it now before you two become anymore invested than you already are.”

Hannah was reeling from the topic change. Her father seemed to take the whole ‘murder a Reaper, go to jail, get out of jail, kill two more guys,’ thing pretty well. Now all he cared about was if she told David she was a Keeper. “Dad …”

“Tell him, tonight.”

She nodded. “Okay, but he’s going to think I’m crazy.”

“You are, and that’s all right. I’m going to be there with you when you tell him, so will everyone else.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “We better go up to the house and grab all the booze. I have a feeling everyone is going to need it when this goes down.”

“I agree,” Hannah told her. “We’ll meet you back up there, Dad.” With that, they headed down the trails and across the expanse of lawn, into the yellow farmhouse.

“Dad is nuts,” Hannah claimed as she filled a cloth sack with beer.

Lucy shrugged and opened the cabinet. “So, we all are.” She reached up and grabbed the whiskey off the shelf. “I agree with him. David needs to know. We can’t keep this from him forever, not with everything going on.”

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want to do this right now. Right when things are good between us.” She closed the sack and put it over her shoulder.

Lucy stared at her, whiskey in hand. “You honestly think going to jail and saving your boyfriend from murdering gangsters is considered ‘when things are good?’”

Hannah shook her head, annoyed, not amused. “You know what I mean.”

Without much else to say, they left the house. On the way back to the group, Hannah practiced what she wanted to say to David in her head. She didn’t want him to think she was a nut case, but really, telling your boyfriend you see ghosts was grounds for a break up. Telling him that he was with two guys in the group that could suck his soul from his body was in the ball park of admitting her to a mental institution.

This was so not going to go well.

If both her father and Lucy thought she should tell him, the rest of the family would probably agree as well. And they would be right. If David was going to be with her, that made him part of the family and they couldn’t hide this part of their lives from him.

They approached and Hannah took a moment to admire the glittering silver, red and blue that shimmered around the graves they were digging. The auras and the souls, all so easy to see in the darkness.

She noticed that her father wasn’t the only soul who had joined the group. Scattered about, many of the souls had come to see what was going on in their little corner. She smiled, knowing that they got bored with nowhere else to go. Most souls were connected to their physical bodies and unable to go much further than where that body was found. So, they were basically stuck in the graveyard and the only action they usually got was a funeral.

“Hey, the beer is here!” Jack let his shovel fall heavily to the ground and hurried over to take the clanking sack of bottles from Hannah. “Thanks.”

She smiled. “No problem.”

He tilted his head as he extracted a beer from the bag. “You want one?”

He knew, she thought. They all knew what was about to happen.

“No.” She shook her head. “But, I am going to take a swig off that whiskey bottle.” Lucy winked and handed her the bottle, which she immediately uncapped and tilted back. The liquid burned her throat and stomach, but she didn’t care. It would help in the long run.

Jack pushed a beer into David’s hands. “Dude, you’re gonna need this, and sit down for a few.”

David accepted the beer, but looked to Hannah, searching her face for answers. “Why am I going to need this? Hannah … what’s going on?”

She shook her head and took one more swig before answering. “Just go sit down like he said.” She waved dismissively at the van.

She worriedly gazed at the bruised and swollen face of her lover, and hoped that he would stay with her after he heard everything about her.

“All right.” Hannah stood in front of David and inhaled deeply. “First things first. Do you love me?”

David’s eyes flicked back and forth between Hannah and the rest of the group, who stood around her like they were about to hear an exciting campfire story. “Yes. I always have and always will.” He answered calmly and then countered with, “Do you love me?”

She nodded. “Very much, which is why I’m about to tell you what I really am.”

His expression changed from nervous to confused. “What you really are?”

“Don’t worry, not like an alien or anything.” She paused and then decided it best to outright say it and then deal with the details later. “I’m what is called a Keeper. My whole family is. We protect the souls of the recently passed from the soul eating Reapers, until they can cross over.”

Hannah sucked in her breath and waited for it. “Uh …” David’s eyes grew wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me. I protect souls.”

“Like, ghosts?”

She nodded. “Yes, like ghosts.”

“From Reapers … who eat souls?”

“Yes.”

She could feel it. This wasn’t going in a good direction at all.

“And all of you are Keepers?”

Hannah shook her head. “The Estmonds are and so is Ethan, but Jack and Aiden are not.”

“We are Reapers,” Jack added and Hannah shot him a glare. “What?” He shrugged. “He may as well know it all if you’re telling him anyway.”

David began to look as if he wanted to get up and slowly back away. “I … um, I thought you were enemies with the … uh, oh for fucks sake, with the Reapers.”

“We are, but Jack is a special case and we just acquired Aiden in the mix. That is a story for another day. All you have to know is that they are good guys.”

“Okay. I need to back up for a minute. Can you all see ghosts?”

Hannah nodded. “We see souls, yes.”

He opened the beer Jack had given him and chugged half of it down. “I am having a hard time with this. I am a detective. I go on facts, so I can’t believe what I don’t see.”

Hannah knew this part was coming, so she approached him and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands within hers. “I understand. We have dealt with this our entire lives. But, you can see them too, if you try hard enough.”

He stared into her eyes and she saw disbelief layered with concern. “I can’t see ghosts, Hannah.”

“You’ve heard stories about how children are more susceptible to seeing spirits haven’t you?” He nodded and she continued, “Do you know why that is?” This time he shook his head and she answered, “It’s because they haven’t learned not to believe. Their minds are open, young, and haven’t been bogged down with reality just yet.”

“I don’t understand,” he told her and she nodded. As she continued to stare into his eyes, she knew that he was truly trying to understand her, he wanted to believe her, yet reality and the world had burned disbelief into his brain. “Are there ghosts here right now?”

She glanced over and met her father’s transparent gaze. She looked beyond him and saw the glittering blue mist of the other souls gathered around the tombstones, wove in and out of the trees and a few solidified into their physical form, like her father could. “Yes, there are lots of souls with us.”

“I can’t see them, or feel them, or anything.”

She squeezed his hands and locked eyes with him again. “I want you to try. Close your eyes. Clear your mind and feel what is around you.”

He followed her instructions without question. Once his eyes were closed, she kept her hands woven into his and whispered, “Feel the air, the energy … there are lots of souls here right now, I want you to open your mind to them and to the unknown.”

After a couple of minutes, David slowly opened his swollen eye lids and peered over Hannah’s shoulder. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s all right. We can’t expect it to happen on the first try. I’m just happy you are trying to accept this instead of shipping me off to a mental institution.”

He smiled and leaned over, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I would never do that. I want to try again.” He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

While he was focusing, Greg Sr. appeared beside him. “David.” He reached out to touch his shoulder. His semi-transparent fingers couldn’t actually make contact and all but disappeared within David’s skin. David shivered in response. “I know you and my daughter are meant to be together. I know you will love her regardless of if this works or not, but hear me … feel me.”

“I feel strange,” David whispered.

Her father moved his face a bit closer. “Hear me … feel the energy of my soul surrounding you.”

And suddenly … David’s eyes shot open. “Your father!” he shouted.

Hannah had never felt such relief as she did in that moment. It crashed over her in a wave of warmth and love. “Yes!”

CHAPTER

26

DAVID

Maybe he died back at the trailer. Or maybe he was in some kind of weird ass coma dream. That would be an answer to what was happening right now.

His eyes were closed and he was doing as Hannah asked, opening his mind to the unknown, to what he had been taught not to believe. The fact that he loved her was only part of why he wanted so much to believe what she was telling him. The other half of it was that he had known her since they were kids, and even then there were a few things that were off about the whole family. Not to mention they lived adjacent to a graveyard. That had always creeped him out.

Now, here he was, sitting in that very same graveyard in the back of Liv’s van, trying to open his mind and see some ghosts.

He claimed that he had to see to believe and in a sense that was true. But in reality, he didn’t discredit the existence of spirits. He had merely come to terms with the fact that he couldn’t see them.

So, with his eyes closed, he tried to clear it out, to think of nothing and no one. He even blocked out Hannah and tried to focus on the energy all around him. On the second try, his body began to tingle and the words ‘feel me, hear me,’ kept rising to the surface of the thoughts he was trying so hard to clear.

And then, suddenly, his mind snapped and he recognized the voice. It was Hannah’s father, Greg Sr. “Hear me … feel the energy of my soul surrounding you.”

His eyes flew open and he turned to stare at Hannah. “Your father!”

“Yes!” Her eyes widened and filled with love as she grasped his hand even tighter.

And then it all came into focus. Little shimmers of misty blue formed in front of him, Hannah herself had a silver glow floating around her. What in the world was happening? He thought as he pulled his hand from Hannah’s and reached out, trying to touch the glittering blue in front of him.

“Don’t think too much,” Hannah told him softly. After a moment, his focus cleared even more and the blue mist took the form of a man, took the form of Hannah’s father. “Mr. Estmond …” His voice barely a whisper.

Hannah’s father smiled, causing the wrinkles on his transparent face to crease and his eyes to light up. “He sees me.”

“I can see you,” David blubbered. “You’re a ghost.”

Mr. Estmond nodded. “I am a soul, stuck here in the graveyard since I can’t cross over yet.”

David shook his head. If he was hallucinating … or dreaming, he wanted to snap out of it right away. Mr. Estmond smiled at his actions. “I’m real, son. Well … sort of.”

Then, he heard Jack’s voice cut through the night. “This is as good as television. I feel like I need some popcorn.”

“Shut up,” Lucy scolded.

He tore his gaze away from the Mr. Estmond and found Jack in the crowd. He had his own aura, only it was a sparkling red mist, floating around him. Aiden had the same. “Reapers,” he whispered to himself, but Hannah nodded acknowledgement of the statement. “Yes. Can you see their aura?”

David nodded.

“Can you see mine?”

“Yes,” he nodded, “It’s beautiful, silver and shimmering, just as I imagine your aura would be.”

Lucy stepped forward and knelt down beside her sister. “There’s more.”

How could there possibly be more to it than this. The love of his life saw ghosts and protected them from soul eating Reapers, except for the Reapers who just so happened to be their friends. “Okay.”

Hannah took a deep breath. “Not everyone who can see the souls can be a Keeper. Keepers are a born race, we are guardians and it is something that is passed down throughout the generations. We have been trained to protect souls since we were born. All of us,” She gestured to her brothers and sisters. “This is our graveyard, our station to guard.

“When our father passed away, we found a trunk in the attic with some heirlooms inside, but we also found the prophecy hidden within.”

David painfully raised his eyebrows. “Prophecy? Like a legend.”

Lucy and Hannah both nodded and Hannah continued. “The legend says that the seventh child, from one of the seven original lines of Keepers, born on the seventh day of the seventh month, is the chosen Keeper who will bring forth an end to the Reapers.” She glanced at Lucy and then added, “And Lucy is the Chosen One.”

David felt like his brain was going to explode from too much information. Good Lord, how had her family been hiding all this for so long?

“The Keepers and the Reapers have been warring for generations. Now, the Reaper society is after the Chosen One, since they too know of the prophecy. Jack’s mother is the Empress of their faction, their leader.”

He closed his eyes, trying to process the information. “Okay, so if you all are enemies, and Jack is the Reaper prince, why is he here?”

“Jack came here to kill Lucy, but when they saw each other …”

“Nothing else mattered, except keeping her safe and making her mine,” Jack finished, for her.

“Jack,” Lucy whispered.

He shrugged. “What? It’s true. If you had told me to go away and never come back, I would have done it, but I would have been miserable for the rest of my life if I didn’t have you with me.”

Hannah smiled and continued. “Anyway, when a Keeper and a Reaper touch, there is a burn. It can be a weapon of sorts, or a hindrance, but Lucy and Jack don’t have the burn. They are meant for each other. Soul mates. Lucy was kidnapped by the Empress and we got her back, but not until after Jack renounced his title and his family for her … for us. That’s why Jack is with us.

“But, there is still the issue of Lucy being the Chosen One. We have to keep her safe until we figure out how she will bring an end to the Reapers and fulfill the prophecy. Until then, we fight the Reapers, chase them away from the souls and try not to kill them in the process.”

Oh, well fucking hell. Everything clicked into place at that moment. “The case … the murder, he was a Reaper, wasn’t he?”

Hannah nodded. “It’s a risk we take. If I hadn’t killed him, he would have taken my soul and killed me in the process.”

“Shit.” He wished he had more words to express exactly how that made him feel. He’d known that Hannah was innocent to begin with, but he had also known that she was holding something back from him and now he knew why.”

“You understand why I lied about that now, right?” she asked him in a soft voice.

He nodded. “Of course I do. I understand why you never said anything to me about any of this.” He glanced at Mr. Estmond, who grinned at back at him. “It’s not something you can just spring on someone.”

“Exactly.” She paused and then tilted her head, her hood hiding her hair and shadowing her eyes. “Do you still love me like you did before we started this conversation?”

What the hell? Was that even a question? He leaned forward and took her chin between his fingers. “I love you the same, if not even more. You are a brave, warrior woman who protects the souls from evil.” He grinned. “I guess you’re not the only one who has a thing for protectors and guardians.” With that, he leaned in and found her lips.

She eagerly responded, kissing him back with fervor. God, he loved her so much. He practically dragged her into his lap trying to get closer to her.

“Holy shit, man, her dad is right there!” Jack hollered. Hannah waved the Reaper away and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jack shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Forget it. Come on you guys, we have to get these holes dug even faster now.”

After the group went back to the task at hand he pulled out of the kiss and looked deep into her eyes. She lifted her hand, bringing her fingertips to his cheekbone. “I still think you should go to the hospital.”

“I’m fine. You can stitch me up if I need it.”

“How will you explain it at work?”

“I don’t know yet.” He would figure that part out when the time came. Right now, they had enough crap to deal with. They needed to seal this deal with the bodies, get Hannah cleared and get life a little bit back to normal.

“I was afraid you would leave me again when I told you the truth.”

He pulled her tight again. “I am never going to leave you again. I’m so sorry, for all the pain I caused you over the years.”

Even though he saw sadness in her eyes when she thought of it, she leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. “It’s over now. I know I said we can’t just forget what happened in the past and start over. But, I think we can. It’s gone. It’s in the past and now and you know the truth about me, so now we have no lies between us.”

“I am yours forever, Hannah.”

She grinned. “There was never anyone else for me anyway.”

He leaned back with her in his lap and stared out at the shimmering variety of colors. The silver of Keepers, red of the Reapers, and the glittering blue souls. Some of the souls weren’t solid like her father was. They were like ribbons of mist, weaving among the tree limbs and tombstones. “It’s so beautiful. Will I always see them now?”

Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. It’s hard to say.

“I hope I do. It’s amazing.”

She laughed and leaned back into him. “It’s not always this amazing, but I think it’s great that you want to.”

“Hey, love birds,” Dan called from one of the holes. “Get your asses over here and help us!”

“Looks like we better get to work.” Hannah slid off of his lap and held out her hand. “Come on.”

CHAPTER

27

AIDEN

Just before sunrise, they all trudged back to the Estmond house covered in soft wet earth from the graveyard. Aiden had never felt so out of place as he did once they entered the yellow farm house and fell, exhausted, onto whatever furniture they came across first.

The bodies were buried and would hopefully be forgotten by the world. At least that was one thing off his plate for the time being. Not that it took care of his problems by any means. His problems were actually just beginning. Somehow he had gotten himself in deep with these Keepers and he wasn’t exactly sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

He was going to come forward as a witness for Hannah, and he didn’t know why the hell he had agreed to do that in the first place.

For Jack, that was why, and for himself. This was the beginning of his new life and part of that life was making sacrifices for other people, and his sacrifice for the day had been killing two would-be murderers to save a cop.

No big deal.

“Hey man,” Dan opened the fridge, “we’re out of beer, but we have soda if you want one.”

“Nah,” Aiden shook his head, “I’ll just have water.”

“Here.” Dan pulled out four waters and set them on the table while he went back in for more.”

Greg, the oldest brother, had taken a seat at the table and gestured for him to sit as well. “Grab a chair, we have to talk.”

Lucy groaned. “Greg, can we do this in the morning? I’m so tired.”

“We all are Luce, but we need to make sure we have all this taken care of.”

Aiden pulled out a chair across from Greg and balanced his large frame into it. “Look. I know you’re worried. She already gave me the third degree earlier.” He motioned toward Hannah.

“Oh, it’s not a matter of you proving to us that you’re on our side.” Greg paused. “No, that’s a lie, maybe it is. We know what you did today was an ultimate act of selflessness and, as per the deal, we owe you protection from the Empress.”

Aiden shook his head. “You only owe me protection after I come forward as witness for Hannah.”

“Well, it may as well be now,” Greg countered, “if you are going to do it anyway.”

Aiden took a deep breath, hoping they believed what he was about to spring on them. “I am going to do this for her, you can trust me, but I can’t stay here. I may need help later, but until then I think it’s best if you don’t have me under your roof.”

James leaned on the counter next to his twin. “Or near a graveyard full of innocent souls.”

“That too,” Aiden agreed. “I just don’t think anyone would be very comfortable with this right now.”

Dan leaned on the table. “Honestly, dude, I’m more worried about you not staying here, but pretending to be our friend and going back to the Empress with every little tid bit of information. You not staying here is the perfect set up to be a spy.”

“I’m already a spy for you,” he told them. “I should keep up that pretense until she figures all this out.”

“Okay … okay.” Jack held his hands up “Hold up. So, I think what Aiden is trying to say is that he is going to be a double agent. Working from both sides … you know?”

Greg drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. It seems too risky.”

Aiden sighed. He just wanted to go back to the Napa compound and fall into bed. “It’s always going to be risky. Listen, you’re just going to have to trust me.”

“Says the guy who knocked me out and kidnapped my sister.”

“No, says the guy who just killed two guys for your cop friend. Says the guy who is really fucking tired and needs a good night’s sleep before he goes and lies to the authorities about witnessing a murder committed by your other sister. You are just going to have to go with this all right?”

Liv moved over to stand beside Aiden. “Trust is earned. Both sides are hesitant to trust the other and you know what, maybe one of us gets fucked over, but we have no other choices right now.” She threw her hands up. “If he’s lying and he goes to the Empress than we deal with it and we fight when it comes time to fight. If that’s the case we will take him down then. Until then, we will all have to earn each other’s trust.”

Aiden didn’t know if Liv was sticking up for him or not, but what she said was true. He switched his gaze from Greg over to Jack and Lucy. “She’s right. We are going to have to work this through over time.”

“So you don’t want to stay here?” Lucy asked.

He couldn’t, not yet. “I don’t think it’s a good idea yet.”

“We understand,” she assured him as Jack reached over and took her hand in his. Boy, it still blew his mind to see Jack so taken by a woman. The guy had never cared that much about anything his entire life. That was probably one of the reasons the two of them had gotten along so well.

“Look,” Aiden leaned back in the chair and ran his fingers through is hair, “I’m not usually a sentimental guy, but I feel it’s worth mentioning while everyone is in one room that I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be, a good guy. But when I took Lucy, I didn’t know the extent of crazy the Empress had gone.

I have done a lot of shit in my time and I’m not going to apologize for any of it now, it was how I lived, how I was brought up and I won’t be sorry for my life. However, I can admit when I’ve done something wrong … and I was wrong for taking Lucy to the Empress.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Among other things. That’s over now.”

“Yes, it is. In any case, I’ll stay here tonight, but after talking with the lawyer and the police tomorrow, I’m going back to Napa.”

Greg yawned and then stretched his arms wide. “All right, if that’s what you want. I don’t think I need to give you the whole ‘if you fuck us over speech’ … or do I?”

“Nope, I’m good.”

Dan pushed away from the table and rubbed his eyes. “I’m going to sleep on the couch. I don’t think I can go any further than that anyway.” He rose from the table and gave the room a wave. “Night y’all.” He stripped off his shirt as he pushed open the door leading into the living room.

“Don’t get dirt all over the couch, Dan!” Lucy shouted as the door swung shut behind her brother.

“Fuck off,” he yelled back.

Aiden liked the way this family interacted. He admired their loyalty and the love that came along with that. He smiled to himself as he lay out a blanket on the floor and then practically fell down on top of it as exhaustion finally began to take over his body.

He could get used to being around these people. Maybe this lifestyle change wouldn’t be so bad after all.

CHAPTER

28

DAVID

One Month Later

Beep, beep, beep.

“Turn that thing off,” Hannah mumbled into his shoulder.

He pushed the covers off and leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, I have to get up for work. Go back to sleep.”

She rolled over and mumbled, “Love you,” as she turned away.

Every day he went through the same dilemma, and had to force himself out of bed instead of wrapping his arms around her and snuggling in close, which almost always led to more. Nope, today there was no time for that.

After a quick shower, he quietly slipped back into the bedroom and donned his Summer Hollow Police Department uniform. Yeah, he caved to love and wanted to be as close to Hannah as he could, which meant moving in with her and taking the job the sheriff had offered him.

He enjoyed the small-town cop job more than he thought he would. Sure, it had its downsides, but what job didn’t. He worked alongside Sheriff Davis, who had been more than happy to sign him on. Mrs. Davis, was just as ecstatic as her husband, probably more so, and honestly, he was glad to be back in their lives. He’d missed Darcy something fierce, the way a son should miss his mother.

The Estmond family had forgiven him, even Dan, who had been the hardest to crack. The family claimed he was one of them now. He was a guardian in his own right. Though, in his mind it was hard to agree with them when he had needed saving. He was supposed to be the one who did the rescuing.

He buttoned up his shirt and stared down at Hannah. Her dark red hair fanned across the pillow behind her and her bare shoulder peeked out from underneath the blankets, exposing her Jedi tattoo. She was his Jedi Knight, trained from birth to protect the innocent from evil.

The trial had just ended, but she wasn’t scheduled to go back to work just yet. The hospital had to do their own judging to decide if they wanted to continue to employ her. Regardless of the reasons, she had performed an autopsy on a man she had killed. It was ethically wrong for her to do so and the board would be making the final decision whether she stayed on or not.

He felt bad for her. She had been cleared of the murder charges and self-defense was the final verdict, as expected. Aiden’s coming forward to witness did help win the case. But, her job was what she loved, what she had spent so many years going to school for. She had a duty to protect the souls, and being a medical examiner was her way of doing it.

Things weren’t looking good at the hospital either. They were probably going to give her the boot. If they did, it wasn’t like her profession was the kind where one could just go out and find another position. So, it would be difficult for her to find another job. Not to mention that the other hospitals wouldn’t want to hire a medical examiner with any kind of a record.

So, reasonably, she was in a bit of a depression. She spent her days over at the Estmond house, wandering the cemetery and trying to figure out what she was going to do with all the schooling and degrees she had if no one would hire her.

This was his new life … and he loved it.

He was more than happy to wipe out the old and bring in the new. But, there were a few things he had to take care of before the old was eradicated.

The new was amazing though. He didn’t always see the souls, or the auras of the Keepers and Reapers, only when he concentrated on it. When he cleared his mind and let the weight of the world go.

“Love you.” He planted a kiss on Hannah’s cheek and crept out of the room.

The police station in Summer Hollow was basically a tiny office space on the main strip in town. It was small, not what he was used to at all. The position with the SHPD was basically a demotion, but it was one he was glad to take. He was officially a deputy again, but he hadn’t been stripped of his detective credentials. It pretty much boiled down to the fact that he had to wear the uniform instead of a suit.

He drew the line with his car though. Sheriff Davis insisted he drive a patrol car, but David didn’t want to give up his Chevelle, so the car ended up being the deal breaker and he was allowed to drive his car as long as he used a bubble light.

His feelings about everything surprised him. It was as if everything faded away as soon as he realized that he could actually have Hannah back in his life. Everything he had worked so hard for had become meaningless and she was all that mattered. Losing her was something he could only do once. Now he had a second chance and he couldn’t mess it up again … no, he wouldn’t mess it up again.

So, here he was, back where it had all begun.

“Hey, David,” Sheriff Davis greeted him when he strode into the office. “How are ya this morning?”

“Not bad.” David smiled and strode toward his desk. “Hannah is still trying to cope with everything, but she’ll get through this.”

The older man nodded and thoughtfully leaned back in his chair. “It’s a damn shame all this is happening to her. I wish I could do something to help.”

David sat down in his office chair and rolled toward his desk. “Nah, there isn’t much that could be done anyway. She is going to have to pull through this and figure something else out.”

“Well, at least you’re here for her.”

With a deliberate nod of agreement, David got to work with the paperwork on his desk.

After the day was done, he slid behind the wheel of the Chevelle and found himself heading up to The Springs. After the incident with Marcus and Aaron, he started gutting the house, getting ready for some actual remodeling, since that was the story they had gone with regarding the equipment they used to demolish the ugly ass carpet.

He roared up the driveway and came to a rumbling stop in front of the house.

What a fucking disaster the place was. Absolutely nothing good ever happened in that house. His parents, his childhood, and then almost getting killed in there. The trailer was goddamn magnet for disaster.

He cut the engine and stepped out into the warm sunshine. Even though it was October, the temperatures remained comfortable in the eighties. He rounded the car and leaned against the hood so he could stare at the house. Shading his eyes against the evening sun, he took in the dilapidated trailer and wondered for the thousandth time if he should break down and sell it.

That was the thought he was still bouncing around when he heard another vehicle pulling up behind him. He knew by the smooth sound of the engine that it was Hannah, coming to check on him since he didn’t come home right after work.

Turning, he smiled and waved, genuinely happy that she had come searching for him.

CHAPTER

29

HANNAH

There he was, sitting on his car, staring at that house again.

If she could have it her way, she would take a wrecking ball to the damn house. David was always there, dwelling on his past. As long as he kept doing this, he was never going to have any closure.

She parked her car next to his and threw open the door. “Hey,” she called out. “I’ve been calling.”

“Oh.” He looked surprised and pulled his phone out of the pocket of his uniform pants. “It’s on silent. I’m sorry, I haven’t checked it for a while.”

She smiled. “Apparently. Well, it’s no big deal. This gave me an excuse to get out of the house.”

David chuckled, “You can’t fool me. You’re always out of the house, roaming the graveyard and hanging out with the souls.”

It was true, without anything else to do she had been spending a lot of time on patrol in the cemetery. It was her true calling to watch over the souls, so that is what she did. But, walking around all day left her a lot of time to think and she couldn’t come up with a damn thing she could do for work if she wasn’t allowed to be a medical examiner anymore.

That was shitty.

There were ton of shitty things that had happened in the last couple of months, but in the end, she was happy. Happy she wasn’t in jail and even happier that she and David were able to give their relationship a real chance.

He had left the position in Lakeport so he could work in Summer Hollow and be close to her. She offered for him to stay with her, mostly because she didn’t want to be away from him. They had been away from each other for so long … she couldn’t bear to be away from him for any longer than needed.

“That’s true.” She nodded, sliding up next to him on the hood of the Chevelle. “You know what I mean though.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She felt his arm slide around her waist and pull her a little bit closer to him. For a while, neither of them spoke. The two sat there in silence, enjoying the peaceful sound of running water from the creek. Breathing in deep, Hannah leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The overgrown vegetation surrounding the property always smelled so fresh and clean, that was one of the things she loved most about The Springs.

“Let’s burn it down,” she whispered, as if there were others around who could hear.

He shook his head. “Nah, it’s too risky. I mean, if I thought we could get away with it, I would totally burn this shit hole to the ground. But, with the neighbors and the dry California weather, it’s not a good idea … besides, we would never get away with it and that’s the last thing you need after the trial.”

“Dammit.” She only wanted to help and this was a problem that was not exactly easy to fix. She moved her gaze across the property, searching for something as an idea tickled at her brain. “Come on.” She spotted what she needed and grabbed his hand, pulling him up after her.

“Where are we going?”

“Not far.” She kept her grip on his hand until they approached a huge pile of scrap they had pulled from inside the house. She plucked a long metal rod from the heap of trash and turned to David, offering it to him. “If we can’t get rid of this place, then beat the shit out of it. Beat down the memories from the past that haunts you.”

He extended his arms, accepting the piece of garbage as a warrior would accept a sword, though his eyes were on her when she placed it in his hands. “That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.” The sarcasm and humor was clear in his voice, but his eyes portrayed his feelings behind her gesture.

She was one of the only ones who really knew how fucked up this place was. She understood the reality of what could have happened to him, what kind of person he could have grown up to be. Most kids with parents like his grew up to be just like them, but David was stronger than his parents and fought his way out of that life.

“We’re remodeling the trailer David. We’re gonna need new windows and doors and whatever else needs replaced. The glass doors are already broken anyway, so have at it.”

And he did. She followed him into the house and watched as he lifted the metal and took the first swing. His target was a hideous old lamp. The base shattered on impact, sending shards of glass in every direction.

He plucked his sunglasses from where they were hanging on his pocket and put them on for safety and then went for shelves full of nick knacks. The metal rod sailed through the air, then swept over the shelf, connecting with little glass trinkets of all different sizes and shapes, either breaking them or causing them to fly across the room.

Hannah watched him, smiling and hoping to God that this fucked up therapy made him feel better. It wouldn’t change the past, but it would help him vent some of the hostility and anger he had built up inside.

When he was done, several shelves and windows later, he tossed the bar back onto the scrap pile and jogged toward her. She gasped when he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off of her feet. He pulled her close and found her lips, kissing her with a raw passion she had only felt on that first night they’d spent together since he’d been back in town.

When he pulled away, she was breathless. “Are you all right?” she mumbled, leaning in to nuzzle his neck.

“I’m more than all right. Everything is perfect … absolutely perfect.”

And that’s what scares me, she thought, returning his embrace. Nothing good ever seemed to last very long. But, she would take it while she had it and go day by day.

As if sensing her thoughts, David pulled back and locked gazes with her. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay now.”

She nodded. “I know, and I couldn’t ask for anything more right now.” She stood on her tiptoes, stretching herself up for another kiss. He spun her and walked her backward until she felt the cool metal of the Chevelle beneath her.

He lay her back against the hood. Her legs snaked around him, pulling him closer to her. He took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together and held them above her head so that she was basically pinned beneath him.

Heat flashed through her body and her hips rolled upward, grazing his cock, which she could feel through his pants was already rock hard. She groaned against his lips. “I want you,” she murmured, “Right here. Right now.”

David didn’t need any further go ahead than that. He stood up and began to unbutton his pants, and struggled to be careful with the buttons on his uniform shirt as he hurried to be rid of it.

Meanwhile, Hannah was tearing at her own jeans, trying to get the damn things off. She didn’t even bother with her shirt. She wanted him so badly, she couldn’t wait. The minute his clothes were off and he stood before her, naked and erect, she sat up and took him into her mouth.

A moan of surprise and pure pleasure erupted from between his lips. She reached around and gripped his ass with both hands, bringing him deeper into her throat. “Holy shit, Hannah.” He involuntarily thrust forward.

As her lips and tongue teased up and down his shaft, she felt herself growing slick and wet with want. She moaned hungrily against his cock, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before it was inside of her.

Apparently unable to wait any longer, David gently pushed her back so that he was released from her lips. He reached down and found her hot, wet and ready for him. “Now,” she growled at him. “Take me, now.”

No further invitation needed. He gently pushed into her and she could tell he was restraining himself. “Don’t,” she told him, making sure to look him in the eye. “Don’t hold back. I can take it.”

And she did. He appeared to let go of anything that was holding him back and slammed himself into her. He raised her legs up over his shoulders, bending them forward so that he was so deep inside of her he was touching places she didn’t know existed.

Her cries of passion and pleasure echoed through the trees and she didn’t care at all that anyone could appear in the yard to interrupt them at any moment. All she cared about was David.

Her orgasm built within her and his cock grew even harder inside her as he approached his own. Then, suddenly, it washed over her. She arched her back and bit her lip to keep from screaming. She had never, ever felt anything like the white, hot, flaming pleasure that she felt at that moment.

He came with her, his head jerking backward as he released himself within her. “Oh my God,” he groaned, and then fell against her.

She didn’t care that he was crushing her because she could barely move herself anyway. She simply lay there, smiling inside and out, happier than she had ever been in her entire life.

It was several moments before either of them could bring themselves to move, but eventually she pushed him off of her and untangled herself from his limbs. “We should get going,” she told him.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He stood and searched the ground for his clothes.

Hannah smiled as she slid her jeans on, “Your uniform is covered in dirt now.”

He rolled his eyes, pulling his pants on at the same time. “I don’t care about that. It was worth it.”

Hannah couldn’t stop smiling. Even as they both got into their cars and drove away from the trailer, she knew that everything she had been through with the murder of the Reaper was worth it. It was worth it because it was what brought David back into her life.

Perhaps they would have crossed paths again, but the reality of it was there. Everything happens for a reason, she was sure of that now.

About half way to Summer Hollow, her phone beeped with a text message. Against better judgment, she reached over and swiped her phone and then tapped the message box. It was from Lucy.

Aiden called. Reapers are coming to town. Lots of Reapers. Meet at house, ASAP.

Oh shit. Just when things were starting to settle a bit. She should have known better though. This whole thing with Lucy being the Chosen One and the prophecy was far from over. The foreseeable future was going to be wrought with Reapers until they could figure out exactly how Lucy would bring forth an end to the soul sucking bastards.

Except, Lucy hadn’t said anything yet, but Hannah had seen the signs and knew Lucy’s secret. Perhaps it wasn’t Lucy who would be bringing an end to the Reapers. Maybe it would be Jack and Lucy’s child who would have the ability to do so.

She quickly checked the message again to make sure that David had been added in the group message. Seeing that he was, she pushed on the gas pedal and sped forward, headed for the next adventure of the Estmond Keepers.

THE END

About the Author

Jennifer Malone Wright is best known for her short story series, The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter. Other works include the follow up to The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter series called The Arcadia Falls Chronicles and her vampire novel called Savior. Jennifer also co-authors a series called Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse.

She resides in the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho with her husband and five children where she practices preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Just kidding!

But seriously, between the craziness of taking care of her children, Jennifer has little time left for herself. The time she does have left, usually leading far into the night, is spent working on her beloved fiction or chatting with her equally crazy friends.

Jennifer also loves coffee, has a passionate affair with red bull, wishes the sushi were better where she lives and dances while she cleans.

Please visit Jennifer’s website at
www.jenniferwrightauthor.com

Follow Jennifer on Twitter

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Find Jennifer on Goodreads

Other Books by Jennifer Malone Wright

Savior (A Higher Collective Novel)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse – Jade (Always free)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse: Episode 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 1 (Always free)

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 3

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 4

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 5

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 6

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: The Complete Collection

(All six parts a total of 72,000 words)

The Arcadia Falls Chronicles is The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter story continued

Love & War (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 1)

Taking Talon (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 2)

Vampire Apocalypse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 3)

Blood Warrior (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 4)

Winds of Fire (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 5)

Beary Tales (Co written with Willow Cross and KB Miller)

Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians 1)

Table of Contents

- Chapter 1- Hannah
- Chapter 2 – David
- Chapter 3 – Hannah
- Chapter 4 – David
- Chapter 5 – Hannah
- Chapter 6 – David
- Chapter 7 – Aiden
- Chapter 8 – Hannah
- Chapter 9 – David
- Chapter 10 – Hannah
- Chapter 11 – David
- Chapter 12 – Aiden
- Chapter 13 – Hannah
- Chapter 14 – David
- Chapter 15 – Hannah
- Chapter 16 – Aiden
- Chapter 17 – David
- Chapter 18 – Hannah
- Chapter 19 – Aiden
- Chapter 20 – David
- Chapter 21 – Hannah
- Chapter 22 – David
- Chapter 23 – Hannah
- Chapter 24 – David
- Chapter 25 – Hannah
- Chapter 26 – David
- Chapter 27 – Aiden
- Chapter 28 – David
- Chapter 29 – Hannah
- About the Author
- Other Books By Jennifer Malone Wright