Chapter 22
LEE
Silver is asleep on the couch with her head in my lap when Justus and Landon return.
We discuss things in hushed voices, making plans to check over the area tomorrow for blood or any other evidence that might’ve been left behind.
Landon takes one look at the phone and says it’s beyond any kind of recovery which isn’t a surprise.
We hold off on the plan to visit Joshua Haney until we learn more about what Matthew Wynne has been up to.
It may not be necessary if no one else is involved.
Like it or not, I’m going to have to reach back out to Gerry Nolan and see if he knows if Matthew followed in his big brother’s footsteps.
If he was involved with the Jackals or another trafficking group who might miss him, Gerry will know.
It’s after four in the morning when Landon heads back to the cabin and Justus goes to bed. I pick Silver up and carry her back to my bed.
She gives me a sleepy smile and lays her head on my chest. “Always carrying me around.” I wrap my arm around her, and run my hand up and down her back, listening to her steady breathing. Despite my roiling thoughts, sleep takes over quickly.
When I wake, the threads of a nightmare are slowly dissolving. I can’t remember much, just blood. A lot of blood. My bed is empty, but I can hear the murmur of Silver and Justus’s voices from the kitchen.
For a second, I just lie there, replaying the events of yesterday in my head.
I’m worried about Silver, about how she’ll cope with a second near death experience.
I’m afraid of how she might feel today about the fact that I killed someone last night.
Sure, she knew it wasn’t the first time, and she didn’t hesitate to climb back into my arms. Still, knowing I’d killed before and seeing me bathed in the guy’s blood are two different things.
Before I leave my room, I send a text to Gerry Nolan saying that I need to talk to him.
Silver’s laughter rings out from the kitchen. Fucking Justus, always charming women. He hasn’t changed a bit. If I didn’t know how devoted he was to Sadie, I might be tempted to kick his ass.
Silver sits at the table with a plate of pancakes in front of her while Justus stands at the stove. “There’s sleeping beauty. I thought I was going to have to kiss you to wake you up,” he announces, holding up a spatula. “How many pancakes do you want?”
“Stop fantasizing about kissing me.”
“Fine, I’ll only imagine blowing you from now on.”
“Fuck off,” I snort.
Silver grins up at me. “Did you sleep good?”
“Like a rock.” I grab a fork and steal a bite of her pancakes, then turn to Justus. “Give me three. How’s your head?”
“I’ve never had any complaints, but I was just kidding about a blow job, dude.”
Silver’s laughter is so good to hear. We don’t talk about anything that happened as we eat breakfast. It’s amazing how normal things can feel not even twelve hours after chopping a man through the heart.
Gerry calls me after we finish eating and tells me he’ll get back to me once he checks his lists to see if Matthew’s name comes up anywhere. The temperature has dropped and it’s pouring ice cold rain outside as I leave Silver with Justus to finish cleaning up after last night.
The gravesite is a muddy patch of dark earth, but it isn’t the only bare spot.
Even if someone was walking back here, it wouldn’t stand out.
The place where he bled out is under about half an inch of water that’s flowing from the path back into the forest. I’m sure it’d glow if it was hit with a blacklight but there’s no visible signs of blood.
I’ll check again when everything has dried out, but I think it’ll be fine.
I sprayed off my ax last night, but I clean it more thoroughly and put it away before heading back inside.
Justus leaves to take Landon something to eat, and I’m glad to be alone with Silver.
She can’t seem to settle on what she wants to do.
I’ve watched her pick up her book multiple times, scroll through her phone briefly, toss it aside, and search streaming services for something to watch, never choosing anything.
“Hey.” I catch her as she walks past me, wrapping my hands around her waist. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“Silver.” I run my hand through her hair, looking into her eyes. “You could’ve died. For the second time in a matter of months. You don’t have to be fine.”
She nods, moving closer to hug me and lay her head on my shoulder. “It was terrifying in the moment, but it happened so fast. I’m not really dwelling on that right now.”
“You’re restless,” I reply rubbing her back.
“I am.” She pulls back to look at me. “It feels like I’m waiting for so much and I don’t know what to do with myself in the meantime.
Waiting to get the insurance payment, waiting to hear from the realtor I called, waiting to see if that psycho was working alone and if this is really over.
I’m going to go back to work tomorrow. Sitting around just makes it worse. ”
“Do you want to go for a drive or something?”
She considers it for a moment. “My house isn’t a crime scene anymore. Do you want to take me to get a couple of things from my porch? The rain has let up.”
“Let’s go.”
The rain has stopped and thin sunlight cuts through the clouds when we park in front of Silver’s house.
She hops out of the truck, takes down the yellow tape the authorities put up, and stuffs it into her outdoor trash can.
A sign on the door warns the house is condemned and unsafe for entry.
Considering most of the roof is lying inside, it’s not a warning most would need. Nobody’s going to be squatting here.
Someone calls Silver’s name in a piercing voice, and a woman from a house across the street comes striding over. “I was hoping to catch you if you came back. I’m so sorry about your house. How are you doing?”
“Hi, Blanche, I’m alright. Insurance fought me a little over it but that’s straightened out now.”
“Oh, I’m glad to hear it.” The whole street can hear her. She’s loud and her voice is as shrill as a siren. “Are you going to rebuild?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ll be looking to sell soon.”
The human teakettle’s eyes brighten. “My son and daughter-in-law have been looking for a place to put a manufactured house. I’d love to have them right next door.”
“It’ll be after the holidays before I can get an appraisal and everything. Whoever buys it will have to clear it because I don’t intend to do that first.”
“My cousin co-owns a demolition company. I’m sure he could do it cheap. It’s perfect for them!”
Silver looks pleased. “Why don’t you give me your phone number, and I’ll call you when I know what I’ll be asking for it?”
The woman happily trades numbers with Silver. After she walks away, Silver glances up at me. “That could be lucky.”
“Sounds like it. Do you think her son is that loud? The neighborhood will hate you.”
She grins and starts toward the porch. “Well, I’ll be long gone.”
“Someone named her right. I blanched every time she talked.”
Silver laughs and takes down a set of wind chimes.
She hands them to me to carry while she picks up a ceramic cat that lies on its side next to her door.
She flips it over and I can see tape residue in two dark streaks across the bottom.
“Guess I don’t need the key back,” she chuckles.
“You can throw it out. Or did you leave it inside?”
The night of the fire, her text said that her key was under the cat, but I didn’t use it. “I don’t have it. I didn’t need it. The door was unlocked.”
“What?” She stares at me. “I never leave my door unlocked. That’s why I made sure the key was out.”
“I didn’t touch it.”
“I can’t believe I was drunk enough to be that stupid. Where is it now then?” She’s not asking me as much as talking aloud.
I glance at the mix of debris that’s scattered around the porch. “It probably got kicked into the mess by the firefighters once the cat was tipped over.”
“Maybe. Weird,” she murmurs.
Justus is out with Landon, and Silver cuddles up with me on the couch to watch TV. Neither of us are paying much attention to it, lost in our own thoughts.
“If I went to my brothers’ house for Christmas, would you want to go with me?” she asks.
As much as I hate to disappoint her, the thought of meeting new people and celebrating with my mind this messed up is too much. I run my hand down her back. “I’m not in a good headspace for that. I’m sorry. You should go. It’ll be good for you to see your family after everything that’s happened.”
She lays her head on my shoulder. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it. Would you go to Lacey’s then?”
“Sure.” Her glance tells me she knows better.
“You’re not a good liar.”
“I don’t really care about the holidays. It’s never been a big deal to me.”
“Me either, but Simon and Sean really want me there.”
My phone rings from the kitchen counter, interrupting us, and I answer it to talk to Gerry.
“I’ve checked all our intel and Matthew Wynne isn’t in any of our lists. He’s not affiliated with the Jackals or any other trafficking outfits. None of the vigilante ones either.”
Relief surges through me. “That’s good to hear.”
He pauses before asking, “Can I assume you’ve solved your problem?”
“I have. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”
“Take care and stay out of trouble. You were smart to get out when you did. This life isn’t made for us old fucks.”
“Come on, you don’t look a day over fifty.”
“Fuck off.”
Silver looks up at me, her eyebrows raised expectantly when I return to the living room. “That was the guy I was waiting for. Matthew Wynne has no connection to any group.”
“It was revenge for his brother,” Silver says in a near whisper.
“Yes. And it’s over.” I send a text to Justus to update him.
“Thank fuck.”
“Landon and Justus are on their way over.”