Elias
The pale light before dawn slipped through the gaps in the blinds, laying long bars of silver across the bedroom floor.
My eyes opened automatically, years of habit dragging me awake before the sun had even considered rising.
Normally, my hand would've reached for the Glock on the nightstand before I remembered where I was.
It didn't.
Instead, it rested against the warm curve of Seraphina's waist.
She was tangled around me as though she'd spent her entire life sleeping there. One leg draped lazily over mine beneath the blankets, one hand fisted into the fabric of my shirt over my ribs. Her face was buried against my throat, her slow breaths ghosting across my skin with every quiet exhale.
I stayed perfectly still. Crime scenes taught you to notice details before emotions.
It was instinct. The freckles dusted across the bridge of her nose.
A stubborn curl caught between her lips.
The tiny wrinkle between her brows that disappeared only when she truly slept. Then my eyes drifted lower.
The bruises. Faded now. Purple gave way to yellow around her ribs and hip where Collins' hands had left their mark. The cuts I'd cleaned the night before had been stitched and bandaged, but I could still see the angry skin around them.
Something ugly shifted beneath my ribs. I'd seen bodies ripped apart. Children. Victims whose names I'd spent months trying to give back to them. Those things haunted me but somehow… These bruises unsettled me more because they belonged to her.
Slowly, I lifted my hand and tucked a loose curl behind her ear, my knuckles brushing the warmth of her cheek. She stirred.
"Elias..."
Barely more than a sleepy breath. She never opened her eyes. She only pressed herself closer, her fingers tightening against my chest before relaxing again. A smile threatened the corner of my mouth. Fuck she was beautiful. Mine.
The vibration of my phone shattered the silence. Once. Twice. Then a third time. Duty. It always knew exactly when to interrupt. I sighed quietly before silencing the call.
"You've got terrible timing," I muttered under my breath.
Carefully, I untangled myself from her arms. The moment my body left the mattress, she frowned in her sleep, reaching blindly across the sheets until her hand found my pillow instead. Only then did she settle.
I dressed in silence, pulling on yesterday's jeans before holstering my weapon at my hip.
My badge slid into place almost automatically, muscle memory taking over where my mind refused to cooperate.
When I reached the bedroom door, I looked back.
She hadn't moved. Still curled into my side of the bed.
Still sleeping. For the first time since I'd met her… She looked completely safe.
I didn't realise I was smiling until I caught my reflection in the dark window. That smile belonged to her.
The old floorboards creaked beneath my boots as I stepped into the hallway. Another set of footsteps followed. Heavy. Measured. I glanced down.
Max. The giant shepherd padded silently beside me, stopping every time I stopped, watching me with those impossibly intelligent eyes. I crouched beside him near the front door, scratching behind one ear.
"Stay with her."
His ears twitched.
"Don't let anybody near this house."
A quiet huff. I rested my forehead briefly against his. My voice caught.
"Protect her."
Max nudged my hand with his nose before giving one deliberate wag of his tail. Good. I trusted him more than most deputies. One last glance toward the bedroom. Then I stepped outside. The cold morning air hit my face immediately. Blackridge was finally quiet.
For now.
The Sheriff's station felt different. Lighter.
Walker's shadow had finally begun to lift.
Deputies moved through the bullpen carrying evidence boxes instead of body bags.
Evidence boards were coming down one by one, photographs disappearing into archive folders instead of multiplying across the walls.
Walker's office stood open. Empty. His nameplate gone, desk stripped clean. Like he'd never existed. The county was trying to forget him. Counties never forget men like Walker. They just learned to live around the scars. I had barely crossed the bullpen when the front doors swung open.
Mayor Sinclair walked inside.
He looked like he'd aged ten years over the past month, exhaustion carved into every line of his face. The moment he spotted me, relief softened his expression. He crossed the room with purpose, extending his hand.
"Detective Reed." Sinclair said, shaking my hand firmly. "I wanted to come down here personally. Thank you. For everything you did out there. This town owes you a debt it can't easily repay."
"I was just doing the job, Mayor," I replied flatly.
Sinclair glanced around the bullpen before looking back at me.
"Walker poisoned this department," he said quietly. "Collins tore the rest of it apart. The people don't trust the badge anymore."
His eyes settled on mine.
"But they trust you."
I didn't answer.
"I need someone to rebuild this place. Someone the deputies already follow without question." He paused, letting the silence sit between us. "I want you to take the Sheriff's badge."
The words landed heavier than I expected. A month ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. This… This had been the goal. Lead the department. Run investigations my way. Build something better than the mess Walker left behind. I would've signed the paperwork before he'd even finished asking.
Now...
My thoughts drifted somewhere they had no business drifting. Dark curls spread across my pillow. Warm brown eyes. A woman was sleeping peacefully because she finally believed someone would come back for her.
For the first time in my career… The badge wasn't the only thing pulling at me.
"Think about it," Sinclair said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Blackridge needs a Sheriff."
He gave me one last nod before walking deeper into the station. I was still staring after him when the front doors slammed open.
"Well, look at this!"
Derek's voice echoed through the bullpen before I even saw him. He and Mason stepped inside carrying tactical duffel bags over their shoulders, looking like they'd walked straight out of another operation.
The state had finally reassigned them. Derek spotted me immediately and grinned like Christmas had come early.
"We leave you alone for a second and suddenly you're running the county?" he laughed. "Sheriff Reed."
"Don't."
"Oh, he's blushing," Derek called toward Mason. "Sheriff's blushing."
"I am not."
Mason dropped his duffel beside one of the desks with a heavy thud before looking me over.
"You know..." he said thoughtfully. "Sheriff Elias Reed."
He nodded to himself.
"I hate how much I like it."
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Correction," Derek shot back. "Highly trained idiots."
"With government funding," Mason added.
I shook my head.
"You two are exhausting."
"We prefer entertaining."
The clerk called Derek over to sign his transfer paperwork. He disappeared toward the front counter, still talking loud enough for the entire station to hear.
"I better get free coffee whenever I come visit!"
"No," I called after him.
"Then I'm reporting you to the Mayor!"
Mason chuckled quietly beside me. The bullpen slowly faded into the background.
For a while, neither of us spoke. We'd spent enough years working together to know silence wasn't awkward.
It was comfortable. He studied me not the way detectives studied suspects.
The way old friends noticed things other people missed.
"You look different."
"I showered."
He snorted.
"You smile now."
"I smiled once."
"It counts."
I looked away, my jaw tightening. He wasn't wrong. I just wasn't ready to admit it.
"She's good for you," Mason said.
My eyes drifted toward the empty Sheriff's office.
"I know."
The words came easier than I expected. No argument. No denial. Just the truth. Mason's smile was small, but genuine.
"About damn time."
I looked over at him. There were more grey hairs in his beard than there had been last year. More lines around his eyes. Years in this job had taken pieces from both of us. He just carried his losses quieter.
"You should find someone too," I said.
"You're not getting any younger."
He barked out a laugh.
"That's your sales pitch?"
"You know what I mean."
His smile faded. Slowly. Almost imperceptibly.
"I had someone."
His voice was quieter now.
"I loved her."
He looked toward the station doors instead of at me.
"Life had other plans."
Silence settled between us again.
"I still think about her."
There wasn't self-pity in his voice. Just acceptance.
"I always will but you..."
He nodded once.
"You've still got your chance."
His eyes softened.
"Don't waste it."
"Mason."
"I had mine, Elias," he interrupted gently, his voice carrying an old, heavy sorrow. He didn't look back at me as he spoke. "Sometimes you only get one and mine is gone."
A heavy beat passed between us. He didn't elaborate on the past, on the person he had lost, or the grief he carried. He didn't need to. I understood perfectly. I looked at him and realized just how close I had come to losing my own chance.
Before I could answer, Derek wandered back over, paperwork tucked beneath his arm.
"You two done having your emotional support group meeting?"
Mason laughed.
"Yeah."
Derek looked between us suspiciously.
"Good."
He grabbed his duffel.
"Because if either of you starts hugging, I'm calling Internal Affairs. Alright," he announced. "Time to disappear before somebody gives us more paperwork."
Mason groaned.
"I hate paperwork more than getting shot."
The three of us made our way outside together.
Morning had finally settled over Blackridge, the first golden rays climbing over the pine trees surrounding the Sheriff's Department. It felt... peaceful.
Strange. After everything we'd walked through, peace almost felt suspicious. We reached the black state-issued SUV parked near the curb. Derek tossed his duffel into the back before climbing behind the wheel while Mason lingered beside me for another second.
He held out his hand. I took it. No words. None were needed. Just the firm grip of two men who'd trusted each other with their lives.
"You know where to find me," Mason said.
"I do."
"And if you don't..."
He nodded toward Derek.
"He'll probably find you first."
"I heard that!" Derek shouted from inside the vehicle.
Mason shaked his head before climbing into the passenger seat. The engine rumbled to life. The SUV rolled forward a few feet before Derek slammed on the brakes. The passenger window dropped. He leaned halfway out, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"Don't become boring, Sheriff!"
I didn't even think about it. I raised one hand and flipped him off. His laughter echoed down Main Street as the SUV disappeared around the corner.
"...Love you too!"
I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped me. A real one. Not forced or polite. It echoed around the quiet street before fading into the crisp morning air.
Silence settled over Blackridge once more. I stood outside the station for a long moment, hands buried in my jacket pockets.
Walker was gone. His empire had crumbled with him. Collins...
Collins had vanished too. He'd slipped into the wilderness before we could put cuffs on him, disappearing like smoke through the trees and somewhere out there…
The real monster still breathed. Cases like these never truly ended.
They simply paused. Sooner or later… They always came back.
I knew I'd keep looking. I'd keep chasing shadows.
Keep reading reports until three in the morning.
Keep hunting. That's who I was. My phone vibrated in my pocket. A single notification.
My heartbeat betrayed me before I even looked.
Seraphina
I unlocked the screen.
Good morning, honey.
Don't be mad...
I had to leave for a little while.
I need to see a friend in Hollow City.
Please don't worry about me. I'll be okay.
I don't know when I'll be back... but I promise I'll come home.
Don’t miss me too much.
I read it twice. Then a third time. Hollow City.
The smile that had found me seconds earlier disappeared.
Every detective in three counties knew that name.
Disappearances. Missing persons. Bodies with no identities.
Cases abandoned because nobody ever came back with answers.
Nothing good lived inside Hollow City. My thumb hovered over the keyboard.
Be careful.
I erased it. Typed again.
Call me when you get there.
Deleted that too. Finally, I settled on the only thing she'd actually listen to.
Baby, come home to me.
I hit send. The message was delivered instantly. I stared at the screen for another moment before locking it. A strange feeling settled inside my chest. Not fear, not exactly. Something quieter and heavier.
Hope.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked toward the highway stretching north.
Toward Hollow City. Toward whatever waited for her there. I still needed to find them. The hunt wasn't over.
It had only just begun.