Darkness Follows (6 page)

Seth

I sat in a light blue waiting room with a large window that overlooked the front of the building. Garrett watched as more cameras were set up and the reporters hoped to get a glimpse of something. Little did they know this story was sealed so tight that Emily’s doctor had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before he was assigned to her.

My knee bounced up and down and my fingers gripped the vinyl arm rests. Every time someone walked by the door, my heart jumped. I glanced at my watch. We had been waiting for over three hours. I’d seen every single staff member at least a dozen times. If I had to hear that damn page for Doctor Cruz one more time, I might just kill someone.

“Connors.” Michaels watched me. “Should you call her mother?”

Garrett made a face at me. They didn’t know Jenny.

“No.” I knew Emily would be upset if her mother knew any of this was going on. “Jenny McPhee doesn’t handle these kinds of things well. It’s too much stress for Emily.”

Michaels nodded, then leaned his head back against the wall.

“Any word yet?” Davis asked as he walked into the room. Campbell followed.

“Jesus!” I jumped to my feet in disbelief. “I didn’t know you were out yet.” I helped Davis sit next to me. His arm was wrapped in a sling tied tightly to his chest. Yet another casualty for which I blamed myself.

“I was released yesterday. Then this guy—” he pointed to Campbell, “—called me to let me know she was found. He was nice enough to come grab me on his way over.” He paused. “Seth, I’m so sorry. The son of a bitch told me he was on the case. He had a legitimate badge. He said Michaels had sent him.”

I shook my head. This was such a fucking mess. “It wasn’t your fault.
You
didn’t leave her.”

Garrett eyed me. I shook my head again. I didn’t want to talk about it.

“Well, at least they caught the fucker who shot me,” Davis said as he rubbed his shoulder. “He’s some homeless guy Lasko paid to do the job. No doubt Lasko’s freaked out. Now he has to resort to using desperate people to do his dirty work since Wallace is behind bars.”

“Good to see you up and around,” Garrett said and sent him a relieved look.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for a Seth Connors?” A white-haired doctor stood in the doorway.

“That’s me.” I stood and felt light-headed.

“You’re listed as an emergency contact for Ms. Emily McPhee. May I have a word with you?” He waved me outside the room where I had left my stomach to riot.

The doctor placed the file against his chest. “Are you a brother or…?”

“Boyfriend.”

The doctor nodded and looked down at the chart. “She has considerable contusions to the face, but nothing time won’t heal. Her ribs are badly bruised. Two of them are broken.” My scalp prickled as I thought of her tiny, delicate frame.

“Let’s see, she had some bleeding behind her left eye, but we were able to drain it, so there shouldn’t be any worry there. This guy pumped her full of Valium, and we’re flushing it out now. She ran a fever from an infection in a cut on her wrist, which we treated with antibiotics. Her legs are also badly bruised, and she has stitches on her leg and stomach.”

He stopped when he caught my expression and put his hand on my shoulder. “I know all this sounds bad, but considering what she has been through…” He paused. “Well, just be thankful you got her back in one piece. She’s a lucky girl.”

“Can I see her?” I asked quietly as I tried to absorb the information. My stomach was in knots. I just needed to see her.

The doctor hesitated. “You can, but she’s on a lot of medication, so she won’t wake up for a while. Just remember, she’s going to heal.” I followed the doctor down a hallway to Emily’s room. A security guard acknowledged us politely and stepped out of the way of the door.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

Oh my God.

My heart dropped into my stomach. Emily had bandages everywhere. Her face was swollen and discolored, and a rainbow of bruises covered what was visible of her skin. An IV was hooked up to her arm.

I moved over to her side and sat on a pea-green vinyl chair. I leaned over gently and touched her hand. She felt warm. Too warm. Everything came at me at once. Us in bed, me leaving, her on video, now she was here like this. “I’m so sorry, baby.” I bent my head to hide the tears.

***

“Seth,” Garrett said as he shook my shoulder. My eyes popped open. I reached for Emily’s hand and searched her face with desperation.
Please wake up.

“She’s all right. Here.” Garrett handed me a cup of coffee.

“What time is it?” I asked and took a sip.

“9:45 a.m. I finally convinced them to let me come in. I told them I had some new information about the case. The badge helped.”

“Is there any new information?”

Garrett pulled up a seat. “They searched the cabin. Of course, it was abandoned and pretty much cleaned out. But he did leave behind some photographs, clothes…and two bodies.”

“What?”
I was suddenly very awake.

“Yeah, bones, really, of what looks to be a female, maybe early twenties. The coroner thinks she may have been in the ground for about five years. One of the dogs started digging in the yard out back, and sure enough.”

I let out a long sigh and shook off the thought that it could have been Emily. “And the other?”

Garrett hesitated as he took a sip of his coffee. “Jennifer Steeves.” Garrett held up his phone to show me the picture of her.

“She looks nothing like Emily. She has black hair. Doesn’t seem to fit his MO.”

“Yeah, I know. She was an art student.”

“Art student?” Suddenly I put it together. “She was the girl who sketched Lasko?”

Garrett nodded. “Poor thing had no clue she drew a killer. Looks to be a shot to the head at close range.”

I rubbed my face. “This is getting way out of hand. This needs to end.” I gently squeezed Emily’s hand. “God, it’s been a
long
six days.”

“Look, Seth, I caught the nurse coming out of the room, and she said Emily won’t be up for a few hours. Go home and take a shower. I’ll call you if anything changes.”

I rubbed my face again and fought to keep my eyes open. A shower would feel nice, and some clean clothes for both me and Emily did sound like a good idea. “If anything…”

“You have my word,” Garrett cut me off.

I leaned over and kissed Emily’s forehead. “Be back soon, baby.” I patted Garrett’s shoulder as I left. “Thanks, man.”

I glanced back to see Garrett had pulled out his laptop and hunkered down to work.

***

Emily

An annoying sound pulled me out of a deep sleep. I moved my tongue around my mouth. It felt dry. My eyes opened a little. “Ouch,” I whispered as a sharp pain surrounded my left eye. My nose twitched at the smell of chlorine, and my body felt cold.

My heart dropped. Was I still in the basement? Did I just dream that I got out? I felt a prickly sensation run down my spine, and it left me lightheaded. Something touched my hand. “No!” I screamed. “Please let me go!” I started cry.

“Hey, baby, no, it’s me.” I heard his sweet voice. “Open your eyes.”

I was confused. My brain flipped through the last few moments that I could remember.

Water, lots of water, and Lasko’s face smirking at me.

“Go get the nurse,” he said.

My head shook back and forth and my eyes stayed closed. Tears rolled down my cheeks and pooled in my ears. Why couldn’t I make sense of things? Finally, I gave in. I was too tired to fight and fell back toward the darkness.

***

Seth

I hovered around the nurse. “What’s happening?”

Ana, the nurse, held up her hand to indicate she wanted me to calm down while she checked her heartbeat.

I made a face at Garrett. “Well?”

“This is normal.” Ana looked at both of us. “Her brain is trying to catch up with what’s happening. This may happen a few times. Just hold her hand and let her hear familiar voices. She will come back to you.”

My hands covered my mouth as I closed my eyes. This was fucked up. She needed to wake up. I sat on the side of the bed and brushed her ear with my lips. “Emily, I’m here. Just open your eyes and you’ll see me.” Tears stung like acid.

***

Emily

I thought I heard Campbell’s voice. He was talking to someone. My eyes didn’t open. “No, we’re not calling her mom. It will only upset her.”

It was Garrett. I strained to hear better. I felt my head cloud again.

“He’s not doing so good. He won’t leave.” Wait! I wondered who wasn’t doing so good as I fell back to sleep.

***

I felt something nice and warm on my face. “Tell her I’m sorry, but I can’t make it.” Seth’s soft voice found me. “No, she’s…” He paused. “I know, time.” He sniffed. “I should go. I love you too.” That was all I could hang on to. My body was exhausted.

Sometime later, I finally woke and opened my eyes. They were fuzzy, but soon they adjusted. It was dark out, and something made a clicking noise. I followed the sound until I saw Seth on a chair, his feet up on the table and his laptop rested across his thighs. The glow of the light let me see his sweet face. He looked tired.

I blinked back tears that came with the emotion of having him in reach of me. I mustered up all the energy I had. “You should get some sleep,” I whispered.

His head whipped up and over at me. He tossed his laptop on the table and rushed to my side.

He carefully took my hand and held it in his. The other brushed through my hair. His eyes filled with tears. “Oh, baby.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m so glad you’re back. I’ll call the nurse.”

I gripped his hand tightly. “Don’t go,” I choked at him.

He shook his head, then pointed to a button on the side of the bed. He pushed it, and a moment later a short, blonde nurse in orange scrubs came in. “Hello, Emily, nice to see you back. How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” I croaked. She pulled out a needle and started to write on the chart.

“Nooonoo!” I stared at the needle as I started to panic.

She shook her head. “Trust me, you need this.” She leaned in to touch my IV.

I yanked my arm away and whimpered. That hurt! The nurse looked at Seth for help.

“What is it for?” he asked with a chip to his tone.

She held it up for him to see. “Morphine, for the pain.”

He looked at me with his voice softer. “Em, you could really use some more sleep.”

I looked at her and then slowly put my arm down. Everything in my body hurts.

She gently pushed it into my IV line. “I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.” I laid my head back and stared at the ceiling.

“Can I get you anything, baby?”

I shook my head, nervous about falling back to sleep.

Seth carefully moved on the bed to lie next to me on his side. He kissed my forehead. “Try to get some sleep, baby.” I nodded as a few tears fell. I moved my hand over to his. “I won’t leave you, I promise,” he said. I breathed him in and let myself go. I knew I was safe at the moment.

***

Seth

I peeled myself away from Emily’s side and glanced at my phone. It was seven in the morning. It had been six days since she’d been taken from the woods.

She hadn’t said much. Mostly, she slept. They kept her on a steady round of pain medication to make sure she was comfortable. I had made sure there were no visitors until she was ready. The only time I’d left was to shower in the morning and to get some clean clothes. Garrett was always around to help or to just keep me from going crazy.

Thankfully, Sarge had given us a leave of absence with pay. He justified it by saying we were on private security duty.

Whatever…I wouldn’t go back to work anyway.

I stepped outside of Emily’s room. Closing the door gently behind me, I nodded at the security guard.

“Connors,” Avery said, standing in the doorway of a private visitor’s room. I saw Matthews and Johnnie behind him.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“How’s she doing?” Avery asked as I moved toward them.

“She’s all right. They say she’s healing well. Em doesn’t say much, and she grows tired quickly.”

“Jesus, man, we’re so sorry.”

I took a seat next to Matthews in the tiny room. “You guys really don’t need to be here. She’s not up for company yet.”

“We’re here because we love that girl too,” Johnnie interrupted me. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I dropped my head in my hands. I just wanted this to be over. Get her home safe and sound. “Thanks, guys.”

“Is the coffee decent here?” Matthews asked me as he pulled out some singles.

“There’s a Starbucks downstairs.”

“I’ll be back.”

***

Emily

I sensed someone come into the room. A light touch to my calf made my eyes flutter open.

“Hey,” Matthews said quietly as he took Seth’s seat next to my bed. “You look like shit,” he joked, but his smile quickly faded.

“Nice to see you too,” I croaked.

He let out a long breath. “Have you ever heard of the Witness Protection Program?”

I rolled my eyes. Beat to shit or not, I hadn’t been born yesterday.

“The FBI thinks it’s a smart move for you, but talk to Agent Patrick. You can trust him.”

I held up my hand carefully and tried to stop his sudden outburst. “Wait, why is the FBI involved?” I didn’t know a lot about the rules, but I did know the FBI didn’t involve itself in kidnappings unless there was a good reason.

“They think Lasko was involved in a kidnapping in Texas, and because of the bodies that were found on the property,” Matthews said quickly, like he reminded me rather than telling me for the first time.

I closed my eyes while I tried to process the information.

“Look.” He turned to glance at the door. “I don’t have much time. I’m here to tell you that your escape only made it worse. They…You need to disappear until this gets taken care of!” he whispered urgently.

“Matthews,” I whispered back to stop his mad chatter. “What do you mean ‘they’?” My heart raced. “There’s more of them? What do you know?”

He went silent for a moment, and my eyes filled.

“I can’t tell you yet. Soon, I promise. I…I made my choice. Please give me two weeks before you say anything to the guys, because it’s not just you in danger. It’s them too.”

Suddenly the door opened. A nurse came in and gave Matthews a strange look.

“I’m sorry, sir, but she can’t have visitors unless you’re family.” She eyed him, making it clear she bloody well knew he wasn’t.

“I was just leaving.” He leaned down to my ear and whispered, “He won’t stop. Give me two weeks.”

My lip started to tremble. I couldn’t handle this right now. Everything was still too raw inside. I felt myself to start to slip away from reality. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, and the hysteria plowed through me like a freight train. I heard the door close.

“Are you all right, miss?” the nurse asked. I nodded but turned away from her as the sobs came. “Here.” She held up a needle and kindly showed me the label. “This is for the pain, and it will help you sleep some more. Your body needs time to heal.”

“I don’t want it,” I said through short breaths. I was incredibly afraid to let my guard down.

“Emily,” the nurse said as she took a seat next to me on the bed. “I know you’re scared. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. But if you want to get back to living your life, you need to heal first, and that means lots of rest. You have a security guard outside your door twenty-four hours a day and a boyfriend who barely lets you out of his sight. I don’t think you could be any safer. So please let me help you.”

She smiled and waited for me to nod. I did, and she slowly pushed the needle into the IV. Then she gently touched my arm as my breathing slowed and my eyes grew heavier.

My fingers flexed and curled around the wooden arm rest. A sudden jolt to the heart, and my eyes popped open. Had I just seen a figure behind the light? Where was I? I squinted again, trying to see who it could have been. I forced myself to focus. My tongue moved about pressed against…the gag? “No!” I kicked my feet out but they didn’t move. Oh god! What was happening? My heart pounded against my breastbone. I squeezed my eyes shut and told myself to stop.

I opened them again, but now I was by the computer. Seth was staring at me, but I couldn’t hear him. What was going on? I had a sudden urge to look around; something nagged at the back of my brain. I moved, but I didn’t know what it was that pulled me.

Footsteps above me made freeze, then an odd noise and music started to play. A slow, paralyzing chill crept up my back. Bach flowed down the wooden stairs and held me hostage with his haunting melody. I swallowed back a scream. I was not alone.

A muffled voice reached my ears, and my senses came alive. A low growl from the corner raised goosebumps on every part of my body. No, no, no.

“Stop!” I closed my eyes again and tried to force my brain to let me out of there.

Water poured into my body through every opening. My eyes were wide open as I kicked my way to the surface. I popped up and saw a hand and grabbed for it, then felt a set of cold fingers pull me free from the river’s hold. I lay on the ground and fought desperately to fill my lungs. His boots stopped by my side, and he bent down and moved the hair out of my face.

His hand curled around my neck and applied a light pressure. “Oh, darlin’, I thought you were smarter than this.”

I squeezed my eyes shut again and knew this couldn’t happen. I was very close to losing the war with my rational side.
This is a dream. This is a dream. I know it isn’t real
. It had to be the medicine they gave me. I just needed to wait it out.

“Anywhere but here,” I whispered a plea.

All noise faded away, and I was pulled down. The ground beneath me changed from dirt to cool concrete. I opened my eyes again and found myself alone in a dark room. The only light came from the moon. After I confirmed I was alone, I settled into the corner, deciding to wait out the drug’s effect. Anywhere was better than there. I allowed myself to relax. I’d be safe here.

***