Page 23 of Out of the Darkness

“Nope,” she lied, popping the ‘p’. The alcohol just seemed to make the lying easier, which she was grateful for. She didn’t even have the capacity to feel bad about it right then. “Just felt like having my own party.”

“Well, that’s no fun, why didn’t you invite me?”

Madelyn could practically see the pout on Melanie’s face, and it made her smile. “I’m sorry, I thought you had work tonight.”

“Well, I don’t,” Melanie told her. “And me and the guys were going to head over to Iggy’s. Let me come pick you up. Then you can party with other people instead of all by your lonesome.”

The guys Melanie was talking about were three other detectives from the station. The four of them made it a point to get together once a week to catch up and decompress away from work. Madelyn had a standing invitation, but she hardly ever took them up on it. Melanie was the only one she was close to, even if it was by choice.

If she were smart, she would turn down the offer and just stay at home. In her current state of mind, she wasn’t sure she’d be much fun anyway. However, she was tired of being overwhelmed by things she couldn’t explain and sick of feeling so damn sorry for herself. A night out with her best friend, where she didn’t have to worry about assassins, stalkers, or shifters, could be exactly what she needed. Nothing else she tried seemed to be working.

“You know what? Yeah, come pick me up,” she stated as she climbed unsteadily out of bed and stumbled her way to the closet.

“Wait, really?” Melanie asked, not bothering to hide her surprise.

“Yeah. I just need, like, fifteen minutes to get dressed and get some food in my stomach to soak up some of the alcohol I already drank.”

Melanie squealed so loudly that Madelyn had to pull the phone away from her ear so that her eardrum didn’t rupture as a result. She had known that Melanie would be excited; she just didn’t know she would react like that. It was a bit endearing if she was being honest.

“Oh my god, this is going to be great! You never go out with us. The guys are going to be thrilled. Okay, I’m going to go finish getting ready, I’ll see you in fifteen!”

Melanie hung up the phone before Madelyn had the chance to respond. Knowing her, she had probably done it to prevent Madelyn from changing her mind, not that she had any intention of doing so. She needed this.

The only way she was going to come to grips with everything that happened over the last few days was for her to put Xavier behind her once and for all. She didn’t want or need that kind of drama in her life, and she didn’t see how it would work between them anyway. They were from two very different worlds. Even if she had wanted to pursue things, it would only end in heartbreak just like everything else in her life did. There was no other way for it to go.

Even though Iggy’s was a casual place, Madelyn had decided to wear her black skirt and dark blue, off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved shirt with her black ankle boots. She left her hair down but pinned up one side with a few bobby pins and put on just a touch of makeup. While she wasn’t trying to impress anyone, getting dressed up a bit made her feel better than she had in days.

The act of getting ready and devouring three muffins had helped to get rid of some of the alcohol in her system as well. She was still pretty tipsy, but at least, she wasn’t falling over anymore as she and Melanie made their way to the table where the guys sat. She would have to take it easy on the alcohol, but at least she was here, and she was determined to have a good time.

Lucas was Melanie’s partner, so Madelyn saw him a lot. He was a tall, older gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair and a kind smile. He was married with two kids too, both of whom looked just like him.

Tristen was younger and had just made detective earlier that year, having been a beat cop at a different precinct before that. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and a smile that drove girls wild. He was also the reason that the captain was considering a ‘no dating in the office’ rule at the station.

Bernie was the oldest of them all and had recently moved to desk work since he only had two years before his retirement. However, he had some of the craziest stories Madelyn had ever heard about his time in the field.

All three of the men looked up as they reached the table and grinned at Madelyn.

“Well, hot damn. Look who decided to grace us with her presence,” Lucas teased as they moved to sit down in their seats.

They always chose the table in the back corner because one side of the table was booth seating, so Lucas had some back support. It was also closer to the bathrooms for Bernie, who seemed to have to go every twenty minutes or so. Tristen enjoyed it because it gave him a full view of the bar and all the women.

Madelyn smiled at him and rolled her eyes as she settled into the booth beside Lucas. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I missed you too, you ass.”

“Jesus, what happened to your face?” Lucas asked her, his brows creasing once he got a good look at her.

Melanie had asked the same thing when she showed up. Madelyn had been able to cover the hickeys on her neck and the bruises from her attack with copious amounts of makeup, but there was no hiding the gash on her forehead.

“I ate shit on my way to my car,” she said, telling him the same lie she had told Melanie. “You know that one area where the construction workers are always leaving things out on the sidewalk? I tripped over one of the pipes they left on the ground.”

Bernie beamed at her and gave her arm a gentle squeeze from across the table as she sat down. “Only you can be that clumsy, Madelyn. It really is good to see you though. I can’t remember the last time you hung out with us.”

“I can!” Melanie chimed in. She hung her purse on the chair behind her and turned to face the group. “It was almost a year ago.”

“There’s no way it’s been that long,” Madelyn stated defensively. She tried to think of the last time she was here with them, but all she could remember was being here with David. Had it really been almost a year since she had gone out with them?

Lucas laughed loudly, but it blended in with the cacophony of the bar. “Geez, even I make the time to do this once a week, and I have a wife and two kids!”

“Come on, guys. Leave her alone,” Tristen said simply. “She’s here now, and that’s what counts. So, shall start this off with shots?”

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