Page 50 of In the Cover of Darkness

“Hey, why'd you stop?” I protest.

“No one hears those sounds but me, sunshine. No one.”

“Okay, well this just got awkward,” Ace chips in, “I'm just going to leave you both.”

“No, don't go,” I say, sitting up and reluctantly moving my feet out of Dante's strong hands. “It's nice hanging out with you guys. Let's just enjoy the sunset.”

“Well actually, Ace and I were talking, and you know how I told you land was harder to find up here than I thought? I was telling Ace that I was moving the search down to Woodman and he's offered to sell us some of his property to build on.”

“Really?” I squeal, “that's amazing, and so generous. Ace you don't have to do that though. I'm sure there are some really nice spots down in Woodman.”

“Nah, don't worry about it. I've got more than enough here and I'd rather have you guys as neighbours than some random person. There's a few spots I can show you both and we can go from there,” he says nonchalantly.

It all just seems too easy, that everything is falling into place with no effort. Dante and I are together, Ace has just offered to sell us some land to build on. I have a job, friends, a life. There's just one thorn in my side that I need to get rid of and I already know it's not going to be as easy as everything else.

Chapter 36 - Dante

The sound of the dogs going crazy in their kennel gets my attention first, and then I notice the car headlights through the kitchen window.

“I already got the security alert from the driveway, it's just the pizza guy,” Ace calls out.

“I'll get it,” I say, getting up off the couch and heading to the front door, the sound of a car skidding to a stop outside.

Opening the front door I find no one on the other side, but the pizza box steaming on top of the door mat. Popping my head out of the doorway, I see the dishevelled delivery driver standing on the porch outside the kitchen window, looking in at Mila and Ace in the lounge.

“Hey, down here,'” I say. I've been trying to be nicer to people I meet because Mila came home the other day saying I've got a bit of a reputation for being a grump. Personally, I don't give a shit, but if it is important to her then I'll attempt at being a little nicer. I don't know if this guy is hard of hearing, but he's not moving from the window.

“Hey,” I called out again, to no avail. Feeling a bit off about it all, I quickly close the distance between us, bringing my hand down firmly on his shoulder.

Instantly he jerks under my touch and looks up at me. He's not big at all, about 5' 9, with a prominent beer belly underneath his crumpled uniform. He has shoulder length greasy hair underneath a baseball cap, and his stench is overpowering the smell of the pizza.

The thing that causes me to pay attention however are his eyes, they're soulless. Dark like the depths of hell. There is no sign of life behind them. He looks at me then back through the window, and I quickly glance to see what he's looking at.

My beautiful sunshine is sitting on the couch. She's laughing at something Ace is saying but he is facing away from us so the only person you see is her. He was watching her, perving on her like a piece of meat.

The guy starts giggling, still in my hold.

“She's real pretty, ain't she?” he says almost hysterically as I yank him away from the window and down the front steps.

“Go. Get in your car and fucking go. If I see you around here again I'll shoot you. If I see you looking atmywoman again, I’ll fucking kill you,” I growl, shoving him at his car.

“You ..." he giggles again, a big smile on his face but his eyes remain dead. Standing a few feet away from him, he gets in the car, starting it and turning around so he can head back to town. He drives close, stopping next to me, his window slowly lowering, the same dead smile on his face.

“You keep her safe now, soldier,” he says, pressing the gas and fishtailing it down the drive, gravel flying everywhere.

Instantly, the hair on the back of my neck stands up, I'm alert and on edge. There's something off about this guy, something huge and I'm almost sure I know what it is. Running backtoward the house I ignore the pizza and slam open the front door.

“Baby, do you have any recent photos of Trevor? Anything on your social media or that you can have Charlie find?”

Fear spreads across her face, “W– wh– what?”

Kneeling in front of her, I take her hands in mind, trying to reassure her but also needing to expedite this process. I know we've not talked about him much, but the photo we have of him is from his licence which is several years old now. “Do you have any pictures of him from the last year you were together?”

“Um, I don't know. He didn't like me taking his photo and I already told you I only had my secret account to talk with Charlie. I never posted a picture.”

Quickly, I move over to Ace who is checking the security cameras, “He's out of view, heading toward town. He was going fast though. What are you thinking?”

“It was him, Ace. He looks different now though. Unhinged. Like he's got nothing to lose.”

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