Page 44 of Grave Possession

The weight is heavy on my shoulders to do the best I can as the new police captain of Crystal Creek. How do I know when to close the case? How can I ever be the one to decide when we stop searching for bodies? Sgt Jefferds and I will have to agree when the time comes; I won’t be pressured into something that isn’t morally right. These victims are people’s loved ones, and knowing I’d neverhave stopped searching for Mallory lingers in my mind. I’ll never feel right pulling the teams out of the woods, but life moves on, even when we don’t want it to. Just as the Haunt will move on this year without my uncle. It needs to. I just worry I’m not strong enough to host it, that I’m not the right person to carry on the legacy. The town survives because of the debaucherous party, the much needed revenue flooding in when those gates open. I’ve been warned how dire the situation was before the Haunt began. I won’t be the reason Crystal Creek becomes a ghost town, even if they linger in the darkest corners of this place. Oscar Graves deserves to be honoured, as does my aunt, Deanna. It’s what my uncle wanted, and I intend to make it happen.

Even with Officer Johnson six feet under, I’m sure I’ve barely scratched the surface of what he truly did to Mallory, or even Victoria. Their police statements pale in comparison to what runs through my head. Greyson told me to leave it alone, knowing won’t make anything better, for either Mal or I. While I agree, how can I help if I don’t know where to start? Do I just imagine the most heinous shit known to man and start there? I know Vic left things out, Grey confirmed it, saying there’s no need to put it on record since Ted’s no longer on this plane of existence.

I’m not a religious man, but I pray to whatever deity running the underworld that Johnson is suffering endless torment for all the pain he’s caused.

And still continues to cause.

Mallory’s blood-curdling scream slices through the tranquil night, and I launch myself off the chair.Springing into action immediately, I race across the deck to the back door, but it’s locked. A safety precaution I was insistent upon, now a thorn in my side as I key in the passcode. The light flashes red, and I wait until it stops to try again. Auto-locking doors: great in theory, not in an emergency. 1-1-0-6. I key in again, and the light flashes green, the mechanical sound of the lock disengaging slower than fucking ever.

I fling open the door, dashing towards our bedroom.I never should have gone outside, never should have left her. Where is she?Her body crashes into mine, kicking and flailing in the midst of another PTSD induced nightmare. I willingly take the hits, kicks, and scratches, it’s less than I deserve for failing her so monumentally.

“Get off me!” she screams.She doesn’t mean that, she doesn’t know it’s you.

“Shhh,” I try to soothe her. “Mallory. Breathe.” Her movements slow as the sound of my voice worms its way through her panic. “Baby, it’s me.” She stops, the fear lifting as I clear the hair from her eyes. Her body is on fire as she tremors in my hands.

“Nox?” she gasps.

“I’m here.”

“You’re here,” she echoes.

“What do you need?” Her hand touches my cheek, tracing along the side of my face, across my forehead, and down to the tip of my nose.

“You’re alive.”

“I’m alive,” I verify. Clasping her hands in mine, I bring them to my mouth and gently kiss the top of each. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me. Ijust stepped out to take a call, and didn’t want to wake you.”

“That’s okay, you’re here now.” She smiles sweetly, gaze never leaving my face, like she’s afraid I’ll evaporate if she looks away for even a moment.

I know the feeling. The unending terror of never seeing her again. The relentless torment of how I almost lost her forever.

After being shot, I collapsed from blood loss. A useless dead weight on the floor of the mill after showing her my face. She never ceases to amaze me, even after all she had been through, she stayed focused enough to cut my shirt to shreds, using them as bandages to slow the blood flow. Never hesitating to apply a little more pressure than necessary if I started to slip into unconsciousness. My little siren made damn sure to keep me there with her, lucid and breathing.

She called for help from my phone, which was already on the way thanks to Victoria and Officer Smith. When the cavalry showed up, Mal made sure to give them an earful. Naked and unashamed, she threatened the EMT’s when they tried to split us up. Her angry voice kept me tethered, preventing me from falling into total unconsciousness.

When we reached the hospital, she offered up her blood selflessly to save my life. I needed a transfusion, and with no O negative on-hand, we would’ve had to wait for it to be delivered from elsewhere. No one knew how long that would take. As luck would have it, Mallory’s the same blood type as me. After a quick screening test, they tapped her vein and started the process. I didn’t find anyof this out until after the fact, of course, having been sedated almost immediately upon arrival because I refused to leave her. Had I known in the moment, no fucking way would I have made her do that. She’d been through enough.

Hands escaping my hold, Mallory trails her fingers up my forearms, palms gently brushing over my biceps, and up to my shoulders. A twinge of pain shoots through my left shoulder as her touch passes over the ever-healing wound. I wince. It’s involuntary but she notices, pulling her hands away from me like I’ve burned her.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I console. Grabbing her hands, I place them back on my shoulders.

“I hurt you.”

“No, he hurt me.”

“Because of me,” she whispers, hanging her head and avoiding my gaze.

“No,” I sternly say. Raising my hand to her chin, I tip her head up to look me in the face. I need her to hear me,reallyfucking hear me. “Don’t you dare carry that guilt. I’d gladly stand before a hail of gunfire if I knew it would keep you safe.” Moving my hand from beneath her chin to cup her cheek, she leans into the touch. “I’d sacrifice myself over and over if I knew it would grant you the time you needed to get away…to live.” With my free hand, I pull her body flush against mine, banding my arm around her middle, and lifting her up. Instinctively, she wraps her legs around me, and I turn, bracing her back against the wall in the hallway. She gasps, and the sound does unholy things to my mind. I slide my hands down her body, stopping at the swell of her ass, holding her safely between me and the wall. “And if you would have died,” I brush the tip of my nose against her cheek as I ensnare her with my gaze. “I’d have eaten a bullet in a heartbeat just for the minuscule chance to exist with you on the other side. So, don’t for one second think I won’t happily live every day with small discomfort in my arm so I can hold you in them, alive and breathing.”

“Ghost,” she croaks, eyes welling with tears.

“Don’t cry, baby. I mean every damn word.”

Her eyes dart to my mouth then back up to my eyes as the air thickens around us.Fuck, yes. Please, kiss me, Mallory.Locked into her entire being, I feel the moment the atmosphere shifts and her body comes alive for me. “Kiss me,” I breathe.

“Are you sure?”

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