“I’m telling Elio you’re being mean to me.”
“He wouldn’t do anything about it. You’re as much of a brother to him as you are to me, loser.”
He’d been on a “loser” kick lately, using it as his default insult. “I see how it is. Thank god I have at least one nice little brother. Your boyfriend would never be this mean to me.”
One of Crescent’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You sure about that?”
“He never was when we all lived together as kids. You, on the other hand, are a grade A asshole.”
“I learned from the best. You love me.”
Yeah, I did. A lot. I loved my brothers so much, I’d murdered for them, and I’d do it again. And again. And again. It didn’t matter how fucked up it made me, or that I was so pathetic seeming that a cop offered to talk it out with me.
As long as I seemed strong to them, everything would be okay.
Chapter Two
There would never bea day when I’d be used to waking up so early for my shifts. For some reason, day shifts always felt like they dragged on for far longer than nights. My first coffee of the day, which I’d brought from home, was almost empty, and I still didn’t feel very human. At least, not human enough to deal with Olivia, who always decided to call me just as the sun had barely risen.
She sighed into the phone. “Well, honey, I just think it would be a good idea, you know? Get out there, have some fun, maybe even find the one.”
“The one? Olivia, with all due respect?—”
“Nuh-uh. Don’t go there with the respect bullshit. You know I’m right.”
Marcus laughed from the driver’s seat. I massaged my temples, closing my eyes to try to find a sense of willpower for the conversation she was trying to have. “Sure, but your insistence on this is almost weird if you think about it, and I’m not sure that I want to keep having these types of conversations with you.”
She gasped loud enough to hurt my ears. “Emerson Drew Blake, I know you did not just dismiss me like that! I am your best friend. Your only friend, actually.”
“Oh, my god.” I groaned.
“Shut up. I am trying to help you here! I just think you would benefit from prioritizing building new relationships now that you’re in a brand-new town in a brand-new district.”
Well, she didn’t have to mention it so plainly like that. Now, it was all I could think about. I’d only been in Heaton Springs for a few weeks, and I barely knew anyone—aside from my partner, the people at work, and I saw Moon at the bakery the other day, which was surprising. Though it probably shouldn’t have been. The idea of meeting new people in between settling down in my brand-new house in my brand-new neighborhood, while I learned completely new routes and locations, only made me anxious. More anxious than I already was, which was my baseline.
The usual low ringing in my ears grew in volume, but only in my right ear, where Olivia was talking my head off. Even after all these years, I still tried to shake my head to get rid of it, though I knew it wouldn’t do anything.
A call came through the radio just before I planned to open my mouth and make Olivia stop her rambling. “Hold on, Ol.” Everyone and everything paused as we listened to the information relayed to us. “Gotta go, I’ll call you later.”
“Love you!”
“Love you too.” I stuck the phone back in my pocket just as Marcus pulled us out of the parking lot we’d been stationed at. I watched the signs as we went, trying to map everything in my head. I’d known Lindenbergh like the back of my hand, and now I knew nothing about anything.
Marcus took a couple of turns down a residential road with one hand. “Sounds like an argument between civilians. Hopefully, it stays verbal, and we don’t have to break any fights up this early in the morning.”
It was barely seven o’clock, and the ringing in my ears was already driving me up the wall. “I haven’t seen very many fights around here. Are they rare?”
“I wouldn’t say rare, but most people have enough sense in them around here. Not sure how your old town was, but it’s usually pretty mild around here.”
I thought back to all the usual calls we got in Lindenbergh. They were usually tame with a few drug-related calls or the odd carjacking, but most of the time it was disputes, petty theft, or loitering. Except for that one call. The one from six months ago, where my entire view of the town had changed.
Until then, I hadn’t even thought about people like Jude existing in our community. He was a form of evil I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting yet. Homicide was such a rarity that we didn’t even have a dedicated homicide division. Stepping into Elio Hampton and Crescent Miller’s home that night was like stepping into the Twilight Zone. I’d never forget how hollow Moon looked when I clasped the handcuffs around his wrists and helped him off the floor.
I’d never seen him with light in his eyes, but deep down, I knew they used to sparkle. That night, he’d lost it all. When I saw him at the bakery, it didn’t look like he’d found it yet, no matter if he’d admit to that or not. I still hoped he’d call me, if only so I could take some of that burden and shine some light back intohis big, cavernous brown eyes. Something about him haunted and intrigued me all these months later, and I couldn’t wrap my head around the reason.
Marcus shifted the cruiser into park and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Oh, this looks real fun. Wonder what the story is gonna be.”
My hand was already on the door handle before I finally looked up at the scene. “Holy shit.”
