Til Darkness Falls, page 36
“But Shai himself has blessed your perverted union.” Spittle flew from her lips as she snarled. “Set told me that even killing you wouldn’t be enough to separate you. You would just continue to find each other life after wretched life. I couldn’t have that.” Her hair whipped into a tangled mass as she shook her head. “How could I let you be happy when you had caused me such offense? So I allowed Set to curse me so that I could follow you throughout all of your pathetic lives. Every time you came together I waited until you fell in love, and then, when you were at the heights of joy, I turned you against each other.”
The grin she threw Brian lacked any trace of sanity. A chill ran down his spine as he suffered the weight of her wild-eyed gaze. “I had Gio kill your precious partner using the same gun and ammo as this bastard so that even your little pea brain could figure it out.” She laughed when he gaped at her in horror, but in an instant, her demeanor changed as her eyes blazed with hatred. “For three millennia I have fulfilled my contract with Set. Just because you’ve somehow remembered the past doesn’t mean this time will be any different.” She shifted her aim away from Alrick and pointed her gun at Brian. “Now pick up your weapon and shoot him, or I swear by every god that has ever existed, I will kill you.”
“No.” Brian’s face was expressionless as he looked at her. “I am sorry for you, Hebeny, sorry that you’ve thrown away your existence for such a stupid reason.”
“You can end this right here and now,” Alrick interjected. Stepping further away from Brian, he stared toward her, moving slowly so as not to spook her as he held out his hand. “Just give me the gun and this will all be over.”
“Don’t move!” Hayley backed away from him, growling with frustrated rage. “Do you think Set would just let me walk away? If one of you doesn’t die by the other’s hand, then my soul is forfeit!”
Alrick eased closer to her, ignoring her shrieks as nothing more than the ranting of a madwoman. His only concern was taking her focus off of the other man. “I promise you, it will be alright.”
“I said stop!” Her eyes were wild with anger and growing fear as she felt her control of the situation slip away. “I will not let you beat me. Do you hear?!” She shot a wild-eyed glance toward Brian, realizing that the blond had made it impossible for her to cover both of them. Deciding that the German was the bigger threat, she kept her gun on him as she screamed at her detective. “Now shoot him, you son of a bitch!” Her entire body shook, and Brian saw her finger began to tighten on the trigger.
“Hayley!”
Terrified that she would shoot Alrick, Brian went for his gun. The sound of her current name startled Hayley and drew her attention away from the taller man. When she saw Brian reaching for his service revolver, she whipped her weapon around toward him. Time slowed to a crawl, the motion of Hayley’s gun tracing a path through the air as she aimed at Brian, his own movements similarly dilated as he fumbled for his gun.
He’ll never reach it in time. The realization erased every other thought in Alrick’s head, until only the image of Brian flying backwards with a bullet in his chest remained. His body seemed to move of its own accord, the urge to protect his lover overriding all other distractions.
Brian managed to wrap his hand around the handle of his gun just as a large body slammed into him. He heard Hayley’s weapon go off as the impact knocked the gun from his hand and sent it skittering across the asphalt surface. He hit the rooftop hard, his lungs heaving as the air was knocked out of him. Struggling to breathe, he rolled the heavy weight off of him and stared past it to see Hayley aiming for a second shot.
He searched frantically for his gun, finally seeing that it was lying just beyond his reach. The click of a bullet falling into the chamber sounded loudly in his ears as he scrambled toward it, but he kept his focus on the weapon, stretching until his arm felt like it would pop out of its socket.
Just a little farther. His breath was loud in his ears, sweat beading on his face as it finally came to hand. He flipped over and fired blindly, not stopping until every bullet had been spent.
Blinking away the stinging moisture that dripped into his eyes, Brian sat up, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His ears were ringing from the explosive sounds of multiple gunshots, but his gaze was steady as he stared at Hayley’s body lying motionlessly several feet away. There were several holes in her shirt at the level of her chest and stomach, the fabric around the tears was already darkening with blood.
“Brian, are you alright?”
The ragged whisper made Brian realize just what had knocked him over. The blond was lying on his side, and when Brian crawled quickly over to him and looked down at his face, his heart stopped at the sight of dark blood glistening on his lips. Alrick coughed and more blood bubbled from his mouth.
“Alrick! Shit, where are you hit?” Brian frantically pulled back the other man’s coat, his gaze honing in on the round tear in the left side of Alrick’s shirt. He stared at the wound in horror. The bullet had pierced through Alrick’s lung.
“Brian—”
“No, it’s okay. Just hold on. It’s okay.” He knew he was babbling, but he couldn’t stop himself as he knelt over the other man and tore off his own coat. Ignoring the cold, he wadded it up and pressed it hard against Alrick’s chest. The blond moaned in pain, but he didn’t let up. Brian risked removing one hand so that he could fumble for his cell phone. He pressed a number that was stored in his speed dial.
“Special dispatch.”
“This is Macon, Homicide. GPS code five-six-four-three. Send an ambulance to my signal right away. I’m on the roof.”
“Yes, sir.”
Brian dropped his phone onto the roof, leaving it powered on so it could be traced. Alrick coughed again, wheezing as he struggled to draw breath.
“Where—?”
“Don’t try to talk. Lay still.”
“Where is she?”
Brian risked a glance toward the body. “She’s dead.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the air behind Hayley began to shimmer, the undulations increasing until the darkness rippled like a curtain. Suddenly, a line of light traced an arch from the disturbance. The space within the arch began to glow, growing brighter and brighter until Brian had to shield his eyes.
“What the hell—?” he whispered.
With a loud crack, the disturbance ripped apart, revealing an arched doorway. Brian couldn’t see what lay beyond it, but a crackle in the air made every strand of hair on his body stand on end. He gaped as a tall, unspeakably beautiful man walked through the rent and stepped out onto the roof, his hair and eyes as red as blood, his tall, muscular form bare save for the shadows that were draped around his waist like cloth. Brian felt his body go hot, then cold, then hot again. He wanted to run away, but even if he could have left Alrick, he doubted his legs would have worked. The man glanced toward them, a cruelly amused smile curving his full lips before he looked down at Hayley’s body. A single red eyebrow lifted with interest.
“And what have we here?” The ground vibrated from the awesome depth of his voice. He spoke softly, yet his tone commanded untold power. The man reached down and yanked Hayley’s head up by her hair, but incredibly, her body remained where it was. Instead, something else came away in his hand, stretching painfully as he ripped it away from its physical form.
Brian stared in frozen disbelief at what he was seeing. The form resolved itself into the image of a woman, but it wasn’t Hayley. The woman was young, her face dark with vicious beauty. Her ancient clothing was instantly recognizable. “Hebeny?” he whispered.
The woman opened her eyes and blinked, her expression disoriented. She looked confused as she saw him and Alrick, but when she looked down at the body lying below her, her face twisted with abject horror.
“Hello, my love.”
The spirit shook as the god spoke to her. Her eyes moved to the side as though she wanted to look behind her but dared not.
“It is time, Hebeny.”
“No!” She reached up and grabbed the hand wrapped in her hair, futilely trying to pull it away. “Please, my lord Set! Please let me go!” She cried out as the god shook her, whipping her around effortlessly as she begged for mercy.
“Come, come, little girl, let us have none of that. I have enjoyed your antics more than I can express, but now your time is done. You must pay your debt to me, and I have come to collect.” He turned toward the glowing opening and drew back his arm.
“Arggghhh!!!” Hebeny’s scream vanished along with her spirit as the god tossed her into the glowing light. Wiping his hands in satisfaction, he turned back toward the two dumbstruck men staring at him in bewildered astonishment.
“I must congratulate you. Watching all of you and your little dramas these long centuries has proved most diverting.” The air grew chill as he smiled, the unbearable perfection of his features promising unspeakable cruelty. “I wish you both the best. Well, at least for the short time you have left.” His laugh seemed to echo even after he disappeared through the rent. It vanished in a flash of light, leaving nothing behind but the unbroken darkness of the night sky.
Alrick’s cough broke Brian from his frozen state. Even through his shock, he’d never relaxed his pressure on Alrick’s chest, but the blood kept coming, seeping from the wound and flecking the blond’s lips as his lungs filled with blood. The god’s parting words began to make horrifying sense.
“Brian,” Alrick wheezed.
“Shh, be quiet.”
“No, Brian. It’s over.”
Brian shook his head, scowling in rejection of Alrick’s words. He choked as something painful lodged in his throat. “I feel like such an idiot. I should have known you didn’t write that damn note.” He was unable to stop the tears that spilled down his cheeks. “Liebling? Isn’t that what you always call me? Not ‘my dear,’ like something out of a bad movie.”
“I am sorry, Brian. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Angela—”
“That wasn’t your fault.” Brian dashed away his tears impatiently, quickly returning both hands to the task of staunching the unceasing flow of blood from Alrick’s wound. He bore down as hard as he could, but he couldn’t stop the internal bleeding. “It was that bitch. She did this. She did all of it.”
“Because of me. She hurt you because of me, just like she did so long ago.” A tear ran unchecked down Alrick’s cheek, but he didn’t have the strength to wipe it away. “I promise that I’ll be better next time, that I’ll be worthy of you.”
Brian shook his head. “No, not next time. Now.” His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper as he closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of the blond’s pain. “I can’t lose you again.”
The effort of raising his hand made Alrick break out in a sweat, but he persevered until he cradled Brian’s face in his hand. “You can’t give up now. If I can’t be with you in this life, I swear I’ll be waiting for you in the next. It’s just as she said. We will be together again, and there won’t be anyone to stop us.”
Brian ignored the salty wetness that bathed his cheeks. “But how will we find each other?”
Blue-tinged lips curved up in a small smile. “We always do.” Alrick pressed against Brian’s jaw until the other man reluctantly opened his eyes and met his gaze. “But until then, you have to live, Brian. Live for both of us. All I want is for you to be happy.”
Brian didn’t know if he could keep such a cruel promise. “I’ll try,” he said for Alrick’s sake.
“And I don’t want you to be afraid any more. Don’t be afraid to love.”
Brian didn’t answer, knowing he’d be lying if he agreed. He couldn’t swear to that, not now when his heart was breaking into a million pieces. He bent down and pressed his lips against Alrick’s. The taste of blood was strong, but he kissed him deeply, pouring out everything that was in his heart. “I love you.” The sound was muffled against the other man’s lips, but the truth of it rang out like a clarion call. “Now and forever.”
Far below, the blare of sirens split through the night. It was only a minute later that the stairwell echoed with the pounding of boots as the paramedics rushed up to the roof. They burst out through the access door but paused when they took in the scene. The taller EMT started forward, but his partner grabbed his arm and held him back. He looked over at the short man, who shook his head grimly.
Brian knelt on the roof, sobbing as he held Alrick’s lifeless body in his arms.
Chapter 15
THE bird flew low over the lake, hoping to catch a damselfly as a tasty snack. The warm spring sun shone down on Brian’s shoulders, glinting off of the rippling surface, the brightness occasionally hiding the bird from view. Suddenly, a twilling call sounded out over the water, heralding the hunter’s success.
Brian sat on the shore of the lake, looking out over the water, trying to enjoy the peaceful scenery. Mrs. O’Malley had been pleased to see him, but when she’d asked why he’d come alone, he’d told her simply that Alrick was busy and couldn’t make it. He hadn’t had the heart to say anything more.
Three weeks after his death, Brian was still struggling to accept that he was gone. He’d only known Alrick for such a short time, but there were no rules governing love. It had been difficult at first, trying to figure out how to go on. He’d fought with the paramedics when they finally took Alrick’s body away, needing to hold on to him as long as he could. When his arms were finally empty, the temptation of the roof’s edge had beckoned seductively. But he’d made Alrick a promise, and he would keep it, no matter how much it hurt.
The detectives who’d arrived first on the scene didn’t know what to make of what they found. A police captain was dead and a fellow detective was covered in the blood of a suspicious foreigner. They took possession of the discarded Arctic Warfare rifle, and forensics easily matched it to the gang hits. Brian had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into his involvement in the shooting death of Captain Preston and a German national. The confusion surrounding the situation had only increased once it was determined that his superior officer had been shot with his own service revolver.
No one knew quite what to think. Ballistics matched the gun that had been found near Captain Preston’s body to the bullet that had killed Giovanni Rivella. Gunpowder residue tests revealed that she had, in fact, been the shooter. Suspicions mounted as the story spread of how Brian had been found cradling the body of Rivella’s hired assassin. Suspension and possible criminal charges became a real possibility, not that Brian had cared.
Brian had been invited to explain the situation to Internal Affairs, but he’d declined, making an official statement that he would let the evidence speak for itself. If he was charged for murdering his captain, then so be it. Spending the rest of his life in jail wouldn’t have been any great change to his current existence.
He’d hidden in his apartment for days afterward, unwilling to deal with the world and unable to face Angela’s family. Deep down, he couldn’t shake his belief that her death was his fault. If not for Hayley—Hebeny—and her irrational, undying hatred of him and Alrick, Angela would still be alive. Once the medical examiner had completed the autopsy on her body, her husband had begun making arrangements for her burial. Todd had called him, but Brian didn’t answer. He unplugged his landline and let his cell phone battery drain to nothing.
It was Brad who finally came banging on his door four days after Alrick and Angela’s deaths. Matt Roddy had woken up in the hospital and had revealed everything he’d learned about Hayley and her relationship with Giovanni Rivella. Once their involvement had been exposed, it hadn’t taken long to dig up the rest of the sordid truth. Hayley’s fall from grace sent shockwaves throughout the entire department. The official investigation concluded that Brian’s part in her death was related to his confronting her about her crimes. With no one around to contradict the theory, Internal Affairs quickly and eagerly closed the case, exonerating him of all culpability.
Brian had his life back, but he didn’t want it. His guilt about Angela continued to eat at him, but he began to regret his cowardice for abandoning Todd and the boys. When he finally dragged himself out of his apartment and over to their house a day before the funeral, he’d had no clue what sort of reception to expect, but they had welcomed him with open arms. Brian had begged Todd for forgiveness, but the large man simply wrapped him in a bear hug and told him that he’d always be family. Todd tried to stay strong for his boys, and Sam was manfully hiding his sorrow, but as for Jonathan….
It had taken Brian a long time and a lot of talking to pull the young man out of his depression. A gentle soul, Jon had always been closest to his mother, and her death had hit him particularly hard. Brian had sat with him for hours, letting him cry and rage and indulge his pain until the boy at last found a small measure of solace.
Eventually, Brian told Todd everything about Alrick, Hayley, and himself, about their tragic past and the madness that had driven Hayley to commit so many crimes. He didn’t know if Todd believed him. Hell, he could hardly believe it himself. But he knew that Angela’s family would always be a part of his life, and he owed them nothing less than the truth.
The funeral was a somber occasion. The entire department turned out for it, and the sound of bagpipes and the twenty-one shots fired in her honor pulled tears from the eyes of more than one hard-bitten cop. The rest of the day had passed in a blur, well-wishers coming and going from the Lovell home into the early evening. Todd had invited Brian to stay with them that night so that he wouldn’t have to be alone, but he’d needed some time to put everything into perspective.
The voice mail that was waiting for him when he returned home had been a shock to say the least. His bank had called to notify him about unusual activity on his account. Unusual to the tune of an $800 million deposit. Confused and annoyed about having to deal with this on top of everything else, Brian had just been about to call the bank when his phone rang before he could pick up the receiver.
The grin she threw Brian lacked any trace of sanity. A chill ran down his spine as he suffered the weight of her wild-eyed gaze. “I had Gio kill your precious partner using the same gun and ammo as this bastard so that even your little pea brain could figure it out.” She laughed when he gaped at her in horror, but in an instant, her demeanor changed as her eyes blazed with hatred. “For three millennia I have fulfilled my contract with Set. Just because you’ve somehow remembered the past doesn’t mean this time will be any different.” She shifted her aim away from Alrick and pointed her gun at Brian. “Now pick up your weapon and shoot him, or I swear by every god that has ever existed, I will kill you.”
“No.” Brian’s face was expressionless as he looked at her. “I am sorry for you, Hebeny, sorry that you’ve thrown away your existence for such a stupid reason.”
“You can end this right here and now,” Alrick interjected. Stepping further away from Brian, he stared toward her, moving slowly so as not to spook her as he held out his hand. “Just give me the gun and this will all be over.”
“Don’t move!” Hayley backed away from him, growling with frustrated rage. “Do you think Set would just let me walk away? If one of you doesn’t die by the other’s hand, then my soul is forfeit!”
Alrick eased closer to her, ignoring her shrieks as nothing more than the ranting of a madwoman. His only concern was taking her focus off of the other man. “I promise you, it will be alright.”
“I said stop!” Her eyes were wild with anger and growing fear as she felt her control of the situation slip away. “I will not let you beat me. Do you hear?!” She shot a wild-eyed glance toward Brian, realizing that the blond had made it impossible for her to cover both of them. Deciding that the German was the bigger threat, she kept her gun on him as she screamed at her detective. “Now shoot him, you son of a bitch!” Her entire body shook, and Brian saw her finger began to tighten on the trigger.
“Hayley!”
Terrified that she would shoot Alrick, Brian went for his gun. The sound of her current name startled Hayley and drew her attention away from the taller man. When she saw Brian reaching for his service revolver, she whipped her weapon around toward him. Time slowed to a crawl, the motion of Hayley’s gun tracing a path through the air as she aimed at Brian, his own movements similarly dilated as he fumbled for his gun.
He’ll never reach it in time. The realization erased every other thought in Alrick’s head, until only the image of Brian flying backwards with a bullet in his chest remained. His body seemed to move of its own accord, the urge to protect his lover overriding all other distractions.
Brian managed to wrap his hand around the handle of his gun just as a large body slammed into him. He heard Hayley’s weapon go off as the impact knocked the gun from his hand and sent it skittering across the asphalt surface. He hit the rooftop hard, his lungs heaving as the air was knocked out of him. Struggling to breathe, he rolled the heavy weight off of him and stared past it to see Hayley aiming for a second shot.
He searched frantically for his gun, finally seeing that it was lying just beyond his reach. The click of a bullet falling into the chamber sounded loudly in his ears as he scrambled toward it, but he kept his focus on the weapon, stretching until his arm felt like it would pop out of its socket.
Just a little farther. His breath was loud in his ears, sweat beading on his face as it finally came to hand. He flipped over and fired blindly, not stopping until every bullet had been spent.
Blinking away the stinging moisture that dripped into his eyes, Brian sat up, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His ears were ringing from the explosive sounds of multiple gunshots, but his gaze was steady as he stared at Hayley’s body lying motionlessly several feet away. There were several holes in her shirt at the level of her chest and stomach, the fabric around the tears was already darkening with blood.
“Brian, are you alright?”
The ragged whisper made Brian realize just what had knocked him over. The blond was lying on his side, and when Brian crawled quickly over to him and looked down at his face, his heart stopped at the sight of dark blood glistening on his lips. Alrick coughed and more blood bubbled from his mouth.
“Alrick! Shit, where are you hit?” Brian frantically pulled back the other man’s coat, his gaze honing in on the round tear in the left side of Alrick’s shirt. He stared at the wound in horror. The bullet had pierced through Alrick’s lung.
“Brian—”
“No, it’s okay. Just hold on. It’s okay.” He knew he was babbling, but he couldn’t stop himself as he knelt over the other man and tore off his own coat. Ignoring the cold, he wadded it up and pressed it hard against Alrick’s chest. The blond moaned in pain, but he didn’t let up. Brian risked removing one hand so that he could fumble for his cell phone. He pressed a number that was stored in his speed dial.
“Special dispatch.”
“This is Macon, Homicide. GPS code five-six-four-three. Send an ambulance to my signal right away. I’m on the roof.”
“Yes, sir.”
Brian dropped his phone onto the roof, leaving it powered on so it could be traced. Alrick coughed again, wheezing as he struggled to draw breath.
“Where—?”
“Don’t try to talk. Lay still.”
“Where is she?”
Brian risked a glance toward the body. “She’s dead.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the air behind Hayley began to shimmer, the undulations increasing until the darkness rippled like a curtain. Suddenly, a line of light traced an arch from the disturbance. The space within the arch began to glow, growing brighter and brighter until Brian had to shield his eyes.
“What the hell—?” he whispered.
With a loud crack, the disturbance ripped apart, revealing an arched doorway. Brian couldn’t see what lay beyond it, but a crackle in the air made every strand of hair on his body stand on end. He gaped as a tall, unspeakably beautiful man walked through the rent and stepped out onto the roof, his hair and eyes as red as blood, his tall, muscular form bare save for the shadows that were draped around his waist like cloth. Brian felt his body go hot, then cold, then hot again. He wanted to run away, but even if he could have left Alrick, he doubted his legs would have worked. The man glanced toward them, a cruelly amused smile curving his full lips before he looked down at Hayley’s body. A single red eyebrow lifted with interest.
“And what have we here?” The ground vibrated from the awesome depth of his voice. He spoke softly, yet his tone commanded untold power. The man reached down and yanked Hayley’s head up by her hair, but incredibly, her body remained where it was. Instead, something else came away in his hand, stretching painfully as he ripped it away from its physical form.
Brian stared in frozen disbelief at what he was seeing. The form resolved itself into the image of a woman, but it wasn’t Hayley. The woman was young, her face dark with vicious beauty. Her ancient clothing was instantly recognizable. “Hebeny?” he whispered.
The woman opened her eyes and blinked, her expression disoriented. She looked confused as she saw him and Alrick, but when she looked down at the body lying below her, her face twisted with abject horror.
“Hello, my love.”
The spirit shook as the god spoke to her. Her eyes moved to the side as though she wanted to look behind her but dared not.
“It is time, Hebeny.”
“No!” She reached up and grabbed the hand wrapped in her hair, futilely trying to pull it away. “Please, my lord Set! Please let me go!” She cried out as the god shook her, whipping her around effortlessly as she begged for mercy.
“Come, come, little girl, let us have none of that. I have enjoyed your antics more than I can express, but now your time is done. You must pay your debt to me, and I have come to collect.” He turned toward the glowing opening and drew back his arm.
“Arggghhh!!!” Hebeny’s scream vanished along with her spirit as the god tossed her into the glowing light. Wiping his hands in satisfaction, he turned back toward the two dumbstruck men staring at him in bewildered astonishment.
“I must congratulate you. Watching all of you and your little dramas these long centuries has proved most diverting.” The air grew chill as he smiled, the unbearable perfection of his features promising unspeakable cruelty. “I wish you both the best. Well, at least for the short time you have left.” His laugh seemed to echo even after he disappeared through the rent. It vanished in a flash of light, leaving nothing behind but the unbroken darkness of the night sky.
Alrick’s cough broke Brian from his frozen state. Even through his shock, he’d never relaxed his pressure on Alrick’s chest, but the blood kept coming, seeping from the wound and flecking the blond’s lips as his lungs filled with blood. The god’s parting words began to make horrifying sense.
“Brian,” Alrick wheezed.
“Shh, be quiet.”
“No, Brian. It’s over.”
Brian shook his head, scowling in rejection of Alrick’s words. He choked as something painful lodged in his throat. “I feel like such an idiot. I should have known you didn’t write that damn note.” He was unable to stop the tears that spilled down his cheeks. “Liebling? Isn’t that what you always call me? Not ‘my dear,’ like something out of a bad movie.”
“I am sorry, Brian. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Angela—”
“That wasn’t your fault.” Brian dashed away his tears impatiently, quickly returning both hands to the task of staunching the unceasing flow of blood from Alrick’s wound. He bore down as hard as he could, but he couldn’t stop the internal bleeding. “It was that bitch. She did this. She did all of it.”
“Because of me. She hurt you because of me, just like she did so long ago.” A tear ran unchecked down Alrick’s cheek, but he didn’t have the strength to wipe it away. “I promise that I’ll be better next time, that I’ll be worthy of you.”
Brian shook his head. “No, not next time. Now.” His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper as he closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of the blond’s pain. “I can’t lose you again.”
The effort of raising his hand made Alrick break out in a sweat, but he persevered until he cradled Brian’s face in his hand. “You can’t give up now. If I can’t be with you in this life, I swear I’ll be waiting for you in the next. It’s just as she said. We will be together again, and there won’t be anyone to stop us.”
Brian ignored the salty wetness that bathed his cheeks. “But how will we find each other?”
Blue-tinged lips curved up in a small smile. “We always do.” Alrick pressed against Brian’s jaw until the other man reluctantly opened his eyes and met his gaze. “But until then, you have to live, Brian. Live for both of us. All I want is for you to be happy.”
Brian didn’t know if he could keep such a cruel promise. “I’ll try,” he said for Alrick’s sake.
“And I don’t want you to be afraid any more. Don’t be afraid to love.”
Brian didn’t answer, knowing he’d be lying if he agreed. He couldn’t swear to that, not now when his heart was breaking into a million pieces. He bent down and pressed his lips against Alrick’s. The taste of blood was strong, but he kissed him deeply, pouring out everything that was in his heart. “I love you.” The sound was muffled against the other man’s lips, but the truth of it rang out like a clarion call. “Now and forever.”
Far below, the blare of sirens split through the night. It was only a minute later that the stairwell echoed with the pounding of boots as the paramedics rushed up to the roof. They burst out through the access door but paused when they took in the scene. The taller EMT started forward, but his partner grabbed his arm and held him back. He looked over at the short man, who shook his head grimly.
Brian knelt on the roof, sobbing as he held Alrick’s lifeless body in his arms.
Chapter 15
THE bird flew low over the lake, hoping to catch a damselfly as a tasty snack. The warm spring sun shone down on Brian’s shoulders, glinting off of the rippling surface, the brightness occasionally hiding the bird from view. Suddenly, a twilling call sounded out over the water, heralding the hunter’s success.
Brian sat on the shore of the lake, looking out over the water, trying to enjoy the peaceful scenery. Mrs. O’Malley had been pleased to see him, but when she’d asked why he’d come alone, he’d told her simply that Alrick was busy and couldn’t make it. He hadn’t had the heart to say anything more.
Three weeks after his death, Brian was still struggling to accept that he was gone. He’d only known Alrick for such a short time, but there were no rules governing love. It had been difficult at first, trying to figure out how to go on. He’d fought with the paramedics when they finally took Alrick’s body away, needing to hold on to him as long as he could. When his arms were finally empty, the temptation of the roof’s edge had beckoned seductively. But he’d made Alrick a promise, and he would keep it, no matter how much it hurt.
The detectives who’d arrived first on the scene didn’t know what to make of what they found. A police captain was dead and a fellow detective was covered in the blood of a suspicious foreigner. They took possession of the discarded Arctic Warfare rifle, and forensics easily matched it to the gang hits. Brian had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into his involvement in the shooting death of Captain Preston and a German national. The confusion surrounding the situation had only increased once it was determined that his superior officer had been shot with his own service revolver.
No one knew quite what to think. Ballistics matched the gun that had been found near Captain Preston’s body to the bullet that had killed Giovanni Rivella. Gunpowder residue tests revealed that she had, in fact, been the shooter. Suspicions mounted as the story spread of how Brian had been found cradling the body of Rivella’s hired assassin. Suspension and possible criminal charges became a real possibility, not that Brian had cared.
Brian had been invited to explain the situation to Internal Affairs, but he’d declined, making an official statement that he would let the evidence speak for itself. If he was charged for murdering his captain, then so be it. Spending the rest of his life in jail wouldn’t have been any great change to his current existence.
He’d hidden in his apartment for days afterward, unwilling to deal with the world and unable to face Angela’s family. Deep down, he couldn’t shake his belief that her death was his fault. If not for Hayley—Hebeny—and her irrational, undying hatred of him and Alrick, Angela would still be alive. Once the medical examiner had completed the autopsy on her body, her husband had begun making arrangements for her burial. Todd had called him, but Brian didn’t answer. He unplugged his landline and let his cell phone battery drain to nothing.
It was Brad who finally came banging on his door four days after Alrick and Angela’s deaths. Matt Roddy had woken up in the hospital and had revealed everything he’d learned about Hayley and her relationship with Giovanni Rivella. Once their involvement had been exposed, it hadn’t taken long to dig up the rest of the sordid truth. Hayley’s fall from grace sent shockwaves throughout the entire department. The official investigation concluded that Brian’s part in her death was related to his confronting her about her crimes. With no one around to contradict the theory, Internal Affairs quickly and eagerly closed the case, exonerating him of all culpability.
Brian had his life back, but he didn’t want it. His guilt about Angela continued to eat at him, but he began to regret his cowardice for abandoning Todd and the boys. When he finally dragged himself out of his apartment and over to their house a day before the funeral, he’d had no clue what sort of reception to expect, but they had welcomed him with open arms. Brian had begged Todd for forgiveness, but the large man simply wrapped him in a bear hug and told him that he’d always be family. Todd tried to stay strong for his boys, and Sam was manfully hiding his sorrow, but as for Jonathan….
It had taken Brian a long time and a lot of talking to pull the young man out of his depression. A gentle soul, Jon had always been closest to his mother, and her death had hit him particularly hard. Brian had sat with him for hours, letting him cry and rage and indulge his pain until the boy at last found a small measure of solace.
Eventually, Brian told Todd everything about Alrick, Hayley, and himself, about their tragic past and the madness that had driven Hayley to commit so many crimes. He didn’t know if Todd believed him. Hell, he could hardly believe it himself. But he knew that Angela’s family would always be a part of his life, and he owed them nothing less than the truth.
The funeral was a somber occasion. The entire department turned out for it, and the sound of bagpipes and the twenty-one shots fired in her honor pulled tears from the eyes of more than one hard-bitten cop. The rest of the day had passed in a blur, well-wishers coming and going from the Lovell home into the early evening. Todd had invited Brian to stay with them that night so that he wouldn’t have to be alone, but he’d needed some time to put everything into perspective.
The voice mail that was waiting for him when he returned home had been a shock to say the least. His bank had called to notify him about unusual activity on his account. Unusual to the tune of an $800 million deposit. Confused and annoyed about having to deal with this on top of everything else, Brian had just been about to call the bank when his phone rang before he could pick up the receiver.
