Page 6 of Brush with Death (Not Quite Dead #3)

CYRIL HADN’T BEEN ABLE to stop thinking about Sam the entire night. He still wasn’t sure what had happened because Katie hadn’t been able to give him details, but he was worried.

He was worried about Katie because she clearly needed him, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to help her. He was worried about himself because he knew that helping Katie would mean pushing his ability and his body in a way they probably weren’t ready for. He would be of no use to Katie if he couldn’t talk to Sam, which meant he had to at least try.

He eyed Vale, who was driving them to Katie’s house. Vale hadn’t said anything about Cyril having agreed to help Katie. He’d just asked if Sam had been his friend, and when Cyril had confirmed that he had been, he’d hugged him and told him that he was sorry for his loss.

Cyril believed that he was. He just knew there was more to it.

He could see the tension in Vale in the harsh line of his shoulders and the way he held himself. Vale knew that Cyril would help Katie and that he’d probably hurt himself in the process. Cyril had expected him to try to change his mind, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d told Cyril that he’d drive, and that had been that. Cyril kept expecting Vale to forbid him to help, but the words weren’t coming.

He wasn’t sure what to think of that. He knew that Vale cared about him and that he didn’t want him to do this, yet he hadn’t asked him to take a step back. What did that mean?

“She’s going to ask me to reanimate Sam,”

he murmured.

“I think so,”

Vale agreed.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, but I want to try.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“You’re not going to tell me not to do it?”

Vale sighed and turned his blinker on.

“Would it change anything if I did? I know you’re going to agree to help her whatever I say, Cyril. Do I want you to try to reanimate Sam? Of course not. You’re still healing, and I don’t want you to get worse or be in pain. You know what’s at stake, though, and you know your body better than anyone, even me. If you decide to do this, I’ll support you. I can’t forbid you to do or not do anything, and I don’t want to.”

Cyril didn’t know what he’d done to be so lucky. He hadn’t known what to think of Vale when they’d first met, especially after he’d realized that Vale killed people for a living, but he was glad he’d allowed the man into his life. He didn’t know where he’d be if it weren’t for Vale. Dead, probably.

“I won’t force it,”

he promised.

“I don’t know what’s happening with my ability, and I don’t want to risk losing it completely. I also don’t want to get another headache when I barely recovered from the first. I do want to try to help, though. Sam wouldn’t have gone near the lake. He was wary of the water and what was in it.”

“Thalassophobia.”

“I don’t know. Isn’t that only for the ocean?”

“I have no idea, but if you say that he didn’t like the lake, then yeah, he probably wouldn’t have drowned in it unless someone got him in there. There is something weird happening here. I’m not saying he was killed, but it would be worth investigating.”

“I think so. I want to find out what happened to Sam. If it was an accident, I want him to be at peace, but what if it wasn’t?”

Vale glanced at Cyril.

“Do you have any reason to think it wasn’t an accident?”

“Apart from the fact that he drowned in a lake? Not really.”

Not yet. Cyril wasn’t sure he’d be able to talk to Sam, but if he could, he had no doubt he’d find out this hadn’t been accidental. He didn’t know what he’d do about it, but he could think about it once he had something more concrete.

He hoped he would get answers. He needed them. Katie needed them, and Sam deserved them.

Cyril wasn’t surprised to see that Katie was a mess when they got to the house where she’d lived with Sam. She opened the door already crying, and she cried harder when Cyril pulled her into his arms. They weren’t extremely close, but he liked Katie, and he’d liked Sam. If there was anything he could do for either of them, he wanted to do it.

Right now, that was comforting Katie. He guided her toward the living room, helped her sit on the couch, and sat with her while Vale disappeared into the kitchen. He trusted his boyfriend, so he didn’t pay attention to what Vale was up to and kept his focus on Katie.

It took her a moment to stop crying, and Cyril held her through it as he looked around the room. The sleek glass coffee table was laden with empty coffee cups, glasses, and used tissues, which told Cyril that Katie had probably spent the night on the couch. The small plant at the center of the table had seen better days, and he made a mental note of watering it before he left.

His gaze caught on the pictures on the wall to the right. Most of them were of Katie and Sam, sometimes together, sometimes on their own or with friends. There was even a picture of Cyril there. He remembered when it had been taken, but it felt like a dream.

He couldn’t believe that he’d never see Sam again, and they hadn’t even been that close. He couldn’t imagine what this was like for Katie.

When she finally stopped crying, she turned to Cyril.

“I don’t think it was an accident.”

Cyril agreed, but he felt he didn’t know enough details yet.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

“I don’t know what happened. That’s the point. I wasn’t there with him, and the police said that it was an accident.”

“What did they say exactly?”

Vale asked as he came back with a glass of water. Cyril didn’t miss the fact that he’d been in the kitchen much longer than it would have taken him to find a glass and fill it. Either he’d been giving Katie and Cyril time to talk, or he’d been snooping around.

He placed it on the coffee table and sat in the armchair in the corner, probably because it was clearly not used much. The pillows on it were plump, and the blanket draped over its back was neatly folded.

Katie stared at him with wide eyes, and Cyril realized that he hadn’t told her who Vale was.

“This is Vale, my boyfriend,”

he quickly explained.

“I had a bit of an accident at work the other day, so he drove me here.”

“Are you okay?”

Katie asked.

“I will be.”

Or at least, Cyril prayed he would be. He didn’t know who he was without his ability, and he needed it back.

He didn’t want to disappoint Katie, but he also wasn’t in a hurry to try using his ability on Sam. He could help in a different way for now by being here for his friend. He hoped it would be enough, but he’d dealt with enough people who’d lost someone they loved to know it probably wouldn’t be. Katie would want him to do anything in his power to find out what had happened to Sam, including his gift. That was why she called him.

Cyril couldn’t say no, but right now, he couldn’t say yes, either. He wasn’t sure what he’d do when Katie asked for more, but he’d figure something out. If he couldn’t, Vale would.

“Can you tell us what the police told you?”

Vale asked gently.

Katie sniffed a few times before she straightened her back.

“They knocked on my door yesterday. They told me that Sam had an accident and that he drowned at the lake. I told them right away that it was impossible and that Sam was afraid of the water. He would never have gone into the lake. He couldn’t swim. They didn’t believe me.”

Cyril wasn’t surprised. The police seldom believed families when they said that they were sure it hadn’t been an accident. If Sam had died in a different way, Cyril probably would have believed it was an accident, but Sam drowning in the lake couldn’t be. Sam wouldn’t go anywhere near the lake.

“They said that I’ll get his body back soon, but he’s still with them,”

Katie continued.

“Please, Cyril. You have to help me.”

And there it was. Cyril had expected it, but that didn’t mean that he was happy about it.

“I can’t make promises,”

he warned. He didn’t want to tell Katie the extent of what had happened to him, but he also didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. He didn’t know if he’d be able to help her, but he’d try. He’d do everything he could, including trying to use his ability, but first, he’d try everything else. He was sure Vale would support him.

“But I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you,”

Katie murmured.

“I just need to know what happened to him. I need to be sure.”

“I understand.”

Cyril truly did, but he hoped he wouldn’t come out of this in more trouble than he was already in.

VALE WASN’T HAPPY WITH the way Cyril didn’t even hesitate when he agreed to help, but he didn’t say anything. Cyril knew what was at stake. He knew what he was doing. Vale could only sit back and give him his support when he ended up in trouble—and he would. He always did.

But that was what he had Vale for. Vale would support him and help him through all of this. Cyril might not have been as close to Sam as Katie, but he’d still lost a friend. He was always willing to help strangers, so someone he knew? Vale was surprised he wasn’t already on his way to the morgue.

He was glad that Cyril was being careful, considering what had happened to him. Vale hadn’t expected it. He wasn’t sure what he and Cyril could do to help, but they’d try. Hopefully, they’d find out this had been an accident, although it didn’t sound like it. Both Cyril and Katie seemed convinced that Sam wouldn’t have gone anywhere near the lake, so he couldn’t have drowned in it.

Vale disliked everything about this mess, but whatever Cyril needed, Vale would give him. If that meant hunting a possible killer, then he’d do his best to protect Cyril. Vale didn’t care about Sam or that he was dead. He did care about Cyril, though, and Cyril cared about Sam.

All of this would have been dangerous even if Cyril still had his ability. It would probably be even more so now that he didn’t. They’d have to find another way to get answers, and as far as Vale was aware, Cyril had no experience with this.

Vale wouldn’t be able to get Cyril to change his mind, though, so he wouldn’t even try.

He stayed silent as Cyril and Katie quietly talked. Katie kept bursting into tears, but Cyril never lost his patience with her. Eventually, they had to go home. Katie looked exhausted, and Vale stayed in the living room as Cyril took her to the bedroom so she could lay down for a bit.

He was still thinking about what had happened when Cyril came back. He was tired, too, and he didn’t resist when Vale pulled him into his arms and kissed his forehead.

“She fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow,”

Cyril murmured.

“I don’t think she slept last night.”

“I don’t think I would’ve slept either if I got the news she got yesterday.”

Cyril shivered.

“Something’s wrong. Sam never would’ve gone to the lake on his own. Hell, Katie used to make fun of him because when they went, he wouldn’t go anywhere near the water. I think Katie’s right and that this wasn’t an accident.”

“What do you want to do about it? You can’t seriously be thinking about reanimating Sam.”

“I would if I could.”

Vale resisted the urge to groan.

“You’re once again putting yourself in unnecessary danger.”

Cyril pushed away and frowned.

“What danger? We don’t know what happened. I haven’t done anything yet.”

“We don’t know what happened, but you think that someone killed Sam. That’s what you mean when you say you don’t think it was an accident, right? And if you believe that someone killed Sam, you’re putting yourself in danger without even being able to use your ability. How are you going to help Katie find out what happened?”

Cyril glanced toward the bedroom, but Vale couldn’t hear anything. This probably wasn’t the best place to have this discussion, but it seemed like they were doing it anyway.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, all right?”

Cyril said as he looked back at Vale.

“And you’re right. I don’t think it was an accident, which means that someone probably killed him. If that’s the case, I want to find out who it was and why. I promised Katie that I would help her.”

“She asked because she thought you could reanimate Sam and get answers out of him. How are you going to get those answers if you can’t use your ability?”

“I could try.”

“You couldn’t reanimate that woman the other day, and the doctor told you not to work for at least a few weeks.”

Cyril raked a hand through his hair as he stomped in the direction of the front door.

“What do you want me to say? I already promised Katie I would help. I’m not going back on my word. I can do it on my own if you don’t want to be involved.”

Vale didn’t want to fight with Cyril. Cyril had already given his friend his word that he would help, and he wouldn’t go back on that. That meant that if Vale didn’t want anything bad to happen to his boyfriend, he’d have to help.

“You’re not doing anything on your own,”

Vale said as he caught up to Cyril.

Cyril stopped on the porch and turned back to Vale.

“I don’t want to force you into doing something you don’t want to do. If you don’t want to be involved, that’s fine with me.”

Vale arched a brow. “Is it?”

“Well, it’s not fine, but I’ll deal with it. I just need to know.”

Vale kissed Cyril’s forehead.

“You won’t do this alone. You’ll never have to do anything alone in the future. I meant it when I said I wasn’t going anywhere, Cyril. That includes you throwing yourself into danger without talking to me first. Besides, you’ll probably need Rachel’s help. She can dig into Sam’s life and find out if there was anyone who would’ve wanted to kill him.”

Cyril slumped against Vale’s chest.

“I don’t know why anyone would’ve wanted that. He was a sweet man.”

Sam might have been, but Vale knew better than many people that even sweet men sometimes the things they weren’t proud of. Even sweet men could be monsters.

Vale hoped that wouldn’t be the case with Sam. He didn’t want Cyril to get hurt because his friend hadn’t been the person he’d said he was. He definitely didn’t want Cyril to be hurt because Sam had been involved with something he shouldn’t have and had paid with his life.

When Vale had retired, he believed he’d finally be able to settle down and live in peace. He hadn’t counted on Cyril finding a way to get into dangerous situations as easily as breathing.