Page 59 of Grave Possession (Grave #2)

“Just trying to compile a possible list of suspects, but Ted wasn’t chummy with anyone that I can remember. He used to be partners with my uncle, but they drifted apart when he was promoted to Captain.”

“No way your uncle was his partner in crime, hey?”

I level him with a death glare. “Absolutely fucking not. He died trying to save Mallory.”

“Are you sure? Maybe Johnson shot him to cut off any loose ends. Someone fucked with those cameras you and the late captain set up, maybe it was Oscar. He could’ve gone back to the mill after you left.”

“Don’t you dare drag his good name through the mud, Jefferds.

Mallory told you what happened when you questioned her at the hospital.

It’s in the report you insisted she go down to the station and fill out.

It’s in my paperwork that he tried calling me on the radio, alerting me to what was happening.

Oscar Graves was a good fucking man, you shit head.

Ted probably removed the memory cards from the cameras during shift change.

” He raises his hands in surrender. “None of this explains the present day murders either, dumbass,” I jab.

“Where was Mallory four nights ago?”

“Don’t make me hit you,” I bite out.

“It’s part of my investigation, Captain Graves. Out of respect, I came to you first. I have every right to haul her in for questioning.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I grind out, clenching my teeth.

“Well, where was she?” he persists.

Apparently, at a drug house killing three people.

“At home,” I reply.

“Can anyone confirm that?”

No.

The lie slips easily from between my lips, “Me.”

“Were you with her?”

“No,” I grit, irritation mounting.

“Then how do you know?” he presses.

Jefferds is going to be a problem. He’s going to dig for evidence on her whereabouts, and I have none to prove she was at home, because she fucking wasn’t .

“Because she went to visit Victoria, basically got the door slammed in her face, then spent the rest of the night wrapped in a blanket, sobbing. Officer Smith can confirm she went there, so can Victoria.”

Jefferds nods, writing all this shit down in the annoying little notebook he keeps flipping open and closed.

“She’s got security cameras on her property, right?

To back up your story.” I nod, wondering if he told anyone he was coming out here to meet me.

He was so insistent I stay tight lipped about it, I doubt he ran his mouth.

“Do you have texts and call logs between the two of you from that night? Maybe you two had a video call if you knew she was crying?” I nod again. His car wouldn’t be hooked up to the police station’s tracking system. Any route it takes would be stored in the onboard GPS system.

“It would be great if you could send all of that my way, so…you know…I don’t have to go ask Mallory for it.”

He winks, and all I see is red.

Jefferds turns his back, reaching for the door handle on his pristine sports car, and I pull my nightstick free from my utility belt.

I might not have been there to protect Mallory when she was taken by a serial killer, when she was being ripped apart from the inside out by emotions, or surrounded by three drug dealers looking to do god knows what to her.

But I’ll fucking protect her now.

Even if it kills me.

“Now, why would you go and say something stupid like that?” My voice has a lethal edge to it, every word dripping with venom .

“Excuse me?” He’s shocked, I can hear it in his voice. His shoulders tense beneath his uniform, and I wonder if he knows what danger he’s just put himself in by threatening Mallory.

“I was prepared to let you walk out of here in one piece, and now I can’t.”

He turns slowly, taking in my menacing form looming over him.

By the time he clocks the weapon in my hand, it’s already too late for him.

Jefferds’s hand darts to the holster at his side, but he’s not near quick enough.

The nightstick cracks off his naked dome with a sickening thud, leaving a dent in his skull.

He drops to the dirt, kicking away from me while trying to unsnap the tether on his holster.

Rage blacks out the fringes of my vision as I advance upon him.

A shot rings out, hitting me square in the gut.

I stagger back from the force, dropping to a knee down in the dirt.

I’ve been shot before, it prevented me from saving my little siren.

It will not happen again.

I heave in a deep breath, get back on my feet, and watch as terror overcomes every one of his features.

His gun lays abandoned in the dirt beside him as his firing hand tries to hold the split skin of his head together.

Idiot. Never abandon your weapon until you know the threat is extinguished.

Blood runs down his face, obstructing his view, as he scrambles to find his firearm.

“You shot me! You fucker!” I shout, launching myself at him.

Jefferds grunts as I spear my body into his, the gravel scraping and digging into my forearms. Finding his weapon immediately, I toss it under his car, watching it skid through the dirt, and far out of reach.

His fist cracks into my jaw as he blindly flails, trying to land any strikes he can.

He’s strong, I’ll give him that, but his fighting is sloppy and panicked.

I drop my full weight onto him, forcing the air from his lungs, and draining the fight out of him.

As he struggles to gasp in a full breath, I retreat quickly.

Buying me the valuable seconds I need to rain down the devastating blows to his skull.

The nightstick bashes into his forearms as he attempts to shield his face.

The satisfying snap of bone pierces the atmosphere, followed by his wail of agony.

Jefferds cradles his arm to his chest instinctively, dropping his defences.

His head whips to the side as my blows hit their mark one after the other.

The crimson of his blood splatters across the cherry red exterior of his car, matching almost perfectly.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

More cast-off streams down the driver’s side window until there’s nothing left resembling a face. I don’t stop until I’m satisfied Mallory’s secret is safe, and I can’t lift my arm. It’s heavy with the weight of what I’ve just done, hanging lifeless at my side.

A breeze blows through the trees, rustling the leaves, and chilling the hot blood dripping down my face.

Sick pride swells within me as his heart ceases to beat.

Redemption, raw and primal, flows through me because I saved her.

This doesn’t absolve me of the drowning guilt, but now I at least have my head above water.