Page 15 of Splintered Memories (Ember Hollow Romance #2)

August

T hree of my brothers sat in Emersyn’s living room. Two empty pizza boxes were left on the coffee table after we’d devoured them. Emersyn was still locked down in her studio. I expected her to stay there until later in the night, like she usually did.

Emersyn’s home was nice. Big enough for the four of us—our youngest brother, Reid, was home sick—with plenty of space in the living room.

A sectional and a couple of chairs were centered toward the fireplace on the right wall.

Emersyn’s style was modern with a cozy twist: lots of iron accents mixed with warm wood tones and bold, moody colors.

It was far different from the Victorian home I’d grown up in, but I liked it. It suited her.

Graham set his beer on the end table next to the leather chair he was seated in. “You’re on edge,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.

I bristled from where I leaned against the wall, one hand in my pocket while the other held my beer. I thought I’d been doing a decent job of looking normal, having a casual night of pizza with my brothers .

Graham was a forensic psychologist by profession and always had a knack for reading people. He saw the things people tried to hide.

I took a slow swig of my beer. It was good, stout without being too bitter. Fox had brought it from the local brewery.

“Today was more eventful than I’d planned for,” I grumbled.

Fox straightened from his seat on the sectional. I was used to seeing him every day in the office, and even though it had only been a few days of me being on this new job, I missed him. From the look my twin was giving me, he wasn’t happy that I hadn’t told him what had happened.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when I didn’t elaborate.

I stared down at my boots. “Emersyn was attacked.”

A beat of silence.

“But she’s all right?” Graham said.

I lifted a shoulder. “Physically, sure. She hit her head, but—” My hand tightened around the beer bottle in a vise so tight it could’ve shattered.

I quickly told them the details of what happened, how she’d snuck away and was cornered in the alley.

“She was threatened. Some bastard said she had to delete her videos or else he’d come for her again. That she wouldn’t walk away next time.”

My stomach roiled, heat flaming in my chest at the thought.

“What do you need us to do?” The deep, gruff voice came from my oldest brother.

My gaze cut to Roman. He leaned his elbows on his knees, looking at me with those dark eyes.

Roman was my only brother who wasn’t on Hearthstone’s payroll.

He was a firefighter full-time, but he offered help whenever he could.

Which understandably wasn’t often because he also was a single dad to a rather spunky six-year-old .

“You have enough on your plate.” I set my beer on the mantel beside me and straightened.

Roman huffed in disapproval. “I can make time.”

I stared at him, at the purple shadows under his eyes. Ever since he lost his wife shortly after his daughter was born, he’d been running himself ragged. I wouldn’t ask more of him if it was avoidable.

“I will let you know if I need you.” I gave him a nod before shifting my attention back to Fox, my cyber security manager, but also so much more than that.

“What I need is a deep dive into Emersyn’s online profiles and the types of accounts leaving comments that are anywhere near threatening.

I need to know who is following her and who can be considered a real-life danger. ”

Fox nodded. “I can do that.”

I glanced at Graham. “Could you get me a profile of the person after Emersyn? I’d like to run that against the suspicious social media accounts that Fox flags.”

Graham brushed a lock of brown, wavy hair off his forehead. “I’ll need more information, of course. But that shouldn’t be a problem.”

I nodded. “I’ll tell you everything I know, and if you need more information, you can speak with Emersyn.” I paused, a thought occurring to me.

Graham tilted his head, one brow curving upward. “What else?” he asked, as if he read my very thoughts.

“The FBI is in town.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “After the shooting, Emersyn spoke to an agent. He’s working with the Ember Hollow PD on the Shadow Stalker case. ”

The room went eerily silent at the mention of the serial killer. The tension from my brothers was palpable, each of their bodies like overtightened violin strings ready to snap.

“If they spoke to Emersyn, do they suspect the Shadow Stalker is behind the attacks on her?” Graham’s voice was too calm and casual for the tightness of his muscles.

“It’s their theory. I might have Reid see if he can get any more information from the police department. See what information they’re willing to share.”

Graham’s eyes unfocused, as if lost in his own mind. Then, he shook his head, as if dismissing something. “I have a hard time believing the Shadow Stalker would be this sloppy, but I’ll work up a profile and we can go from there.”

“Thank you,” I said, speaking to each of my brothers.

Their stares were supportive, but also heavy. Worry lingered in the eyes focused on me.

It was too much.

I drained the last of my beer. “Anyone else need another?” I lifted my empty bottle.

They shook their heads, and I turned to head into the kitchen.

That small bit of separation from them had my chest loosening, though I could still see them through the wide threshold. I opened the fridge, lingering for a moment before I grabbed another bottle.

When I snapped the refrigerator door closed, Fox was leaning on the counter next to me.

“I thought you didn’t want another beer.”

Fox’s gaze narrowed. “I thought you said you were doing better. ”

I froze reaching for the bottle opener magnet stuck to the fridge. I spoke to Fox every day now that he was running Hearthstone’s office. He always asked me how I was doing, and though I didn’t lie to him, I never wanted to burden him, either.

“What makes you think that I’m not?” I took the bottle opener and popped off the cap.

“I shared a womb with you, brother.” He rolled his eyes. “You’ve never been able to hide things from me.”

I sipped my beer, avoiding answering. Things were hard…but I was dealing. At least, I was trying to.

Fox straightened, stepping in front of me. He spoke low, so our brothers in the next room couldn’t hear. “How are the nightmares?”

I squeezed my eyes tight, trying not to see those dark eyes that had been haunting me every night, the look on his bloody face as he took his last breaths in my arms. My shoulder seared with phantom pain, but I forced myself not to reach for it.

My dreams had been worse since Emersyn had been shot at. I woke every night covered in sweat, but I could handle it.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered.

Fox leveled me with a look. “Do you need to talk to someone about it?”

I shrugged a shoulder. I’d been in communication with my therapist, but I hadn’t had time to see him in person. “It’s the stress, but I’ll be fine.”

Fox’s chest deflated with a long breath. He knew the expression on my face. I wasn’t in the mood for this discussion.

“Just know I’m here for you, if you need to talk.” He patted me on my good shoulder .

I nodded. “I know,” I said. “But you’re doing more than enough right now. If you weren’t taking care of Hearthstone, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Fox’s mouth found a small smile. “I know, you’d be lost without me.” He winked. “I’ve always been the best twin.”

I swatted him on the arm, some of my beer sloshing onto my shirt as he dodged me. He laughed, and I sighed.

“Get out of here.” I gestured toward the living room. “Go bother one of our other brothers while I change my damn shirt.”

Fox grinned, but he obliged. Even with beer spilled down my shirt, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Growing up, having four brothers was overwhelming sometimes.

But now that we were adults, I couldn’t imagine my life without them.

I’d do anything for them, and I knew, without a shadow of doubt, that they would do the same for me.

T he next morning, I was halfway through my bowl of cereal (cereal I had bought myself) when I noticed the time. It was after nine in the morning. I frowned.

My eyes caught on the staircase, ears straining for the slightest indication someone was moving upstairs. Silence.

Emersyn seemed to be a creature of habit. She had gotten out of bed every day this week to pick up her first cup of coffee at 8:30, on the dot. From there, she worked in her studio until the afternoon, when she’d finally eat her first meal of the day, along with another cup of coffee .

I picked up my phone, hesitating before sending her a text. It was still early, and she’d had a long day yesterday. Maybe she needed a little more sleep.

Putting my phone down, I returned to my cereal, but a knot of worry lingered in my gut. She had seemed fine when she slunk upstairs right before midnight, long after my brothers had gone home.

I busied myself with emails after breakfast, sipping my coffee as time ticked by. It was almost noon when I finally decided to check up on Emersyn. I’d sent her a text an hour ago and she hadn’t replied.

Standing from the kitchen table where I’d been working on my computer, I rolled my shoulder. I headed for the stairs, but decided to check the rest of the house before I went to her room.

She wasn’t anywhere.

The studio was empty and quiet and a bit of a mess with all the merch that had overflowed from the desk and onto the floor.

I even checked the garage to make sure her car was still here. It was exactly where I’d parked it yesterday.

My jaw popped as I clenched my back teeth.

That knot of worry grew into a tangled ball of nerves in my stomach.

I ascended the stairs up to her room two at a time.

Emersyn’s room was down the hall from the one I was sleeping in.

As I approached the door, there was no noise.

No sign that anyone else was in the house.

I tried to ignore the fear spiking through me.

I pulled in a breath, standing before her bedroom door. She was in there; she had to be. Maybe she was entirely more exhausted than I’d realized. I gave the door three hard raps, loud enough to wake her if she’d been sleeping.

I waited, but there was no reply .

My chest seized. “Emersyn?” I called her name, knocking on the door again.

Still nothing but silence.

I grabbed the door handle, the worry turning to full-blown anxiety. “Emersyn, I’m coming in,” I warned before cracking the door and peeking in.

I didn’t see her.

I flung it all the way open and strode inside, gazing around for any sign of her.

She wasn’t there.