Page 31 of Stalked By Shadows

Lukas looked me over, his gaze telling me a thousand things at once. “You came up swinging the entire first week you were here. Flashbacks nightly, the next morning a bear. Unfamiliar place, I think you told me.”

“I’d just gotten out of a mental prison,” I said and shrugged. “I was a little messed up.”

“And one night with Micah and no nightmares, flashbacks, or waking up cussing all of humanity?” Lukas quirked a brow at me.

“It doesn’t mean anything. I was tired. Had a stressful night.”

“Yep,” Lukas agreed while his posture said he knew I was being purposely obtuse. “Which usually makes you worse.”

“What do you want me to say? That there’s something about him? That he told me go to sleep and I did? That his presence relaxes me?” All while turning me on. And wasn’t that all pure truth. Fuck. “What about you and Sky? Maybe we should prod at that relationship for a while.”

Lukas laughed. “Right, ‘cause you have room to give me relationship advice? Go. Shower, food, and once you’re human again we’ll talk. Fuck, I’m so tired. Maybe we both could use a nap.”

“Don’t we need to talk about the case?”

“No. I’m not lead detective on it because you’re involved and the department is a little pissed at me.”

“Why?”

“Because while Micah was wrapped around you to keep you from getting shot, I was standing in their line of fire. Not all cops are that jumpy, but there are a handful that would rather have shot you and worried about the consequences later. Didn’t matter that you weren’t actually a threat to anyone. We need de-escalation training back, badly.”

I stared at Lukas wondering in that moment how I’d been so blessed and cursed to have a brother like him. Protecting me from death and setting me up with an ex-porn star of whom I used to be a fan was something special. And his deviousness knew no bounds.

“Detective McKnight is very professional, by the book, and careful. He’s had no complaints against him that have stuck, and does seem to get the answers we need. Did you tell him everything you saw?” Lukas asked.

Not really. As I didn’t talk about the shadow at all. “Mostly,” I admitted.

Lukas narrowed his eyes. “What did you see?”

I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it and as you so often point out, I don’t need to understand it.”

“But what did you see?”

“A shadow,” I said. “It reached for Micah. I pushed him away and it hit me instead. That’s when I blacked out.”

“Was this the same type of shadow as what you saw in the desert?”

Was it? No. This had been less defined. Weaker maybe? Or just different. “No. I don’t know how to explain it. I mean there were some similarities I think, but it felt very different… weaker, I guess.”

Lukas sighed and said, “But you didn’t see the body, right?”

“No. Not that I can recall. Just the animals…” That was enough of a bad memory even as vague as it was. At least all I’d seen had been a glimpse.

“Good. I’d rather you not have that as fodder for nightmares.”

“I’ve seen plenty of dead bodies in my life,” I defended.

“And how many of them still give you nightmares?”

A lot actually.

“That’s what I thought,” Lukas said, obviously reading the expression on my face. “Forget about bodies, focus on your new job.”

“You want me to sleep with the cosplay boy toy.” My body agreed with that idea too.

“Yep. You know you want to. Plus if you’re both weird, what could be a better fit? Go shower, you’re a hot mess and have nothing to show for it.”

“I’m not weird,” I said as I stalked to the shower thinking a thousand uncharitable things about my brother on the way. Lukas’s only response was to laugh. Bastard.