31 Done
In the quiet of the car on the way back, Amber sang, barely letting her voice rise beyond a deep whisper; to not wake Dom as he slept in the seat beside her. Something that she had heard on the radio in the kitchen one day as she made breakfast, it had wormed its way into her head and wouldn’t leave. The wide empty spaces of the desert, the warm rain scented air that gusted through the rolled down windows, all made it easier to let it go.
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30 Soft, Slow and Sweet
He hated the sound of her voice.
It grated. Whined and insinuated itself into his head until he had wanted to reach across the scarred wooden tabletop that separated them and throttle her. Eddie hadn’t really needed another cup of coffee but he had needed to get away from her, even if just for a moment. The small dingy room still echoed with his shouts as he had braced his knuckles against the wood, leaning in and bellowing at her. He needed some air before he blew it.
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29 Home
The red car trailed behind Dom back to the outskirts of Lakeside. There was the radio but Vince didn’t use it and neither did he; what would they say to each other? It had been hard enough face to face and Dom knew that if he asked any of the hard questions that he wanted to ask, that he should ask, that he would push Vince away. More than anything, he didn’t want that to happen, so he said nothing.
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28 Over
The black cars that swarmed out of the surrounding brush behind the truck were low-slung, their powerful engines high-pitched as though they resented any pace less than blinding. So close to the ground, it made it hard for Dom to get an eye on who he was dealing with, instinctively seeking out Vince, knowing his old friend had to be somewhere close by.
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27 Any Other Day
It wasn’t the best way to deal with evidence, the Sheriff knew, but this was pretty far from normal. The bucket with its shards of bloody broken glass sat on the seat beside him, on top of a clipboard. A bagged lunch from the drive-through sat beside the pail. A far from normal way to transport evidence. That would have to change once he got back to the station.
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26 The Road Never Changes
“This doesn’t feel right.” Vince muttered as he trailed after Letty; she wasn’t listening, hadn’t listened, not once, not that he honestly expected her to. When they got to the kitchen, he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pushing her against the wall where at least she would have to stay in one place, whether she listened or not.
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25 On the Way to Lakeside
Sheriff Hollabird slammed the door to his cruiser, taking in Mia’s pissed off glare and Amber’s apprehensive look, like a deer frozen in the headlights. “Ladies,” he took in both, tilting his hat but not taking it off; if Mia’s expression was anything to go by, he wasn’t exactly welcome. Not that it fazed him; he had matters at hand and he would get answers, one way or another. It didn’t serve his purposes to have the two women set against him, however.
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24 Going
“Sorry.”
Dom raised an eyebrow, the scowl sharpening as he looked over the top of the dull black Chevy. Brian rested his elbows on the roof, handing over the small radio so that Dom could fasten it to his visor. “For what exactly?”
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23 In the Light of Day
Brightman held his arm tightly as he stalked down the back hallway to his apartment. It bled less and hurt more; the painkillers that he had taken in Heather’s bathroom served to keep his head clear but that was as far as it went. Continue reading
22 Surrender
Tired. Never in his life had Dom felt so tired. Even his clothes felt heavy, making his legs ache and pulling his shoulders down where the cotton touched his skin. Old and tired. He had raced for almost the entire span of his life and never had he hated it so much. Hated the life and hated it at every place where it touched him. If he was another sort of man, he would walk away from it, but he knew that he couldn’t. That he wasn’t made that way.
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