CHAPTER FOUR
DOMINIC
I stare at my phone for the nth time, my fingers gently running through Natasha's thick fur. It's been two days since Whit brought my baby girl back to me, and I cannot begin to express how happy I am to have her around. Natasha is a Doberman Pinscher. I got her a few years back after I retired and my therapist advised me to get a pet to keep me company. She's a sweetheart and the best dog ever.
"You've been staring at your phone since I left," Whit drawls, walking into his apartment with a bag of food. My stomach rumbles at the sight of food and I give him a sheepish grin when he arches a brow at me before shaking his head and sighing. "You mind telling me why you keep checking your phone?" He asks, taking off his shoes before sitting down. "I'm just checking in case the mystery sender decides to grace me with more information," I say with a laugh, trying to play it cool, but Whit sees right through me and his face softens in understanding. "You just got to calm down, Dom. I'm sure they'll send something soon. They must know you're in Sedona right now," He says. " I know, I'm just…I just need more clues, you know. Just…I need to know what I'm working with. I don't have a fucking clue where to start from," I tell him and he nods in understanding.
I've been spending most of my time digging through my brother's files, trying to find the cases he worked on shortly before he was killed. So far, none seem to look suspicious. I don't know if this strange person is trying to play a nasty trick on me or they really know how my brother was killed. When my brother died twenty three years ago, he was caught in a shootout with an escaping criminal. He took a hit to his heart, killing him on the spot. For twenty three years I believed his death was my fault. I believed if we hadn't fought that day and he didn't storm off, maybe he would not have been caught in that shootout.
My brother, August, was loved by everyone. He was a good sheriff, the best older brother and every mother's dream son. Everyone loved and looked up to him. Finding out that his death is more than it seems feels unbelievable, but if there's something I've learnt from the fifteen years I worked as a detective to the US government, is that nothing is unbelievable when it comes to crime. No matter how minimal or unimportant it seems, never rule it out until there's a hundred percent certainty that it is not important.
If my brother really wasn't killed in that shootout but somewhere else, I have to find out where and who killed him. Sedona is a very quiet and peaceful town, but even the quiet ones are the most dangerous ones.
My phone dings, drawing my attention. I unlock it when a message pops up. "What…what…" I mutter in confusion as I stare at the three letters written in bold italics.
SALVATION BE DAMNED
I continue to stare at the message, trying to understand why they would send me this. I know for certain that this was sent by the unknown sender, but what it means is where I am left in the dark. Just three words, no date, no pictures or a place for reference, nothing. "Let me see, man," Whit says and I hand him my phone, that is when I notice my hands are shaking. I stare at them with a frown, surprised by the usual reaction. Nothing scares me. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. Not even when I was stabbed six times and nearly lost my life.
Why is this suddenly getting such a reaction from me? Is it because it is related to my brother's death? I sigh in annoyance and run my fingers through my hair, my nails gently scratching my scalp. "Can you figure out what it means?" I ask hopefully, but when he continues to stare at it when a frown, I deflate with a huff. "Can you at least trace the location? It's a text so you should be able to trace their location through that, right?" I ask. He grunts and picks up his laptop and starts typing speedily. He connects my phone to his laptop and continues typing.
I start losing hope when Whit's brows crease into a deep frown and his fingers start flying across the keyboards with force. Whit is never stressed. Especially when he's with his computer. He's the most comfortable in his element, so this is how I know things are not going his way. "Whit? Hey…hey!!" I shout, startling him. He looks up at me with a glare. "Dude's fucking firewall is out of this damn planet!" He grits out, his hands clenching into a tight fist. Okay, he's really upset. Whit is the most calm and collected person I know. This stranger must be an out of this world genius to be able to prevent Whit from finding him. "That bad?" I ask with a frown. "Fucking bastard is blocking me out. Whatever shit he's using, it's damn good," He grumbles and I see how hard it is for him to admit this when he clenches his fist so hard, it turns completely white.
With a tired sigh, I stand and move to gently clasp him on his shoulder. He looks up at me with a defeated expression and it tugs something in my chest. "It's okay, man. I'm sorry for dumping all these on you. You should be back in California living your quiet life," I tell him and grin when he rolls his eyes with a huff. "Quiet is overrated," He grumbles, making me chuckle. Trust Whit to always make me feel better. "Alright, man. If you say so," I tell him, pat his shoulder once more and look back, about to call for Natasha but notice she's asleep. I guess I'll have to take that walk on my own.
"I'll be back in a minute, man. Want to clear my head a little. This fucker sure knows how to mess with people," I tell him and smile when he wabes me off with a grunt and goes back to typing away on his laptop. "Here," He says, handing me my phone. I thank him and walk out.
The warm air hits me the moment I step out of the house and I groan, missing the cool California weather. I don't know where I'm headed, but I can't stay at home and do nothing. After years of working on my temperament, I've been able to reign in all that anger and destruction I had in my younger years. Nothing riles me up anymore…at least not to this extent. "Salvation be damned," I whisper, mulling over what it means. For some strange reason, I have a feeling whoever this fucker is, they're someone I know. But who exactly?
With a frustrated groan, I pull at the hairs at the back of my head, my anger palpable. When, not if, I get the opportunity to see that fucker, I'll give them a piece of my mind—with my fist. I haven't been violent in a long long time, but this fucker has done nothing but bring out all the nasty qualities I fought so hard to lock away all these years.
I'm so immersed in my thoughts, I do not realize how far I have walked until I find myself standing in front of the huge building of Sedona Red Rock Jr-Sr High School. I blink up at the huge building and frown when I notice how quiet it is. Isn't it still school season? I stare down at my wristwatch and I'm shocked to find that it's already past five in the evening. Oh, wow! It was barely twelve thirty minutes ago!
With a grunt, I turn around to head back to Whit's apartment, when I hear footsteps approaching. Turning around, I see a woman walking towards me, but she has earplugs in and is staring at her phone with a pout. She gasps, clutching her phone to her chest when she's a few feet away and finally notices me. "Oh! Hey!" She says with a bright smile, recognition lighting up her bright green eyes. They are so bright I am able to see the tiny ring of dark green in them from where I'm standing. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you. Are-are you waiting for someone?" She asks and her smile dims when I just continue staring at her without saying anything. Way to go with creeping her out, dimwit!
I clear my throat, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. "Uh…no-no, I'm not. I-I just walked here without realizing," I tell her and she nods slowly. "You lost your way?" She asks, sounding concerned. Something in me warms at her concern and I find myself smiling a little. "No, not lost. I… I was thinking, so…" I drift off when she lets out a small laugh, shaking her head. "Must have been caught up in one hell of a thought for you to lose your way," She says and I groan at her obvious tease. "I didn't lose my way…" "Cecily. My name's Cecily," She says. "I didn't lose my way, Cecily. I'm Dominic," I say and reach out my hand for a handshake. She places her hand in mine and shakes me and I cannot help but notice how soft and small her hands are. Slim, long, well manicured fingers. "Have we met, Cecily?" I blurt out, certain I have seen her somewhere.
She stares at me with wide eyes before letting out a soft laugh. "If you mean the two seconds of eye contact we made at Marcy's diner, then yes, we have met," She says with a smile and I'm immediately catapulted to the brief encounter we had at the diner a few days back. I remember nearly walking into someone and barely managing to avoid a clash as I left Marcy's diner. Huh! "Right! That was you," I say quietly but she catches it and snorts. "Yeah, that was me. I'm sorry I nearly ran into you. I was just too tired and hungry. My brain was half functioning," She explains with an embarrassed laugh, and I immediately shake my head trying to let her know I wasn't offended. "It's okay, Cecily. We all have those moments, one too many times," I tell her and feel myself relax when she smiles brightly, her eyes crinkling at the sides.
Cecily is a beautiful woman of average height, probably 5'9, with long curly brown hair, big green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She's stunning. I feel a stir of attraction, but quickly squash it. I don't have time for attractions. Not when I have a possible unknown threat on my hands and my brother's mystery death case to solve. I still have my mother to think about.
My mood dims with the thought of my alcoholic mother who won't spare me even a second of her sober time. The only time she ever talks, more like curse at me, is when she's drunk out of her mind. I push that thought away, not ready to deal with it. "Are you…are you heading somewhere?" I ask, looking at the empty school building then back at her. "Oh, yes! I'm going home," She says and I nod slowly, rocking on my feet. Before I can stop myself, I blurt out "can I walk you home?" She stares at me for a few seconds, one eyebrow at her perfectly, before she laughs and nods. "Sure."
I walk Cecily home and I'm on my way back to Whit's apartment when my phone dings and I check it to see it's a message from Whit. "Get your ass back here! I know what the fucker sent," the message reads and I feel a huge smile spread across my face.