Sneak Peek at Ghost

GHOST

Detective Ray Sommers

Marshall, Texas hadn’t changed much over the past decade, at least not physically. The diner sat in the same spot, the high school and football field remained much the same as when he went to school there, and the main street still resembled small-town America with its flags, flowers, storefronts, and wide sidewalks. A place where you could raise a family in peace and relative safety, at least from all outward appearances.

He’d promised Elias he’d come back for a visit after they’d found Fletcher’s brother, Kyle, and had shut down the human trafficking ring in Seattle that their parents had been involved with.

Sheriff Elias Cooper and he served together in the Marines before returning to civilian life, if being a sheriff or homicide detective was considered normal to anyone outside law enforcement.

So here he was, back in the town he’d grown up in. Where he’d been expected to take over as sheriff someday like his father had, after he’d retired from the Marines.

But that never happened due to a twist of fate and a few well-intentioned offers. This stop was little more than a quick visit on his way to a law enforcement conference in Las Vegas. A way of keeping a promise to his old Marine buddy, Elias, without being forced to stay too long. He was expected to attend the conference in four days and couldn’t miss it. A win-win in his books.

As he drove through town, old memories crept up as they always did. The street he grew up on to the left, the park he used to play basketball in, the corner store that sold all the best candy, the skate park where he broke his first bone, and the bench where he got his heart broken.

It was all here in this town, and it was choking him. He could feel the imaginary hands circling his neck, growing tighter by the moment. He pulled at his shirt collar for relief, but finding none, he sped up.

Once he made it outside the town limits, he felt those fingers loosen, and his breathing even out. A town shouldn’t have this kind of visceral effect on him after having spent so many years hundreds and thousands of miles away first as a US Marine, and then a homicide detective.

But it did. And it still sucked.

He took a calming breath and turned down the side road that led to Brick’s lake house. He’d be meeting Elias and Fletcher at their cottage on the property.

It’d been a couple years since the case involving Kyle, Fletcher’s brother, had been closed, and Ray had run out of excuses for not visiting his old friend and hometown. So here he was, though reluctantly, and dreading every moment while already planning his immediate escape.

He knew the area well and didn’t require directions, but Sophia had owned the lake house back when he’d lived in town. Sophia’s older brother and Brick’s father had moved away years before Ray was born, and his father took over as sheriff. Their parents were elderly and under Sophia’s care. It was a lifetime ago, a past he’d preferred to stay that way, or at least he hoped it did.

To say he was shocked when he pulled onto the driveway leading to the old lake house would be an understatement. What lay before him wasn’t the same place he’d left behind years earlier. The house looked shiny and new, and the new cottages dotting the property between the large oak trees reminded him of one of those idyllic setups in a movie. Almost too perfect.

“ Shit, times have changed around here,” he mumbled as he threw his truck into park.

When he got out, he spotted boats moored up to a large dock, and Spencer, whom he’d met on Kyle’s case, was fishing off to the side while a smaller man sat in a lawn chair reading a book by his side. Doors opened on the lake house, and Brick, Elias, and Fletcher walked out onto the back deck.

“ You finally made it,” Elias shouted as he waved at Ray. “Thought you might’ve gotten lost.”

“ Yeah, well, some of us have busy caseloads and can’t just hop on a plane whenever they want,” Ray joked as he changed directions and headed their way.

“ Don’t give me that shit. You forget who you’re talking to,” Elias said as he held out his hand for Ray to shake when he reached the top step. “How the hell are you, buddy?” he asked as he brought him in and slapped him on the back.

“ Good, good,” Ray said. “You know. Same story, different day is all. How has small-town life been treating you?”

“ Beats the hell out of living in the rat race.” Elias laughed. “You couldn’t pay me enough to move to the city.”

“ Good to see you again, Ray,” Fletcher said as he shook Ray’s hand.

“ You keepin’ this guy on the straight and narrow?” Ray asked with a nod toward Elias.

“ Hell, we wouldn’t be here if he was straight,” Fletcher joked, making Ray laugh along with the others.

“ You got me there. How are you, Brick?” Ray asked, shaking his offered hand.

“ Keeping busy. You know how things go.”

“ Yeah, I do. I hear those missions have you guys pretty tied up lately.” Elias had mentioned a bit about Fletcher being away on jobs, but had never gotten into specifics.

“ Come on in, we’ll grab a beer and getcha caught up,” Brick said with a welcoming smile.

“ Sounds great.” He could use a beer or two. This town gave him stress like no other location he’d ever been in.

Ray followed them into the lake house and couldn’t believe how nice the place was for a bunch of men living there. There wasn’t even a coat lying across the back of a chair or an area rug askew.

“ This house has come a long way since I was here last. Congrats on the renovations and the cottages. It’s stunning.” Truthfully, it was damn near picturesque.

“ Thanks. We’ve worked hard and had help,” Brick said. The look of pride on his face was well deserved.

A young woman walked in as if looking for something. This had to be the infamous Julia he’d heard so much about. The heart of the lake house and all its residents.

“ Ray, I’d like you to meet Julia,” Elias said.

Julia turned and smiled wide.

“ Hello, ma’am. I’ve heard lots of wonderful things about you from Elias,” Ray told her.

“ Same here. I’m glad you found the time to visit us after helping out with finding Kyle.”

“ These guys would’ve found him without me, but I’m glad I could help in some small way.”

Julia opened her mouth to speak, but something to her left side caught her attention.

“ Found you,” she hollered at the wall roughly ten feet away from them.

Ray was about to ask what she was looking at when a smaller man appeared out of thin air. Standing there as plain as day and as real as the table beside him.

“ What the fuck was that?” Ray shouted before taking a few steps forward to place himself in front of Julia to protect her.

The naked man’s eyes widened, and he screamed, but before another word was spoken, the strange man’s eyes closed, and he slumped to the floor, having passed out.

Julia pushed past Ray, and she and Fletcher ran to the man, who was now lying unconscious on the floor.

“ Oh shit. Darren, Darren, talk to me,” Julia said as she lifted his head off the hardwood.

Ray had no idea what the hell was going on and turned to Elias for answers.

“ You forget to tell me something?” Ray asked.

“ Yeah, we need to talk,” Elias said.

Ray turned back to the man still crumpled on the floor to see crystal-clear blue eyes staring at him in abject fear.

As if a gust had whooshed through Ray’s body, he was overcome with the most unexpected and unwelcome feeling: the absolute need to ensure he never saw that expression on Darren’s face again.

Shit .