Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

EVEREST

Our last day at the beach was great. We found a company that took us out on their boat so Raven could wakeboard. For someone that’s never done it before, Raven was a natural, hopping over the small waves and doing a few flips. It’s probably more to do with him being a demon than anything else.

We had dinner, Raven taking me to a swanky restaurant that didn’t have prices beside their menu items, so I knew it was expensive. The food was phenomenal, and Raven and I had an amazing time.

But the next day, we had to face reality that we were about to be questioned about a murder. Raven said there was nothing to worry about and I believe him, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be under scrutiny at the police station.

After our shower, I stand in front of the mirror, meeting his eyes through the reflection. Raven wraps his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “What is wrong, baby?”

“Everything. Not you and me,” I rush to say so he doesn’t get the wrong idea. “Everything else. My life was shit and no one helped me. Now that my biggest tormentor is dead, I have to go back and answer questions about him.” I sigh, shaking my head. “It makes my head all jumbled. I’m sure you can feel it.”

He nods against my shoulder. “Yes, I can. What do you need, baby?”

“Just want to get this over with so we can go to Xendail. The sooner we leave Earth, the better.” I chuckle as he raises an eyebrow at me. “Is it weird that a human wants to get away from Earth?”

“Just a bit.” He kisses my neck, then takes the towel from my hand to dry me off. “But I like that you are excited to see Xendail.”

With one last kiss to my temple, Raven leaves me alone to get dressed while he packs our things. By the time I’m finished, Raven has our bags packed and we’re ready to go. Our bags are loaded in the car, and we’re heading back to Plainsdale in no time.

When we pull up to the police station and Raven puts the car in park, I ask, “Can you sit in with me?”

“I am not leaving your side,” he assures me. “You do not have to worry.”

He gives me a quick kiss and gets out of the car, rounding the hood to open my door for me. Raven rests a hand on the small of my back, and we walk towards the shitty building.

The police department is an ugly decrepit building, probably over seventy years old, when this kind of construction was the height of architecture. Its exterior is rundown, the air of neglect hanging heavy. The drab gray color gives it a depressive feel—that tracks since nothing good happens in this place.

Inside isn’t much better. It’s small and dingy, the dented and scuffed linoleum floor giving it an unkempt appearance. The wall paper—seriously, it still has wall paper—is peeling in the corners, showing the dull yellow walls behind it. Several of the lights flicker, but no one can be fucked enough to change them, apparently. Across from me, there is a room with a large window on the side, an office for the sheriff and what they call the drunk tank. I remember a few times coming in to pick up my father, watching him piss in the toilet that’s bolted to the wall. This place is fucking miserable.

Officer Shade looks up at us from behind the desk, almost perking up at someone other than the sheriff or another of his colleagues entering. Plainsdale is the worst city for excitement, that’s for sure. Maybe two murders in a few days will perk them all up.

When he recognizes me, Officer Shade raises an eyebrow and sneers at me, though it drops when he locks eyes with Raven. It’s obvious whatever the sheriff has to say about me, they all agree with. Not that I care. Their opinions don’t mean shit.

Before I met Raven, I would have cared. I didn’t like to admit it, but the whispers and the jeers behind my back always made me feel like shit. For days after, I would try to figure out ways I could make myself smaller and not piss anyone off by being who I am. Now? Fuck them all.

“Help you?” the officer asks, narrowing his eyes at me, completely ignoring Raven.

“Um …” I place my hand on the counter, looking around at the beat up police station. This officer is the only one here that I can see, so I wonder if he can just give me the news here so we can be on our way.

“What you want, boy?” the officer asks with his voice full of aggravation. “I ain’t got all day.” Raven growls low in his throat, and Officer Shade sinks back in his chair, properly chastened.

Looking down at the impatient officer, I say, “I’m Everest Carver.” Like he doesn’t know that. Because of who my father is— was– everyone in this town knows who I am. “You called me yesterday to come in.”

“Why didn’t you come in yesterday?” he asks with attitude.

Raven answers for me. “We were not in town yesterday. If we were, we would have. I am sure Everest told you as much when you called.” His tone is hard, warning the officer to be careful.

Taking heed of the warning, Officer Shade nods and picks up his radio from the desk. He lets Sheriff Drake know I’m here. Once the sheriff says he’s on his way, Officer Shade puts down the radio and comes over to the swinging divider, opening it for us. “He’ll want to speak to you in private,” he mutters, waving in front of him to the interrogation room.

I’m not sure how much more private he wants to be, seeing as there is no one here besides Officer Shade, but whatever. Better not to argue so we’re not here longer than we have to be.

Even though Raven said they have nothing on me, I’m the person closest to the deceased, so I can see why I was called. After the fight I had with Jack in public, I’m sure I’m a suspect, even if Raven doesn’t think so.

I sit in one of the rickety chairs at the shitty table and cross my arms. It’s cold in here. The officer looks down at me with disdain. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Not able to help it, I give him a droll look. “Where would I go?”

He scoffs, turns on his heels and leaves the room before Raven can say anything to him for his snark.

While we’re waiting for the sheriff, I look around the room, but there isn’t much to see. The one way mirror—what I mistook for a window from the outside—is scratched and dented, some of the reflective material chipping on the surface. There’s another chair across from me that looks sturdy, not rocking on its legs like mine and Raven’s. That’ll be where the sheriff or whatever officer is interrogating someone would sit in comfort.

I wrap my arms around myself to keep my warmth. There was a documentary on the news about how officers use the cold temperature as a tactic to get someone to talk or confess their crimes. But that won’t work on me. After the torture I went through with my father, they’ll have to try harder to get me to roll over on Raven.

He reaches out and takes my hands in his. Raven’s palms are almost blazing. “Fuck, that feels good,” I say, curling my fingers into his. “Why are you so warm? It’s freezing in here.”

His breath ghosts over my ear when he leans down and says, “All demons run hot.”

An unexpected laugh leaves my lips. “Well, thank god for that.” I pause, then hike an eyebrow. “Or do I thank Lucifer?”

“You’re terrible,” Raven mutters, but he has a small smile on his lips.

Fifteen minutes later—when my fingers are practically popsicles, despite Raven’s warmth—Sheriff Drake walks in. He kicks the door shut behind him as he looks down at some file in his hands. I don’t speak or ask what he’s reading. He probably wouldn’t answer me anyway. He looks up and frowns when he sees I’m not alone but doesn’t otherwise acknowledge me.

He sits, flipping pages up in his file so he can read more and pointedly ignores Raven and me. I stare at him, waiting for him to get on with it so I can go home and cuddle with my demon.

Finally, the sheriff stops pretending to read and looks at me with pure hate in his eyes. I’m not sure what I’ve ever done to him to make him loathe me. Other than being gay, I’ve done nothing to him. I’m quiet, keep to myself, work hard, and go home. Being gay probably is enough to make him hate me, though, just on principle.

“Where you been the past few days? You ain’t been at work neither.” he asks shortly. It’s not where I expected him to go with the conversation.

“Um … I was out of town. At Clinbridge Cove. And I quit Mitch’s place.” I don’t tack on that I quit the night he was murdered and witnessed said murder. I say just enough to answer his questions.

“Uh huh,” he mutters, threading his fingers together behind his head. “When did you go there? Last night?”

I shake my head. “No. The day before.”

“And who can verify that?”

“I can,” Raven says, voice booming in the small room. I smile inwardly as the sheriff starts slightly. He covers it by moving the file he was reading to the edge of the desk.

When his hands stop shaking, Sheriff Drake looks at me. “Proof, besides him?” He thumbs over to Raven but doesn’t look at him again. The abject fear in his eyes makes me happy.

“We had a reservation.” I look at Raven, who nods. Pulling out my old, shitty phone, I scroll through my email and find the check-out paperwork the property manager sent to me. I’m not sure how Raven doctored it, but I won’t ask. As long as there is an alibi, I don’t care.

Drake takes my phone and looks at it, a frown marring his face as he looks at the date and time of our check-in. “What’s this about?” I ask when he hands my phone back.

The sheriff’s face reflects disappointment. It dawns on me he was hoping that he could nail me with something. “Your daddy is dead. He was killed last night.”

I gasp, though I don’t overdo it by crying. Everyone knows there was no love lost between me and Jack. If I start bawling like we had some perfect relationship, the sheriff would know something was up.

“What? How?” I ask. Raven squeezes my thigh under the table, but I don’t look at him. The sheriff would probably try to misconstrue that into my being guilty.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss that. I?—”

“Actually, Sheriff,” Raven says, and the sheriff starts again, “you must disclose cause of death with the next of kin. Answer Everest’s question.”

I’ve never had to be notified of the death of someone close to me, so I’m not sure if that’s true or not.

Scoffing, the sheriff opens the file and pushes it over to me. They’re crime scene photos. A charred corpse greets me on the first picture. My hand flies to my mouth as I close the file. I’m not upset that Jack is dead or that we burned his body—I just wasn’t expecting to see that photo.

“He was burned in his house,” the sheriff says as he takes the folder back, “but before that, his heart was ripped out. Found it burnt up beside him. Do either of you know anything about that?”

I shake my head, hand still over my mouth. “No.” The word comes out muffled. “Nothing.”

“You sure about that? You’re the only one that had a problem with Jack. He was a fine, upstanding citizen and you hated him, didn’t you?”

Anger courses through me as I look up at Sheriff Drake in disbelief. “Fine, upstanding citizen? He used to beat my ass any chance he got for whatever reason he made up in his head. He was not a fine, upstanding citizen. He was a monster.”

I clamp my mouth shut when I see the look on Sheriff Drake’s face. He was waiting on an outburst like that from me. He leans forward, eyes dancing with triumph. “A monster you wanted dead?”

“No, Sheriff. I wanted away from him, so I moved out. I left him and his abuse behind. What’s the point of killing him when I was away from how he treated me?”

Sheriff Drake leans back in his chair, trying to think of something else to say, some other way to corner me, but I’ve had enough. It’s obvious he has nothing. He’s grasping at straws, and I won’t sit here and allow him to weasel a confession out of me.

Raven beats me to it. “Is that all, Sheriff?” he asks, standing fluidly and sliding one hand in his pocket as he holds the other out to me. I take it and stand as well.

“For now.” Even though he directed the words to Raven, he doesn’t meet his eyes. I smile at how my demon has this fucking asshole scared. I can’t wait to kill Sheriff Drake. When we get back from Xendail, he’s next.

We walk toward the door of the interrogation room, but before we step out, I turn back to the sheriff. “I won’t be claiming Jack’s body. He tormented me and tortured me for years, without your interference.” Sheriff Drake looks at me evenly, not the least bit sorry about his inaction on my behalf. “I’m sure the people of this community will chip in to bury this fine, upstanding citizen. It won’t be me.”

“You’re a shitty fucking son,” Drake spews, wagging a finger at me. “If it were me, I would have finished the job, not just given you a few black eyes. You were a blight on his life. A gay son on top of his wife running off. No wonder he drank all the time.”

Before I can defend myself or my mother, Raven takes two steps over to the sheriff, towering over him. Sheriff Drake shrinks back, his hand on the butt of his gun. Raven doesn’t pay that any mind, crowding the sheriff with his much larger body. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll never wish ill upon Everest again.”

“Is that a threat?” He tries to sound tough, but his voice comes out strained with fear. Fuck, Raven is magnificent.

Raven chuckles, nodding his head. “Absolutely.” He takes a few steps back, reaching for me. “Let’s go, Everest. We are done here.”

I lace my fingers through his, and we leave the police station.