Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2) (28 page)

He felt bad for her. She had been cleared of
the murder charges and self-defense was the final verdict, as
expected. Aiden’s coming forward to witness did help win the case.
But, her job was what she loved, what she had spent so many years
going to school for. She had a duty to protect the souls, and being
a medical examiner was her way of doing it.

Things weren’t looking good at the hospital
either. They were probably going to give her the boot. If they did,
it wasn’t like her profession was the kind where one could just go
out and find another position. So, it would be difficult for her to
find another job. Not to mention that the other hospitals wouldn’t
want to hire a medical examiner with any kind of a record.

So, reasonably, she was in a bit of a
depression. She spent her days over at the Estmond house, wandering
the cemetery and trying to figure out what she was going to do with
all the schooling and degrees she had if no one would hire her.

This was his new life … and he loved it.

He was more than happy to wipe out the old
and bring in the new. But, there were a few things he had to take
care of before the old was eradicated.

The new was amazing though. He didn’t always
see the souls, or the auras of the Keepers and Reapers, only when
he concentrated on it. When he cleared his mind and let the weight
of the world go.

“Love you.” He planted a kiss on Hannah’s
cheek and crept out of the room.

The police station in Summer Hollow was
basically a tiny office space on the main strip in town. It was
small, not what he was used to at all. The position with the SHPD
was basically a demotion, but it was one he was glad to take. He
was officially a deputy again, but he hadn’t been stripped of his
detective credentials. It pretty much boiled down to the fact that
he had to wear the uniform instead of a suit.

He drew the line with his car though.
Sheriff Davis insisted he drive a patrol car, but David didn’t want
to give up his Chevelle, so the car ended up being the deal breaker
and he was allowed to drive his car as long as he used a bubble
light.

His feelings about everything surprised him.
It was as if everything faded away as soon as he realized that he
could actually have Hannah back in his life. Everything he had
worked so hard for had become meaningless and she was all that
mattered. Losing her was something he could only do once. Now he
had a second chance and he couldn’t mess it up again … no, he
wouldn’t
mess it up again.

So, here he was, back where it had all
begun.

“Hey, David,” Sheriff Davis greeted him when
he strode into the office. “How are ya this morning?”

“Not bad.” David smiled and strode toward
his desk. “Hannah is still trying to cope with everything, but
she’ll get through this.”

The older man nodded and thoughtfully leaned
back in his chair. “It’s a damn shame all this is happening to her.
I wish I could do something to help.”

David sat down in his office chair and
rolled toward his desk. “Nah, there isn’t much that could be done
anyway. She is going to have to pull through this and figure
something else out.”

“Well, at least you’re here for her.”

With a deliberate nod of agreement, David
got to work with the paperwork on his desk.

After the day was done, he slid behind the
wheel of the Chevelle and found himself heading up to The Springs.
After the incident with Marcus and Aaron, he started gutting the
house, getting ready for some actual remodeling, since that was the
story they had gone with regarding the equipment they used to
demolish the ugly ass carpet.

He roared up the driveway and came to a
rumbling stop in front of the house.

What a fucking disaster the place was.
Absolutely nothing good ever happened in that house. His parents,
his childhood, and then almost getting killed in there. The trailer
was goddamn magnet for disaster.

He cut the engine and stepped out into the
warm sunshine. Even though it was October, the temperatures
remained comfortable in the eighties. He rounded the car and leaned
against the hood so he could stare at the house. Shading his eyes
against the evening sun, he took in the dilapidated trailer and
wondered for the thousandth time if he should break down and sell
it.

That was the thought he was still bouncing
around when he heard another vehicle pulling up behind him. He knew
by the smooth sound of the engine that it was Hannah, coming to
check on him since he didn’t come home right after work.

Turning, he smiled and waved, genuinely
happy that she had come searching for him.

CHAPTER

29

HANNAH

There he was, sitting on his car, staring at
that house again.

If she could have it her way, she would take
a wrecking ball to the damn house. David was always there, dwelling
on his past. As long as he kept doing this, he was never going to
have any closure.

She parked her car next to his and threw
open the door. “Hey,” she called out. “I’ve been calling.”

“Oh.” He looked surprised and pulled his
phone out of the pocket of his uniform pants. “It’s on silent. I’m
sorry, I haven’t checked it for a while.”

She smiled. “Apparently. Well, it’s no big
deal. This gave me an excuse to get out of the house.”

David chuckled, “You can’t fool me. You’re
always out of the house, roaming the graveyard and hanging out with
the souls.”

It was true, without anything else to do she
had been spending a lot of time on patrol in the cemetery. It was
her true calling to watch over the souls, so that is what she did.
But, walking around all day left her a lot of time to think and she
couldn’t come up with a damn thing she could do for work if she
wasn’t allowed to be a medical examiner anymore.

That was shitty.

There were ton of shitty things that had
happened in the last couple of months, but in the end, she was
happy. Happy she wasn’t in jail and even happier that she and David
were able to give their relationship a real chance.

He had left the position in Lakeport so he
could work in Summer Hollow and be close to her. She offered for
him to stay with her, mostly because she didn’t want to be away
from him. They had been away from each other for so long … she
couldn’t bear to be away from him for any longer than needed.

“That’s true.” She nodded, sliding up next
to him on the hood of the Chevelle. “You know what I mean
though.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She felt his arm slide around her waist and
pull her a little bit closer to him. For a while, neither of them
spoke. The two sat there in silence, enjoying the peaceful sound of
running water from the creek. Breathing in deep, Hannah leaned her
head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The overgrown vegetation
surrounding the property always smelled so fresh and clean, that
was one of the things she loved most about The Springs.

“Let’s burn it down,” she whispered, as if
there were others around who could hear.

He shook his head. “Nah, it’s too risky. I
mean, if I thought we could get away with it, I would totally burn
this shit hole to the ground. But, with the neighbors and the dry
California weather, it’s not a good idea … besides, we would never
get away with it and that’s the last thing you need after the
trial.”

“Dammit.” She only wanted to help and this
was a problem that was not exactly easy to fix. She moved her gaze
across the property, searching for something as an idea tickled at
her brain. “Come on.” She spotted what she needed and grabbed his
hand, pulling him up after her.

“Where are we going?”

“Not far.” She kept her grip on his hand
until they approached a huge pile of scrap they had pulled from
inside the house. She plucked a long metal rod from the heap of
trash and turned to David, offering it to him. “If we can’t get rid
of this place, then beat the shit out of it. Beat down the memories
from the past that haunts you.”

He extended his arms, accepting the piece of
garbage as a warrior would accept a sword, though his eyes were on
her when she placed it in his hands. “That is the sweetest thing
anyone has ever done for me.” The sarcasm and humor was clear in
his voice, but his eyes portrayed his feelings behind her
gesture.

She was one of the only ones who really knew
how fucked up this place was. She understood the reality of what
could have happened to him, what kind of person he could have grown
up to be. Most kids with parents like his grew up to be just like
them, but David was stronger than his parents and fought his way
out of that life.

“We’re remodeling the trailer David. We’re
gonna need new windows and doors and whatever else needs replaced.
The glass doors are already broken anyway, so have at it.”

And he did. She followed him into the house
and watched as he lifted the metal and took the first swing. His
target was a hideous old lamp. The base shattered on impact,
sending shards of glass in every direction.

He plucked his sunglasses from where they
were hanging on his pocket and put them on for safety and then went
for shelves full of nick knacks. The metal rod sailed through the
air, then swept over the shelf, connecting with little glass
trinkets of all different sizes and shapes, either breaking them or
causing them to fly across the room.

Hannah watched him, smiling and hoping to
God that this fucked up therapy made him feel better. It wouldn’t
change the past, but it would help him vent some of the hostility
and anger he had built up inside.

When he was done, several shelves and
windows later, he tossed the bar back onto the scrap pile and
jogged toward her. She gasped when he wrapped his arms around her
waist and lifted her off of her feet. He pulled her close and found
her lips, kissing her with a raw passion she had only felt on that
first night they’d spent together since he’d been back in town.

When he pulled away, she was breathless.
“Are you all right?” she mumbled, leaning in to nuzzle his
neck.

“I’m more than all right. Everything is
perfect … absolutely perfect.”

And that’s what scares me
, she
thought, returning his embrace. Nothing good ever seemed to last
very long. But, she would take it while she had it and go day by
day.

As if sensing her thoughts, David pulled
back and locked gazes with her. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here
to stay now.”

She nodded. “I know, and I couldn’t ask for
anything more right now.” She stood on her tiptoes, stretching
herself up for another kiss. He spun her and walked her backward
until she felt the cool metal of the Chevelle beneath her.

He lay her back against the hood. Her legs
snaked around him, pulling him closer to her. He took her hands in
his, lacing their fingers together and held them above her head so
that she was basically pinned beneath him.

Heat flashed through her body and her hips
rolled upward, grazing his cock, which she could feel through his
pants was already rock hard. She groaned against his lips. “I want
you,” she murmured, “Right here. Right now.”

David didn’t need any further go ahead than
that. He stood up and began to unbutton his pants, and struggled to
be careful with the buttons on his uniform shirt as he hurried to
be rid of it.

Meanwhile, Hannah was tearing at her own
jeans, trying to get the damn things off. She didn’t even bother
with her shirt. She wanted him so badly, she couldn’t wait. The
minute his clothes were off and he stood before her, naked and
erect, she sat up and took him into her mouth.

A moan of surprise and pure pleasure erupted
from between his lips. She reached around and gripped his ass with
both hands, bringing him deeper into her throat. “Holy shit,
Hannah.” He involuntarily thrust forward.

As her lips and tongue teased up and down
his shaft, she felt herself growing slick and wet with want. She
moaned hungrily against his cock, knowing that it wouldn’t be long
before it was inside of her.

Apparently unable to wait any longer, David
gently pushed her back so that he was released from her lips. He
reached down and found her hot, wet and ready for him. “Now,” she
growled at him. “Take me, now.”

No further invitation needed. He gently
pushed into her and she could tell he was restraining himself.
“Don’t,” she told him, making sure to look him in the eye. “Don’t
hold back. I can take it.”

And she did. He appeared to let go of
anything that was holding him back and slammed himself into her. He
raised her legs up over his shoulders, bending them forward so that
he was so deep inside of her he was touching places she didn’t know
existed.

Her cries of passion and pleasure echoed
through the trees and she didn’t care at all that anyone could
appear in the yard to interrupt them at any moment. All she cared
about was David.

Her orgasm built within her and his cock
grew even harder inside her as he approached his own. Then,
suddenly, it washed over her. She arched her back and bit her lip
to keep from screaming. She had never, ever felt anything like the
white, hot, flaming pleasure that she felt at that moment.

He came with her, his head jerking backward
as he released himself within her. “Oh my God,” he groaned, and
then fell against her.

She didn’t care that he was crushing her
because she could barely move herself anyway. She simply lay there,
smiling inside and out, happier than she had ever been in her
entire life.

It was several moments before either of them
could bring themselves to move, but eventually she pushed him off
of her and untangled herself from his limbs. “We should get going,”
she told him.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He stood and searched
the ground for his clothes.