AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fuck off,” he said without heat. Another sigh escaped him before he could stop it.
“Quit stalling.”
The light turned green. Martin stepped on the gas, and they lurched forward, following the minivan through the intersection and onto the bridge.
“Are there even enough seats in that van for the amount of spawn they claim to have?” Nick wondered, totally stalling.
“Nick,” Martin ground out. “The SUV—what about it?”
They’d reached the rise and, as Nick had known, the SUV was nowhere in sight. Just a lot of regular holiday traffic. It could be anywhere but behind them.
“That car’s been coming around Cooper Springs.” Telling Martin was like pulling off a Band-Aid, an expected pain. He stared out the window and watched the old fisherman’s cottages of Aberdeen slide by as he spoke, not looking at Martin. Seeing the“I’m listening but not hearing you” expression on that face would be too hard. “I’m ninety-nine percent positive it’s the same one. I saw it in October, driving too fast down The Strip. Then again, a few days later. Each time I’ve seen it turn down a different street—I think it has anyway. Why? What are they looking for? All they’d need to do is stop at the pub and ask. No one cares about privacy in town.”
He risked a glance at Martin. At the moment, he was focused on the road. But he was also nodding, as if what Nick was saying made complete sense.
“The last time was just before Thanksgiving. I tried to follow it on foot.”
“No luck?”
“Nope. All I got was soaking wet.”
“Hmm. This car is setting off your Spidey senses?”
Nick narrowed his eyes, but Martin didn’t seem to be mocking him. “I suppose that’s a good way of putting it.”
“Well, I guess we’ll both have to start watching. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”
“You really believe me?”
Martin quickly glanced at him and then back at the road. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Probably because you don’t know me very well. Everybody I’ve mentioned it to thinks I’m being paranoid. Even Liam. Although last time he said I should tell the cops. As if they’d listen.”
“I know you plenty well, Nick. Maybe not as well as Liam does. But I have a pretty good handle on who you are, and therefore, yes, I believe you.”
Nick gaped at Martin for a few seconds before snapping his mouth shut.
“We’ll both keep our eyes open,” Martin continued. “If we have any luck at all, we’ll figure out what they’re up to—maybe it’s something harmless, but what you’ve told me definitely seems weird.” He paused for a second. “Just so you know, for this scenario, I’m Hutch and you’re Starsky.”
“What? No!” Nick protested. “Starsky flies off the handle all the time.” He scowled. “Just…no. Why are we even talking about this? They aren’t real. They’re made up!”
MARTIN - NEW YEARS EVE
Fact:Geologic time began ticking when Earth formed, approximately 4.6 billion years ago. To fit this large amount of time relative to the Gregorian calendar year, each of the 12 months of the geologic calendar year represents 383 million years. Martin Purdy has lived 42 of those years or 15,330 days. Thirty-three or so of those days in the same space as Nick Waugh.
The new year would begin in about an hour. Martin had bundled himself up in his parka, scarf, knit cap, jeans, thick wool socks, and tall boots. Then, he’d followed the path that started at his door and led to the top of the bluff overlooking the beach and the ocean.
From there, he planned on enjoying the random fireworks being set off along the stretch of sandy beach. The moon was almost full, its soft light illuminating the hilltop and the scene below. Martin could just barely make out tiny figures spread out along the beach, many with flashlights, staking out their firework setting-off territory.
Totally illegal, of course, but if someone was going to set them off, Martin was going to enjoy them.
He’d been invited to join in the celebration by both Magnus and Xavier, separately, but he’d politely declined, wanting to greet January 1 on his own terms. He was definitely feeling thoughtful this year. A large crowd didn’t appeal.
Hunkering down on this two-hundred-foot-high bluff that protected Cooper Springs from the Pacific Ocean was diametrically different from his old life. In the past, he’d either made the trek to a local park and celebrated with hundreds of people he didn’t know or just stayed home and watched the ball drop on TV.
This was better. So much better. That same littleclickinside himself when he’d seen the resort for the first time repeated itself. As if his soul was releasing a satisfied sigh.
The last month had been challenging, and even frustrating, at times. And every damn morning, Martin had woken with morning wood that was becoming harder and harder to ignore. So far, hehadmanaged to disregard it, but one of these days he was going to crack—hopefully when Nick was out of the house. However, aside from the sexual frustration, the past weeks had also been surprisingly satisfying. The puzzle that was Nick Waugh was slowly revealing itself.
