Going Under Cover

Chapter 12

12

"Cassy! Oh it's you!"

I raised an eyebrow as Sarah Bishop lunged head first into my arms and wrapped herself tightly in them. I didn't have the heart to tell her to move, or that I was feeling very uncomfortable in this moment of bonding, so I let her stay and eventually hugged her back. She was petite, a frail looking woman, small and thin. She was lucky to have someone like Damian to protect her, heck anyone would be lucky to have someone like him at their beck and call.

Steven muttered something to Martin about not knowing that I was so popular around the town with the locals. I think that Steve had pegged me for the 'lone wolf' type, something which I had really longed for when I first arrived. But, what can I say, other than that the locals, excluding one or two, grew on me, although I didn't like to show it. Nor did I enjoy spending all of my time with them, I was fine with small greetings here and there, solitude was really my thing after all.

But there was something about Sarah that I liked, well something that I both liked and disliked. She was excitable, to an enormous extent really. She loved life, lived it to the max and drew people to her like a moth to the flame. Honestly, I liked to see her so happy, it gave me a fuzzy feeling on the inside. It was that very feeling that I didn't like. Like this great ball of fire, I felt as if it could consume me in any second. I felt like I could be happy like her too, like I was not me anymore. And I didn't want that, I was fine with being me. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed me time, which was basically twenty four hours.

Still, something told me now, as Sarah trembled in my arms, that she wasn't doing fine. There was something wrong, something so wrong that Damian couldn't fix it, couldn't protect her fully from.

She was afraid.

News must be out about how Weiner had died, it was truly the only explanation. And it was so like the death of Ryan, of Gale even, that people must have put two and two together to get four. It was obvious really, anybody, even Martin, could get it. And as much as I wanted to be able to comfort the woman, I couldn't lie and say that everything was fine. Because as far as I know, there is a serial killer on the loose in this small town and there was three heads under this roof. The chances that all of them could escape this before we caught the murder, was decreasing as every second passed.

I didn't know when the 'we' actually came about. When had I become part of the investigation team? When had Steve decided to let me stay? Why had he let me?

I didn't know but I sure as hell didn't want to question him and get on his bad side again. This 'friendship' that was brewing between us, if you could even afford to call it that, was nice and comforting. I felt protected in a way that I had never experience before. He was like the father figure, the caring one, that I never had.

That thought disturbed my mind.

"Sarah, it's nice to see you."

I slowly unravelled myself from Sarah to glance up to see Damian standing all cool, leaning against the wall, in the hallway. His black hair hung loosely around his face, his bone structure blowing my mind all over again. No matter how many times I saw him, I'd never get used to his handsome face. Sarah was truly a lucky woman.

"And you," I smiled lightly at him before placing a hand on Sarah's shoulder. She put a hand over mine before directing me to the sitting room though the door on the right. I indicated that Steve and Martin should follow and we all made our way in.

The fire was lighting, the cold draft of the day kept at bay. The flames flickered and dance, creating beautiful patterns on the wall. It was one thing that I missed since I had purchased a stove. A fire was really wonderful to look at.