Book 2 of 2, sequel to Alaska's Illicit.
In which Mikaere returns to Alaska, but upon arriving realizes that she has a new problem: Vaughn, Darren, or should she just stick with Jared?
Vaughn's past and life are revealed, and also a serial killer mi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER ONE: TOMMY
The room smells of ale, salmon, and unwashed bodies.
The young bartender remains unbothered by the usual stench, however, smiling at a drunk man before the loud creak and momentary howling of the wind are heard.
He finishes pouring a random tourist a drink as the door to his late grandfather's bar swings closed.
He's a handsome, fairly tall man of 27 years. Glowing skin, an oblong face shape, crow's feet near his blue eyes, and long, blond hair combed back carefully. Not everyone comes here only for the drinks.
"Hey, welcome, what can I get you?" He asks routinely, still with his back to the newcomer, before spinning swiftly round with an easy smile and a bottle of whiskey in his hands.
Bad idea.
The grin falls with the half-empty whiskey bottle, control slipping from his grip instantly, crashing to the floor and shattering, but that's the least of the man's worries.
"Holy-"
All eyes in the room shift from the bartender back to the giant of a man who sheepishly sets his bags down on the wooden floor.
"Hey, Tommy."
The whiskey puddle widens as the two men stare at each other, one terribly surprised, the other terribly nervous.
Vaughn watches as his childhood best friend jogs around the bar with wide eyes, bumping into the corner of the counter on his way over, caught up in his own thoughts. He envelopes him in a long-overdue hug.
"Vaughn, man, you're, uh, you're actually back," he laughs in disbelief. "I'm...wow. I didn't think I'd live to see the day."
The taller man hesitantly hugs his friend in return, evidently surprised at how well he's being received.
He didn't think it would go this way.
Of course, Vaughn imagined the many various possible scenarios, and the most likely of them always ended with Tommy telling him he didn't want to see him.
"Yeah...me too."
"8 years, man," he pulls away, staring up at him, still shaking his head a bit. "8 years no text, no call, no letter, no nothing. I at least thought you would've contacted Siara."
At this Vaughn retracts back a bit into his shell. He can feel himself becoming a bit more closed off, and he knows Tommy can see that. He was always able to tell when Vaughn was uncomfortable.
"Nah, man, just forget I said that, I don't know what I was thinking. You know what, let's just sit and talk, alright? We clearly have a lot to catch up on."
Vaughn nods hesitantly, willing himself to open up again, to talk.
His mind briefly flashes back to Mikaere, and he's reminded that she's been the only person he's felt comfortable opening up to in almost a decade. He thinks about how he didn't even really open up to her, just that he knows he would have if they'd had just a little more time.
