Aftermath by Bailey Bradford (most important books of all time txt) 📗

drinking in his lover’s moan. “Be careful.” Lee brushed one more kiss over Darren’s lips then released him and stepped back.

“I will. Knowing you’ll be here waiting is an extra incentive for me to be careful.”

* * * *

Either he had gotten bigger or this space had gotten smaller. Darren grunted and wriggled, easing in an inch or two further.

“Dar, just forget it.”

Lee sounded worried, but Darren couldn’t give up yet, not when Lee had spent almost two years looking for proof Stefan’s death either was or wasn’t accidental. There might not be anything in the little cave he and Stefan used to play in, but Darren had to at least check—and he couldn’t quite shake the feeling there was some kind of clue there.

“I can do this,” Darren bit out. He rotated his left shoulder then practically popped through the narrow crevice. “God, that sucked!” He’d probably just skinned half his back.

“Forty minutes,” Lee called out, “starting now.”

Darren ignored his stinging back and started moving. By the time he reached the cave, Darren was scraped and bruised all over, having fallen twice making his way up the rocky incline. But he had made it. Shining the flashlight around, he didn’t see anything unusual, just rock, rock, and more rock, no sign of anyone having been there at all.

He walked over to the far wall and reached up until he felt the ridge where the cave wall bulged, forming a small shelf. Stefan had been the same height as Darren but had a longer reach. Darren stood on his toes and felt along the shelf. His fingers brushed over something definitely not rock. Stretching up as much as he could, Darren closed his hand over the object and knew at once what it was. He took it down and shined the flashlight on his closed hand, opening it slowly.

Bits of gold and silver gleamed in the light where the patina on the ring hadn’t yet covered the metal completely. Cold to his bones, Darren stared at the men’s Jackson High school ring decorated with a symbolic list of its owner’s accomplishments. As Darren read the inscription inside, he wondered if the man the ring belonged to had added murder to the list.

* * * *

Lee checked the time on his watch. Thirty-three minutes. He paced what few steps he could then shined his flashlight into the crevice Darren had disappeared into. “Dar?”

Lee nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a faint, “Yeah,” followed by the scuff of shoes on rock.

“Thank God. Don’t ever make me wait like this again, my heart can’t take it.” He heard a huff of laughter then Darren’s flashlight bobbed into view. Lee pointed his down so as not to blind Darren.

“Sorry, but…can you grab my arm and just pull me through? I can’t get any more scratched up than I already am.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.” Lee stood the flashlight on end, bathing the area in light, then reached for Darren’s arm as it appeared from the crevice. “I don’t want to dislocate your shoulder or anything. How about you hold onto my arm and use me for leverage?”

“That might just work.”

Lee settled Darren’s hand on his forearm and widened his stance for more stability. “Whenever you’re ready.”

After a minute of groaning and pulling on Lee’s arm hard enough he knew he’d be bruised, Darren finally slid out of the crevice.

“I think I left most of my skin behind,” Darren grumbled as Lee gingerly hugged him.

“We’ll stop and get an antibiotic cream with lidocaine in it,” Lee promised as he cupped Darren’s ass. He was afraid to touch Darren’s back since he didn’t know how badly Darren had been hurt.

“Lidocaine would be good. Lee.” Darren leaned back and nudged Lee toward the light. “I found this.” He held out a fisted hand.

Lee glanced at Darren, saw him nod, then opened his hand under Darren’s, palm up, and watched as a ring tumbled down into his hand. He recognized it easily since he had a similar high school ring. It was tucked away in a box now, but he’d been so proud of himself when he’d first got it.

“Do you know whose it is?” Lee asked as he tried to read the inscription inside the band. “Can you shine your light on it?”

“Just remember, it’s only a ring. It doesn’t prove or disprove anything by itself.”

“I know, I’m not going to do anything stupid.” But he would keep digging if he thought the owner of this ring had hurt Stefan in any way.

Darren sighed and shined his flashlight on Lee’s palm. “The inscription reads, ‘To our son Johnny, love Mom and Kev’.”

Lee fisted his hand around the ring and tried to keep from slamming it against the cave wall. “Johnny Chapman.” One of the kids who’d taken every opportunity he could to pick on Stefan, until Darren had moved to Jackson.

“Stefan could have found the ring. We don’t know how he ended up with it.”

“Dar, I promise you I’m not going to go in swinging, but I am going to talk to Chapman. Just talk, that’s all.” Lee stuffed the ring in the front pocket of his jeans then picked up his flashlight. “I’ll handle the light. Let’s get out of here and get you taken care of.”

Chapter Twelve

“Strip while I call Laine and let him know we’ll be gone over night.”

Darren dropped into the plush chair covered in a soothing shade of blue fabric. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled at having to take care of the chickens an extra day.” Darren looked around the room Lee had insisted they rent for the night. The Waferton Inn was definitely a nicer place than the motel in McKinton. There were no gaudy flower prints on anything, the colors used in the room complementing one another rather than clashing. “I think we need to find out who decorated this room and sic them on the motel owner.”

Lee