All of the Voices by Bailey Bradford (little red riding hood read aloud txt) 📗

brown eyes and an uncoordinated jerkiness to his movements that bespoke of nervousness. Matt also noticed the waiter kept his gaze averted, as if afraid to look directly at them, and that perception of fear made Matt’s protective instincts kick in.

“What’s your name?” Matt asked as the waiter began pouring Severo’s coffee into a Styrofoam cup. The kid startled and sloshed coffee over his hand—and continued with his task without so much as a gasp. That coffee had about singed the skin off Matt’s tongue seconds earlier when he’d taken a sip. Spilling it on his hand would have made him yelp and cuss.

Severo reached for the younger man’s hand before Matt could, and only then did the waiter make a sound, whimpering as he jerked his hand free of Severo’s loose hold.

“I’m sorry, I was only going to check—” Severo began, his voice rough with an emotion Matt could only guess was guilt, or maybe concern, but it didn’t matter. Severo was talking to air. The waiter had run to the kitchen as soon as he’d freed his hand. “Shit!”

Matt heartily agreed. “Shit, all right. Someone hurt that kid, spooked him something fierce.” Matt pulled out his wallet and started to fish out a twenty only to have Severo stop him.

“Not too much, he might get the wrong idea.”

“God.” Matt stuffed the twenty back in his wallet and pulled out a ten, giving Severo a questioning look. He got a nod of approval and tossed the money on the table. “Still up to listening for a little while? As long as I don’t have to go out on any calls?”

“Yeah, anything I can do to help.” Severo slid out of the booth and Matt did too, walking beside him to the register where Virginia was waiting.

“Coffee’s free for you two,” Virginia said as Matt reached for his wallet again. She eyed them both for a long moment then tipped her chin toward the kitchen. “I don’t know what scared the hell out of Darren, but I don’t think either of you meant to do it.”

Severo grunted and glanced at the kitchen door. “He spilled coffee on his hand. All I wanted to do was take a look at it and make sure he hadn’t burnt himself. He freaked when I touched him and ran off before I could apologize or explain.”

Virginia harrumphed but reached out and patted Severo’s arm. “I don’t know what happened to him. I just kind of found him looking lost and hungry, hitching a ride on the highway toward town. I don’t normally stop for hitchers, but…” She shrugged. “You seen him. He just looks hurt, and like he hasn’t seen much kindness in this world.”

Matt picked up the pen and pulled a piece of register tape from the cash register. He jotted down his phone number and handed the paper to Virginia. “I don’t know how you can do it without making him more afraid of me, but if you can find a way, give him that and tell him I’ll help him if he needs me to, or wants me to. And make sure he knows I don’t mean anything, you know, more than that, please.”

Virginia tucked the paper into her apron pocket and smiled. “I’ll do that, Matt. You’re just a nice man. Gonna make someone real happy one of these days.”

The fact Virginia didn’t specify the sex of that someone wasn’t lost on Matt, but he wasn’t sure what to say so he settled on a ‘thank you’ and left the café with Severo on his heels.

Outside in the Texas sunlight, Matt paused to give his eyes time to adjust. Virginia’s Café wasn’t exactly dim, but it was still like stepping from a dark room into one lit wall to wall by hundred-watt bulbs.

“Nice haircut. Meant to tell you that earlier but I got distracted with our waiter freaking out on us.”

Matt glanced at Severo just to make sure the man was being sincere. His honest, open expression reassured Matt more than any words could have. “Thanks. I don’t know why I did it. Lord knows it was a thick, unruly mess, but, I dunno, something came over me and I just had to clip it down to next to nothing.”

“Oh shit,” Severo hissed as he grabbed Matt’s forearm. “When you say something came over you, what do you mean, exactly?”

Matt frowned and rubbed a hand over his head, liking the way the soft strands felt against his palm. He tried to think of how to describe the impulse that had made him want to take the clippers to his hair, but his memory of it was kind of fuzzy.

Which was weird, because he had been totally sober by then. While he couldn’t remember clearly what had happened, he could remember other things that had occurred over the past few days and he feared he knew where Severo might be going with this. Having a friend who could speak to the dead was disconcerting at times like this.

Not only could Severo speak to spirits of deceased people, but he could hear them, too. It might have sounded like a bunch of hooey to most people, but Severo had been called on by numerous police departments when a case had gone cold. There was documented proof of his successes, and even if there weren’t, Matt had seen Severo’s rather creepy abilities more than once since Severo had moved to McKinton.

In fact, it was Severo’s communication with Conner, Sheriff Stenley’s deceased lover, that had brought Severo to McKinton in the first place. If it weren’t for Severo, Stenley and Matt likely would both be dead, victims of the sadistic stalker who’d killed Conner. As it was, Matt knew he was lucky to have got away with only the deep scar that marred his stomach and the nightmares that still occurred too often.

“Matt?” Severo tugged at his arm. “Look, I’m only asking because I get the feeling something is going on with you. Back