27.

Avery thought it was funny when the state trooper in charge tried one of her tricks on her. Maybe she was just tired. That was two nights in a row where sleep wasn't going to happen.

Sargeant Sam Rogers was seated across the kitchen table from, arms folded over his check. She figured he intimidated a lot of criminals with his dark eyes and extremely massive bulk. He honestly made Mark look like a small man. Avery worried for her kitchen chair as it creaked under him.

He hadn't said a word since he'd asked her to come into the kitchen. He'd just studied her with his unreadable dark eyes, so deep they were nearly black. Avery had been the one to call the nearest state trooper outpost. Rogers was already aware that a couple of his men were going to be going to town in the morning. So he'd cut out the middleman and had come himself. He knew Jack, apparently. She'd gotten that much when the troopers had first shown up.

Currently the medical examiner was upstairs, preparing to move Rob Williams's body out of the house. The shot had been clean, straight to the heart. He'd barely bled, probably dead before he hit the floor. They'd been talking quietly but Avery could hear them from the next room. Mark was out on the front porch, talking to a trooper that Avery hadn't met. She understood they had separated them to make sure their stories matched up.

It made her wonder why the big intimidating guy had seen fit to pull Avery aside, and then sit wordless and study her under the lights of the kitchen. The main breaker had been tripped. It had been easy enough to get the lights back on.

"Ms. Landry." Rogers finally spoke, his voice deep and steady. "I got the gist of the...issues...in town from Jack Landry earlier this evening. I wasn't prepared to believe it based just on some files that were put together in a week. This however goes a long way toward proving your point."

Avery raised an eyebrow. "Issues." She snorted that word out. That was one way to put it.

Rogers smiled. It transformed him from a badass into a giant teddy bear. "Your sheriff if M.I.A. Apparently he disappeared shortly after some public event." He tapped the earpiece that was pushed into his left ear. "Looks like he packed in a hurry. Maybe he knew we were comin'. Either way, he's priority one in the BOLO file. We're going to have a trooper sitting on your house until he's found." He held up a hand. As if Avery were going to argue. "How deep does it go? The corruption?"

"I honestly have no idea." Avery frowned in thought. "At least some of the deputies are in on it. There's one that helped us out. He suspected that Walls had his favorites and they were doing stuff on the night shift together. He didn't specify what." She looked toward the window where she could see Mark still pacing the porch. "He's not going to be in trouble right?"

"Not at all. Defending himself and you. Clean kill." Rogers softened at the look that crossed her face. "Sorry."

"It's all right." Avery figured she had been in shock. She accepted the fact that a man had been killed in her house just a little too easily. Now that the calvary had arrived, it was starting to sink in. "He got in through the back door." She pointed to the corner. "The lock sticks sometimes. It doesn't fully engage. I should have checked it. Or fixed it a long time ago."

"You can't go blamin' yourself for what a crazy man does." Rogers dropped the defensive pose of crossed arms and leaned his arms on the table. "You heard him comin' and that's all that matters."

"What about Walls? Am I going to hear him coming?" Avery asked, feeling a bit angry. "How the hell did he know to get out? Did he send that asshole over here and plan the whole thing out?"

"We haven't got that far in figurin' things out yet." Rogers reached across the table and dropped a big hand over hers. "But we'll find him. Right now I have troopers tracking down all the deputies. We're going to get to the bottom of this. I promise you that."

"I hope so. I might never sleep again." Avery said, feeling exhausted all the way down to her soul. "Can I please see Mark now? Everything happened exactly how we said."

Rogers nodded. "I don't see why not. Nobody can say we didn't follow procedure. We'll get out of your hair soon enough. And like I said, we'll have a man sitting on your house." He got up from the chair and Avery was struck again by the man's sheer size. She heard him talking in the living and a few minutes later, Mark came into the kitchen and knelt beside her, pulling her into his arms.

Avery had taken the time to throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, but Mark was still only wearing his jeans. She buried her face against his shoulder and breathed in deeply, shaking a little now that it seemed to be over.

Avery had to remind herself that it was not over. It wouldn't be over until Walls was accounted for and stopped. And his disappearance made her fear for Mark's life even more. They'd balked him, baited him, and now they'd denied him. He was going to be pissed off.

Mark was stroking her back lightly. "It's all right, darlin'."

"Is it?" Avery asked, voice muffled. "Are you all right? You're the one that...you know."

"I'm fine. Just got to make it a separate thing. I learned how to deal with this stuff in trainin'."

"If I hadn't heard that floorboard..." Avery said it with another of those shudders.

"But you did. That's what counts." Mark held her tighter. "You're in the wrong line of work. You shoulda been the cop."

Avery didn't even crack a smile. "What am I supposed to do? That...thing...was in my house."

"First, we are going to get some rest. The adrenaline is wearin' off. That's all this is. Things are gonna look better in the mornin'."

"Rest?" Avery almost didn't know what that word meant.

"It'll happen. Trust me."

Avery saw the medical examiner cross the doorway and looked away as they took Williams's body out of her house. That went a long way toward making her feel better. She hadn't care for the man and honestly was glad Mark had done what needed to be done, but the fact that he'd been in her house remained.

"You killed him. I guess that counts as justice. How does it feel?" Avery asked,

"Empty. I don't believe he was worth the bullet. Come on, let's go get comfortable."

"I want to clean. Especially upstairs." Avery watched Mark stand up and let him pull her to stand with him.

"That'll keep. And I'll help you. But not right this second. We need to sit down. The couch'll do." Mark insisted. Avery let herself be led to the living room. Through the front window she could see the ambulance pulling away from the house. Lights off, transporting Williams to the clinic for storage until he was taken to the state morgue for an autopsy. The remaining troopers were talking to the neighbors who had inevitably come out to see what the fuss was. One of the troopers was still on the porch, large cup of coffee in his hand. He was the cop assigned to watch the house for the rest of the night, Avery had no doubt.

Mark got her on the couch and hunted down a blanket to pull over them. Snuggled up against him, the exhaustion finally won out and she fell into a fitfull sleep. She kept waking up at every noise, sure that someone was coming again. Each time Mark soothed her until she dozed off again.

She must have fallen into a deeper sleep at some point. When Avery woke up for good, the sun was shining brightly through the window. Mark was no longer with her, but she could hear him talking softly from the direction of the kitchen. She blinked at the bright light and saw that the trooper – or another one – was still on the porch, this time sitting on the swing. They weren't being subtle about watching over her. It also told her that they still had not found Walls. It put a shadow on the day. Moreso than Williams dying in her upstairs hallway.

Speaking of stairs...Avery fully meant to go up and take a shower and change. But she stood at the foot of the steps and could only look up, not really wanting to go further than the first stair.

"You all right?" Mark asked from behind her, making her jump. Avery spun around and glared at him.

"Put a bell on, would ya?" She put her hand against her chest. She wasn't really mad at him, just mad at the scare he'd put in her.

"Sorry." He half-smiled. "I cleaned." He gestured toward the steps. "Wasn't much to clean up but I did it."

"I said I would handle it."

"You didn't have to. You didn't make the mess." Mark came toward her and Avery finally started climbing. The air got heavier the higher she got. And she felt dizzy.

"Hellfire." Avery turned and sat on the steps. She was only about halfway up. "I'm pretty sure this is what an anxiety attack feels like." She said, her voice sounding faraway to her own ears.

Mark kneeled on the stairs and looked at her worriedly. "What can I do?"

"Just give me a minute." Avery let her head rest on her knees as she tried to just focus on breathing in and out. She had to get a handle on this. The guy was dead. She probably should have heeded Mark's advice and not looked. She couldn't seem to get the image of his empty eyes out of her head. "I can't see spending the rest of my life terrified of going to the second floor of my goddamned house." She finally said, standing up. Mark smiled uncertainly and followed as she continued up the stairs.

Everything in the hall was as it should be. The faint smell of bleach was detectable. Good. It meant she wouldn't have to go over what Mark had already done. He had even gone so far as to change the sheets on the bed and throw a load of laundry in to wash.

"I want a shower. And coffee. Lots of coffee."

"Easy enough. Do you want me to stay up here with you?"

Avery thought that over before shaking her head. She couldn't expect Mark to guard her every second of the day. Besides that, she was taking a five minute shower. It wasn't like he'd be out of her sight for long. "I'll be all right."

Nonetheless, he still waited until she had gathered her things and stepped into the hot water before he headed back downstairs. Avery hadn't bothered to ask him questions. She figured the fact that a trooper was still outside told her everything she needed.

Ten minutes later, she was going down the stairs. She did give the spot in the hall where Williams had fallen as much distance as possible. It was difficult considering it happened right in front of her door. Avery knew she just had to give it time. She found Mark in the kitchen, fussing over the stove. The smell of strong coffee filled the kitchen. Avery poured herself a generous cup and toop a sip, breathing in the scent.

"Any news?" Avery finally asked once the caffeine had been introduced to her system.

"Not much. Leah's on her way back. Jack was taking the files to the state AG. Walls is still unaccounted for but he has a few places that might be promisin'. Troopers are runnin' them down today. They arrested eight guys this mornin'. And they're talking."

"That's good. Great even."

"Yeah. Eager to turn on each other." Mark shook his head. "I had to call my bosses and let them know what was happenin' so they didn't hear it trhough the grapevine. They aren't necessarily happy with me at the moment. Worried it might look bad, like I've gone rogue or somethin'." He stopped but Avery was sure he meant to say more. But he only shook his head and dropped into a thoughtful silence.

Avery could read it even if he didn't say it. "They want you to go back. Now."

Mark could only nod at that. "So they can get their ducks in a row. Can't seem to make them understand that whatever happened here is still happenin' here. And I can't leave yet."

"Won't you get in trouble if you don't?"

"Fuck it. More important things than reporting back to the bosses so they can look nice on the nightly news." Mark said with some annoyance in his voice.

"You're staying?" Avery couldn't keep the relief from seeping out in the two simple words.

"Until Walls is stopped. Yeah." He finally turned and looked at her. Avery tried to ignore how his correction hurt. "I do have to go back eventually but I'm not leavin' you until I know you're safe. And then it's only temporary. Right?"

"If you say so."

"I do say so." Mark nodded emphatically. "I dont't know how to say it and make you believe it. I'm in it with you for the long haul, darlin'. You're stuck with me now whether you wanna be or not."

"I do wanna be." Avery said with a nod and the ghost of a smile crossing her lips.

"Thank god. Because it would be embarrassin' otherwise. Let's get you some breakfast. Then we can figure out our next steps. I know the staties are workin' on ther end of things but we have the home team advantage. Let's figure out how to shut this shit down permanently."