Dark Child (Wild Men 5)

I can’t be grieving for Ross. Losing a brother I hadn’t known I had until a few years ago, and the last person I’d want to be related to…

No way. If not for the dreams, I wouldn’t have talked to him again and wouldn’t have missed it, either.

Speaking of dreams… They’re getting better. I’m not sure Cos or my family believe me when I say that. My fault for refusing to talk about them way too long, for downplaying them, and now I’m like the boy who cried wolf, only… reversed?

Ha. I’m trying to give them the good news that my dark dreams are lightening, and they won’t listen. That’s okay. The great thing about things improving is that there’s no urgency, no end, no limit to how much better you can feel.

How much happier.

And if Jasper, our daddy dear, is in jail awaiting trial for aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon, all the better. No affection lost there. In fact, suspecting he’s a goddamn murderer? No affection lost at all.

At the river bend across from the Pagoda they found only those two skeletons, and though the swan pendant means one of them probably belongs to Ross’s mother, the other one is a Jane Doe. Identity Unknown.

And Jasper keeps denying he knows anything about them. The blood on his jacket didn’t match the victims’ DNA. The rust on the ax is just that: rust. And even if Jasper has a golden tooth, like the bogeyman in my nightmares, that proves nothing at all.

So it’s all down to my dreams and possibly memories. Not enough to indict anyone, and they won’t even let me testify, because my story is too unbelievable. John Elba hasn’t given up on finding some real proof that will stand in court, though, something that will get Jasper nailed for the murders.

Not that Jasper is going to walk any time soon. He’s most probably still going to prison for aggravated assault of Ross and assault with a deadly weapon. It’s better than nothing, that’s for sure, though not nearly good enough.

The movie plays on, and Cos relaxes against my side. I kiss her sweet-smelling hair and wonder how I ever mistook her for her sister. She smells like Cos, looks like Cos, sounds like Cos. There’s nobody else like her in the whole wide world.

I think about Gigi getting married. I think about marrying Cosie, standing in front of my family and the world to declare my love for her, and I feel no panic.

I wonder if Matt could help me choose a ring?

Hiccup jumps on the bed and curls on my leg, purring like a toy car engine, small but energetic. I let her be and nod at JC who passes outside my door on his way to his bedroom.

One day I’ll get his story out of him.

One day I’ll marry my girl.

One day I’ll see Jasper locked behind bars for good, held accountable for everything he’s done.

For now, though… tonight, right now, this lost God of the Dead, Mercury Tyson Watson, is right where he wants to be, in every way.

Everything is as it should be, and it’s fucking perfect.