Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(34)

“It’s not ‘Agent’ anymore. Just plain old Iris to any friend of my brother’s,” I said with a smile back.

“Okay,” he said nervously. “Mind if I grab something to eat before we start? I only have twenty-five minutes left for my break.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

Kevin nodded before heading to the counter. I took the moment to call the sheriff as I’d planned to before Luke phoned. He picked up on the third ring. “Sheriff Hancock.”



“It’s Iris. Just wanted to make sure you got my prints. You were out when I stopped by again.”

“Joyce gave me the cups, yes. I’m going to need probably a day to get through them all.”

“No problem. I’m meeting with a former member now. I’ll see what else he can give me.”

“Just be careful, Nancy Drew. And don’t do anything illegal. I’d hate to have to arrest our hometown hero.”

“You know, someone suggested perhaps I should be crowned the Princess of Grey Mills for all my good works and deeds. Think you can make that happen?” I asked.

“Yeah, because your ego’s not inflated enough without a title,” Hancock retorted.

“Just something to bring to the mayor.”

“Call me tonight for an update, your highness,” he chuckled. “Bye.”

“Bye,” I chuckled.

Okay, my conversation with Luke definitely lifted my spirits after Gia. I no longer felt like a neglectful, selfish piece of shit. Guess that’s why we were best friends. He knew what to say to make it all better. I hoped I’d returned the favor. I just couldn’t believe he blamed himself for the Shepherd attack. Of course I never blamed him. And the fact that he spent even a second in pain because he thought I did hurt my heart. Here I’d been beating myself up for him getting shot while trying to save me, and all the while he was blaming himself for the whole event. We were so damn alike in a lot of respects. Always had been.



We actually met the same day I met Hayden. I’d gone to D.C. to finalize my paperwork as a new agent when Luke Hudson walked into the reception area of HQ. Not being blind, I was first struck by how gorgeous he was, but I was so damn nervous about the final FBI hurdle that I simply registered his good looks before returning to pretending to read my book. He sat across from me, his leg jittering from his own nerves and constantly clearing his throat. After about thirty seconds of that annoying noise, I pulled out a bottled water from my purse and tossed it at him. He thanked me and we started talking about our nerves, the hiring process, what the Academy would be like. He was only one of a handful of people who could ever match me in a battle of verbal witticism. I liked him instantly.

There was definitely some flirting going on, but just the playful variety. I thought he was going to ask me out, and I probably would have said yes, but I was called in. I didn’t see him again until our first day at the Academy, but by then I’d met Hayden and that was that. Luke began seeing—well, sleeping with—my roommate at the Academy, but he and I always sat together, studied together, worked out together. We were partners even then. We just got one another. When we finally became official partners, we filled in each other’s gaps with his grasp of the technical forensics and mine of the human nature aspect. Hell, it got to the point where we could sense when the other was having a bad day and immediately knew how to make it better. Usually sugar and playful banter for me and the shooting range or a run for him. I loved Hayden more than life itself, but even during our marriage, I knew Luke was my “person.” The one who knew me best. I just attributed it to the job and the kind of person it attracted. Whatever the reason, I thanked God for Luke Hudson. I hoped the feeling was mutual.



Kevin Perry—okay, the delicious smell of french fries—brought me out of my thoughts. Billy. It was time to focus on Billy. For once. “Sorry it took so long,” Kevin said as he sat across from me.

“It’s all good. Thanks so much for meeting me on such short notice. Do you mind if I record this?” I indicated my cellphone.

“Nope. Don’t know how much help I can be, though,” Kevin said with his mouth full of fries. “I haven’t been back to The Temple or anything in over a month.”

“I think you’ll be surprised how much help you can be.”

“I hope so. I feel so bad for Gia. Like this is all my fault. If I hadn’t convinced Billy to go to one of those damn seminars…”

“Let’s start at the beginning. How did they recruit you?”

“Megan and some of the others were hanging outside the church where I go to NA. It was her, Vanessa, and Paul just handing out pamphlets for their next seminar. I found out later they usually did that, hitting up other support groups. I even helped them a couple times. Anyway, Megan flirted with me and I thought she was hot and it was free, so I figured what the hell? It couldn’t be worse than NA.”

“Did the other two, Vanessa and Paul, flirt as well?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I kind of zeroed in on Megan. But when I went out with them later, I guess some of the journey ambassadors did turn on the charm.”

“Journey ambassadors?”

“That’s what people who go out to recruit are called. We just did what they did to me. Find support groups, talk to the people as they came out, or sometimes we’d just put fliers on bulletin boards at libraries, coffee shops, hospitals.”