Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(80)

“You are not staying in this hellhole,” Grandpa said.

Luke glanced at me, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry?” Luke asked.

“You came all this way to save my grandchildren’s rear ends. You are not staying here. You’ll stay at our house. Iris can have our bedroom, you can take hers, and we’ll stay at Faye’s.”

“Mr. Ballard, I can’t ask you to leave your own home. I—”

“You’re not asking, I’m telling, Agent Man. It’s only for the night. We’ll clear the spare room tomorrow morning. You and Iris pack; Edie and I will go check you out of this dump. And not another damn word,” Grandpa said, holding up a finger. “You’ve saved my granddaughter’s life more than once. It’s the least we can do. The very least. Get packing. Come on, Edie.”

Grandma smiled brightly at Luke and even winked before they both began down the sidewalk toward the office a few doors down. Luke and I just chuckled. “Now you know where I get it from.”



“Yeah,” he said. “Any way I can get out of it?”

“Nope. The decree has been made. But don’t worry. They don’t have to go anywhere. You can have my room and I’ll take the couch.”

“No, I’ll take—”

“Luke, after we’re done with this barbeque I am positive I would be able to sleep on a bed of nails at a heavy metal concert. Just get your stuff. He’s right. You cannot stay here. Do you need help packing or—”

“No, I just have to grab my toiletry bag. Hang on.” He disappeared into the bathroom, and I turned around. The prostitutes at the pool were watching it all, trying to figure out what was happening. I waved and was greeted by their scowls. Probably pissed I was taking away a potential john. Not in any lifetime, girls. Luke zipped up his suitcase when I stepped into the room, away from their scorn. “I have to say I’m a little relieved. This place is definitely a close second to the Tripper case motel.”

“Mom worked as a maid here for a few months before she just couldn’t stand it anymore. And that was back when it wasn’t known as hooker central. Some asshole high on crack threatened her and she had to break a toilet lid over his head to get away. She put the guy in a coma.”

“Jesus,” Luke said.

“The asshole woke up, cut a deal for kidnapping, and wrote Mom about a year later apologizing and even thanking her. He’d gotten clean in prison. I think they still email, or did two years ago.”

“She was brave,” Luke said.



“Yeah. Just…keep in mind she does have her good points when you see her tonight.” Luke stared at me. “Yeah, I just found out Joyce invited her too. And she has been fifty shades of certifiable since I arrived in town. I’m apologizing in advance for anything she says or does tonight. Just ignore her as best you can. What do the kids say, ‘Don’t feed the troll’?”

“Does she know I’m coming?”

“I assume so. Please just keep that wonderful Hudson cool, and if you see me about to not heed my own advice, rein me in.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“You are the only one who ever successfully has, you know. You’re the Iris Whisperer,” I said with a smile.

“I always thought of it as taming the beast,” he said with a matching smile.

“Well, between the two of us, you are the beauty,” I said.

“Guess it was meant to be, then,” he said, smile wavering a little as he gazed into my eyes.

My own faltered as well. “Guess it was.”

“You’re all checked out,” Grandpa said, stepping into the motel room, completely breaking the spell. Thank God. “Edie’s in the car. You two ready?”

Luke and I shared a nervous smile. “As we’ll ever be,” I said.

Poor Luke didn’t have to wait until seeing Mom and Joyce before enduring the third degree. The whole ten-minute drive to Joyce’s, Grandpa grilled him on what he’d been up to since they last saw one another. Luke took it in his usual stride, talking about his time in the Art Theft unit. Work. A safe topic. My stomach still hadn’t stopped fluttering since our moment in the motel.



“Have you decided if you’re going back to Art Theft?” I asked. “You know you can write your own ticket to any field office, any division you’d like. What about the Interstate Task Force again?”

The sides of Luke’s mouth twitched. “After I talked to you I actually, uh, had a meeting yesterday afternoon with Reggie. He put my name forward for an ASAC position.”

“Holy shit, Luke! That’s wonderful!” I looked at my grandparents in the front. “He’d basically be running an entire division.”

“It’s in Madrid,” he said with a half-smile.

My own smile waned a little. “Madrid as in Spain?”

“I did spend a year abroad there in college. I speak the language fluently,” he pointed out.

“I know, but…” I shut my mouth before I dug myself in too deep. The tangled vine of knots in my stomach all but strangling it didn’t help. I missed the butterflies. They’d been snuffed out by the word Madrid. “They’d be lucky to have you. And it’s a great stepping-stone.”