Page 6 of Corey
“What can I say? They like to ride the bone rollercoaster.”
Another round of jeers and a couple gags filled the air, and Corey’s lips twitched. His friends might be irreverent and half off their rockers, but they were the best men he knew. The only family he had. And he’d die for any one of them.
“Alright, can we please talk about something else?” Chaz asked, making a face. “My wife is trying to eat. And picturing Battle boning some poor, desperate female is enough to make me hurl all over this table.”
“You’re just jealous,” Lex said with a big, shit-eating grin. “Because, let’s face it, most of you are one step away from complete celibacy. If it weren’t for porn and your hand—”
“Not me,” Chaz proudly announced.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. For those of you not completely whipped—sorry, Lottie—the single fellas here haven’t seen any real action since they were active duty.”
A chorus of boos met Lex’s comment and Xander flung a croissant at the other man’s head.
“Don’t include me in that sad statistic,” Xander said, his mouth curling up in a mysterious, half-smile.
“Yeah, okay,” Lex conceded with a smirk. “Hawke probably gets laid, but only after he tells her he’s a former spy able to dismantle a nuclear bomb.”
Which he had. Saved all their asses, too.
“With my eyes closed,” Xander added, and they all laughed.
For the first time in weeks, Corey felt lighter. Being surrounded by his friends and their silly banter always managed to help. But he knew they’d all go their separate ways soon. Then, once again, Corey would be alone in his cabin, preparing to face another long night haunted by his past sins.
Because his demons always came. They were relentless, and they thrived in the dark.
Chapter Two
The dimly-lit office was quiet, the normal cacophony of the shipping department having died down hours ago when everyone went home. Sera Darling chewed on the end of her pen then let out a frustrated sigh. The damn numbers just weren’t adding up, and the paperwork was beginning to blur before her gritty eyes. It had been a long-ass day, and she still hadn’t figured out the source of the problem.
Sadness washed over her when she thought of her old job compared to the monotony of what she did now. She used to roam the world, writing about beautiful and interesting, often isolated, places on her travel blog. Now she rarely ventured more than a few miles from home, and then it was only to go to a job she was beginning to hate.
At forty-five, she couldn’t have been further from a fulfilling career and a happy relationship. But daydreaming about what once was wasn’t going to solve the problem in front of her. Plus, it was getting late, and she didn’t want to waste more time than necessary in her small, cramped office feeling sorry for herself.
A quick glance up at the clock ticking away on the wall told her she should’ve left over two hours ago. But this screwed up shipment wasn’t going to sort itself out. And with the holidays coming up fast, she wanted to get it straightened out before everyone went on vacation.
Of course, she didn’t have any plans. With her parents gone and sister so far away, she’d stopped celebrating. Perhaps, if she felt daring, she could try to bake some cookies. They’d probably turn out disastrous, but it wasn’t like she had anything else to do, so she might as well give it a shot.
The thought of freshly-baked Christmas cut-outs with homemade frosting like her mom used to make made her stomach growl. She tried to remember if she’d eaten lunch. That would explain her frustration. A little bit of hangry wasn’t a bad motivator to leave. But she still wasn’t as concerned about her own hunger as much as her beloved cat waiting patiently for her at home.
“I’m coming, Loki,” she whispered. “Just give Mama a few more minutes.”
Reaching back, she twisted her medium-length, wavy blonde locks up and used her pen to hold the do in place like a hair stick. Then she grabbed the clipboard with the questionable shipping order and, instead of taking it with her, she snapped a quick picture of the P.O. numbers. She’d go down to the warehouse one more time and see if she could find the missing crates. Hopefully, they’d materialize. If not, tomorrow she’d deal with creating more paperwork to explain the loss.
It had been happening far too frequently, and she was scared that it might be a reflection on her. As much as she didn’t like her job and its unstimulating work, she couldn’t afford to lose it.
“Why is nothing ever easy?” she grumbled, swiping up her purse.
On the way out of her tiny office, she flipped the light off.
She’d said goodbye to everyone over an hour ago, but she hadn’t ended up leaving. Unfortunately, she’d gotten stuck on the phone with an extremely talkative customer regarding an order. Then she’d returned to the mystery of the missing shipment and gotten sucked down the rabbit hole.
One more quick look and then I’m out of here.If she hustled, she’d still have plenty of time to warm up a frozen pizza and settle down on her couch with a glass of wine and binge the next couple episodes ofSchitt’s Creek. Or probably fall asleep mid-episode because the day was catching up with her fast. Her friend at work told her about the show and Sera just finished the first season. God, she could relate to the Roses.
Having everything one day, and then nothing the next…
Quickly suppressing that thought before it led to her dark place, she started down the back staircase that led to the huge warehouse filled to the brim with crates and containers. It was easy to get lost in the labyrinth if you weren’t familiar with the complex system of paths winding through the facility.
Located on the waterfront in San Diego, J&J Shipping did a lot of business—both foreign and domestic. Cargo boats waited at the docks behind the building, and it was always possible the missing items never made it off the ship, but Sera planned to check inside the warehouse again before traipsing outside in the dark. That could wait until morning. The docks were creepy at night, and she didn’t want to run into any of the crew from the boats. They made her uneasy.
