Urban Myth by James Raven Read Free Book Online Page B

other.’
    ‘I’m his boss. If he steps out of line it’s my job to make sure he knows it.’
    ‘Yeah, well if you went around bollocking every detective who drooled over me you’d be in a permanent state of hysteria.’
    Temple shrugged. ‘OK, I take the point. It won’t happen again. So how cross are you on a scale of one to ten?’
    She looked at him and couldn’t suppress a smile. ‘Nine and a half, but I’m sure I’ll get over it after I’ve had a cuddle.’
    She swigged back some brandy and walked into his arms. As always he felt the heat from her body surge through his own. The embrace lasted at least a minute and if they hadn’t been so tired and ithadn’t been so late it would almost certainly have been the prelude to sex. But they both knew that they needed to conserve their energy for the day ahead, so they finished their drinks and went upstairs. They had a quick shower together and towel-dried each other before jumping into bed and turning out the light.
    Before dropping off to sleep, Temple once again reflected on their relationship – something he always did on the nights she came to the house to stay with him. He knew it was wrong on so many levels. She was a colleague. She was twelve years his junior. They were making love in the same bed he had shared with his wife. But he also knew that she had reignited in him the spark of life that was extinguished when Erin died. Angel gave him something to look forward to outside of work. She made him feel better about himself and she took his mind off the horrors he frequently encountered as part of his job.
    She would eventually want a proper relationship with someone she could have a future – and a family – with. He didn’t doubt that. Right now she was just filling in the time between the serious stuff. But although he knew he’d be devastated when she ended it, he also knew he should be grateful because the affair had already served a purpose. It had wrenched him out of the abyss of despair and self-pity that he had been drowning in for years.
    And that, surely, had to be a good thing.

11
    S omething woke me from a deep, dreamless sleep. I had no idea what it was, but I was immediately alert and apprehensive. I felt utterly disoriented and it took a few seconds for me to realize where I was. I stared up at the dark mass that was the ceiling, only just able to make out the shape of the overhead fanlight.
    I felt hot and sweaty. Dilated vessels pounded inside my skull and my eyes were stiff and heavy. I lifted my head and looked around the room, dim outlines of furniture giving some relief to the oppressive darkness. And then I heard something; muffled sounds coming from outside the bedroom. I felt my forehead tighten into a frown.
    I strained my ears to listen, but at first I was only aware of Nicole’s shallow breathing next to me, still lost in the comfort of sleep.
    Then it came again and I felt an icy chill in my gut. Voices. Downstairs. Not loud enough to discern individual words, but loud enough to know that a conversation was taking place. Right below us.
    I sat bolt upright and was gripped by a sudden bout of trembling. It was enough to wake Nicole. She stirred beside me and grunted something unintelligible.
    ‘Shussh,’ I whispered, touching her bare shoulder. ‘Be quiet.’
    I felt the duvet move as I held my breath and tried to make sense of what was happening. Was I dreaming? Were the voices part of that dream? I shook my head from side to side, took a deep breath and quickly concluded that it wasn’t a dream. I was awake and the voices were real. They were coming up through the ceiling. Shit.
    ‘What’s up?’ Nicole said sleepily.
    ‘I think there’s someone downstairs,’ I said in a hushed tone. ‘I can hear people talking.’
    Nicole sat up and put a warm hand on my arm. As we both sat there listening I felt the hand start to shake.
    After a moment, she said, ‘Are you sure you didn’t leave the television on?’
    It