Reclaimed (Powell Sanctuary #5)

Chapter 26

26

Isla

Little kids in costumes are everywhere. Aiden and I step out of his car at the Powell Sanctuary’s annual Halloween trunk-or-treat event. The dusk is rapidly turning to dark, but thankfully this parking lot is well lit in a golden glow. About twenty cars are parked with their trunks open, offering prepackaged goodie bags and candy to the little ones.

I shiver in the falling temps and pull my white beanie lower over my ears.

“You two look adorable!” Juniper bounces over, the tails of her red flannel shirt flowing behind her. She waves a thick chopper glove at Aiden.

“Thanks. We felt it fit the theme.” I roll my hand over my belly. I cut a hole in my sweatshirt for the round bump and painted it to look like a ball. Aiden’s dressed in ears and face paint to look like a dog.

“It’s my favorite night of the year,” he says, popping open his trunk.

“What are you two?” I ask Juniper.

She grins. “I’m Paul Bunyan. And Lee is Babe the Blue Ox.” Jeans, boots, suspenders, and a beanie complete the look of the legendary lumberjack.

I burst into laughter as Lee lumbers into view, his entire face blue and a pair of blue horns on his head.

“You look like a Smurf,” I snort.

“Or a Teletubby.” Aiden laughs.

“It’s for the kids,” Lee grumbles, tossing his arm around Juniper’s shoulders and kissing her on the side of the head.

“You’re going to get your blue on me,” she whines.

“That’s not the only thing I’m going to get on you.” This time his kiss lands on her mouth.

“Lee Powell, there are children here,” Juniper hisses, smiling against his lips.

“Yeah, like your own niece and nephew.” Jack and crew join the group with Jude and Frankie following.

“No baby Soren?” I don’t see Whitney in the bunch.

“Too soon. They’re getting some much-needed rest at home with the porch light off.” Jack passes out orange pumpkin buckets to Lucy and Bennett.

“Show me your costumes.” Aiden crouches down to get a better look.

Bennett flaps the fabric attached to his arms and scrunches his little face. “I’m a bat.”

“And I’m a witch.” Lucy steps forward, her cape billowing behind her, and waves a wand in her hand.

“Very cool.” Aiden holds out his knuckles for the kids to bump.

“I go with Fankie to get candy now?” Bennett asks. Lucy scoops up her brother’s hand as they both look eagerly to Jack.

“You can go with Frankie when she says she’s ready.” Jack tries to be stern, but it falls short.

“Come on, you two. Let’s get some candy.” Frankie holds out her hands and takes one on each side. Together, they march across the parking lot to the first car with Jude lumbering behind.

“He’s not one for handing out candy, is he?” I ask.

Aiden snorts. “This is Jude’s version of being social. We take what we can get out of him.”

“Frankie’s helped to bring him out of his shell,” Jack smiles after his surly twin.

“What’d you bring?” Lee peers into our dark trunk.

Aiden digs out a goodie bag. “Popcorn, ring pops, and glow sticks.”

“Nice. We have cotton candy bags to hand out.”

I turn to Juniper. “Who’s handing them out if you’re over here?”

She snaps her suspenders. “Lincoln. He stopped by to check it out before he and Ollie headed over to a Halloween party. I gave him thirty extra minutes on his curfew if he’d watch our trunk until you arrived.”

“Are they dressed up?”

“God no. But I bet they’re hoping all the girls at the party are.” She rolls her eyes.

“What about you?” Aiden asks Jack.

“Full sized pops and chocolate bars.” He grins.

“Man, these kids are spoiled. I remember racing around this neighborhood together for single pieces of candy.” Lee tucks his arm around Juniper and pulls her back into his chest.

I hand a ring pop to Juniper. “I remember when Mrs. Watson handed out apples and oranges because her son was our dentist.”

“That wasn’t as bad as our old math teacher. Mr. Johnson would hand out pencils and notepads.” She slips the cherry candy on her pinky finger.

My fake shiver turns real when Aiden runs his knuckles down the back of my arm. I lean into his touch.

We’re interrupted by our first group of the night. A mom wrangles three toddlers dressed in flower costumes. They hold their red buckets and stare at us expectantly.

“Say trick-or-treat !” she encourages her brood.

“Candy!” The little daisy points at Aiden’s hand.

“Sorry, they’re new to this,” the mom laughs, and I can tell she’s already overwhelmed with the night.

“Don’t even worry about it.” I drop one bag into each bucket. “Cutest little flower garden I’ve ever seen.”

The mom smiles and continues on her way. The others return to their own vehicles as the evening officially gets underway. Half an hour in, and I’m feeling the effects of standing in one place on a chilly evening. It’s not as brutal as some Halloweens I’ve experienced, but it’s still pretty damn cold.

“Come here.” At a lull in the visitors, Aiden pulls off his black sweatshirt and tugs it over my head.

“Now nobody can see my ball,” I pout. He holds up the front for me to tuck my arms into the too-long sleeves, and I immediately sink into the warmth. The smell of citrus and spice invades my nose, drowning me in the comfort of Aiden’s scent.

“You can show me your ball later.” He kisses the tip of my nose.

“Only if you show me yours.”

“Deal.” His husky murmur gives me butterflies. Or maybe that’s the baby moving around.

For the next hour we hand out baggies to kids dressed as superheroes and princesses, and every trademarked movie character in existence. The mix of homemade and store-bought costumes is fun to experience. My thoughts turn to my own baby and the future. About Halloweens to come. Am I the type of mom to make a costume, or will we run to the store together to pick one out? It’s not something I’ve ever thought about before now.

The future is a big unknown.

As I look to the man beside me, smiling as a little girl touches his puppy ears, I surrender to the idea that unknown doesn’t have to mean scary.

Unknown can be exciting too.

“I recognize this little bat,” Aiden announces.

“Uncle Aiden!” Bennett runs over to us, his little legs pumping as he carries a full bucket of candy. Without pause, Aiden scoops the little boy up and into his arms.

“Whoa, is any of that for me?” Aiden asks.

Bennett looks at his bucket then back at his uncle. “You can have one piece,” he says sternly. I smile at the image the two of them create.

Aiden laughs, dropping an extra ring pop into Bennett’s bucket. “I won’t take your candy, kid. You keep it.” He sets Bennett back on his feet just as Lucy reaches me.

She holds up her bucket and says shyly, “Trick-or-treat.”

“Here you go, Lucy. Do you want a pink or a red glowstick?”

She points at the pink one.

“Good choice. Pink is my favorite too.”

I crouch down and show the kids how to crack their glowsticks. The light illuminates their grins as they shake them to life.

Red and blue flashing lights interrupt the moment. Two cruisers pull in, and both Sutton and Silas hop out.

“Uh-oh,” Bennett says. “Did you break the law, Uncle Aiden?”

“Not this time, kid,” he says, taking his nephew’s hand in his.

A chill runs through me at the serious expression etched on the brothers’ faces.

“What’s going on?” Lee reaches us the same time Sutton and Silas do.

Sutton’s mouth flattens into a firm line. “Time to shut this down. Fairview Valley is enacting a curfew.”

Concerned parents begin to usher their kids away.

“Now?” Jack sputters. “What happened?”

Silas flicks his gaze to Lucy and Bennett. “You might want to take them elsewhere.”

“Come on guys. Let’s go see what candy you got.” Frankie moves without prompting to shuttle the little ones away. Jude follows, likely not wanting to leave them on their own.

“Spit it out.” Aiden inches forward, his hand curling around mine at our sides.

“A girl was murdered,” Silas shares. He twists the knob on his radio, dampening the crackle.

I gasp, and Juniper covers her mouth with her hands.

“A child?” Lee asks, his face twisting into an ugly mask.

Sutton shakes his head. Sorrow deepens the lines on his face. “An adult. A twenty-one-year-old college student on the way to a house party.”

“That’s still nearly a child,” Lee rages. “Where?”

“About two blocks from here,” Silas imparts.

“Is-Is it connected?” My voice is barely above a whisper as a torrent of fear sweeps through me. “To the other murders?”

Seven pairs of eyes swing in my direction. Aiden yanks me into his torso. Sutton’s voice is gentle, softening when he says, “We don’t think so. The scene’s totally different.”

My throat cinches tight. The feeling of loss suffocating me. I don’t know this woman, but I don’t have to. I’ve heard enough stories of women dying at the hands of a deranged killer over the last two months.

“I want to go home.” I grip Aiden’s shirt and bury my face in his chest. His strong arms wrap around me like an anchor. “Please take me home.”