Darkness of the Soul Read Free

regardless of what happened to the rest of him, had his hand instinctively reaching to his hip for the familiar comforting feel of steel, before dropping once more as reality finally asserted itself fully and he recognized the voice as belonging to Parker, who was giving off his usual—and occasionally annoying—bravado.
    “I’m in here, Vince.”
    Drakanis’s voice was weary and still thick, blurred with the remnants of sleep, but Parker’s banging and hollering stopped at hearing it regardless. Parker crept into the little niche off of the living room. Drakanis had left that room mostly alone since Gina’s death except for removing some of the decorations and getting the carpeting done. He had set up a much smaller television and chair in what used to be a walk-in closet and did most of his pretending in there. Parker took a good look at the haggard face before slumping to the floor.
    “What’s up, Mikey? Feel like giving an old pal a help, eh?”
    Drakanis leaned back in the chair, setting the empty cup on the rummage-sale end table next to him and giving an appraising glance at the bigger man.
    “What do you want, Vince?”
    Parker snorted, raking a hand through his hair in an unsuccessful attempt to smooth back the mop. Drakanis’s instincts were dulled from the time away, probably purposefully so; but they were still good enough to recognize the aura of tension around his former partner, conveyed by the giant’s body language and facial tics. I need your help, those things said, but Drakanis was not at all sure he was ready to give any.
    Parker cracked his neck, staying quiet for a long moment before looking up again; when he did, his eyes were hard to read, like a shroud had been draped over them. His voice had lost most of its gusto, dropping to a funeral parlor whisper.
    “Somebody’s dead, Mikey. I think it might… well…”
    He fidgeted for a minute, and Drakanis really didn’t care to see this. Normally, Parker was like a rock, unperturbed by anything short of being shot at—and even that usually served to piss him off more than it actually got him worried—but something in his nervous posture and the quick downward cast of his eyes was ringing alarm bells in the back of Drakanis’s head. He was about to speak, when Parker finally continued, looking back up again.
    “I think it might have something to do with Gina and Joey. There’s… a few similarities.”
    Drakanis had been spending a great deal of time alone since his quaintly termed “retirement,” and while he was the number-one champ at hiding things from himself, that solitude did nothing for covering his emotions to others. Parker could read the shock and grief painted on the other man’s face with ease and would have been able to see it even if he wasn’t his childhood friend and former partner. That look spoke volumes about Drakanis’s life of late, and Parker found himself glad he’d come over, even if it had hurt. At least the man was feeling something now.
    “Same MO, same thing stolen—exact same thing, Mikey—and the same sanitized crime scene. I need you to help me, to see things the way you do. I think we can get ’em this time, Mike. I really do. But I need you to help me do it.”
    Drakanis got out of his chair. He moved too quickly and jarred the table, sending the coffee cup off to an important meeting with the floor. Parker saw it coming, and his right hand flipped out with lightning speed, catching the cup before it had an opportunity to turn the carpet an even uglier shade of brown, and set it back in place. He did it without even looking, quick as you please, all the while keeping his eyes focused on Drakanis, watching and waiting for the other man’s reaction.
    Drakanis shook his head. “I don’t do that anymore. I’m retired, remember?” He pushed his way past Parker’s stone idol body, moved back into the kitchen, and called out, “You want coffee, asshole? Since you’re going to tell me