Sanctuary Killer: Home

Chapter One – Dallas

Home. It was just after dusk when I reached the outskirts of Dallas. I had made good time from New Orleans, thanks to my father’s latest bribe, a new Jaguar F-type coupe. Buying the car left me no alternative than to answer his summons and there’s one thing you don’t do and that is disobey an order or summons from my father, unless you are willing to deal with the repercussions.

My father, Kieran Wallace is a man’s man and lives by strict rules. He’s been around for a very long time and expects nothing less than perfection and excellence from his family and those around him. His life has required discipline in order to survive. I am sure he wouldn’t be too happy if he knew his “little” girl was breaking the law and driving like a bat out of hell. Then again, a lot of what I have done lately would disappoint him if he knew.

A sense of dread sank to the pit of my stomach as I thought about what he will say when I tell him I am resigning from the FBI. More likely than not, he is going to flip his shit. I’m sure I will receive one of his long-drawn-out lectures about commitment. The reality is I don’t give a shit anymore.

For months now I’ve thought about Griff’s last word, “Home”. What is home anymore? My everything shattered that night. My heart. My soul. My life. My home. Gone.

I can’t remember anything from that horrible night, no matter how hard I try. I woke up in the hospital and Griff was gone. Everyone says it was just a freak accident but I don’t believe it. There is no way Griff was drunk, high or in an altered state and ran us off the road like that. Things just don’t add up and I can’t get anyone to listen to me.

I purposely haven’t seen my family or been back since before my partner Griff Hoyte was killed. My parents begged me to come home after Griff’s memorial service, but I just couldn’t. I needed time to adjust to life without Griff. After all, we spent almost every moment together the eighteen months. Griff and I were as close as two people could be. At first, we were just partners at the FBI then a couple of months later we became lovers. It was just the natural progression of our relationship. The reality is I loved Griff. Simple as that. We made a very unconventional pair but to me, he was more than a partner. He was my best friend, confidant, and world. I know my parents meant well, but no one can begin to understand the emptiness I feel with Griff being gone.

Maybe that’s why I went to New Orleans in person to take his personal effects to his mother. Plus, being around Griff’s family made me feel like somehow, he was still alive. I would sit for hours listening to his mother tell me stories about Griff and how he had lived a full life. And at night if I wasn’t off getting shit-faced at the bar around the corner, drowning my sorrows, I would curl up on his bed just to breathe in the last remnants of his scent, wearing his old t-shirts for nightgowns.

There were so many memento’s and small trinkets from his life in his room at the family estate. I even found some old journals when I was helping his mother unpack his things that I brought to her. I was surprised at how much he had accomplished in his live. He wrote endlessly about his adventures and daily life. I was even more surprised when I found a couple about us and notes on some of the cases we had worked on together. I read them over and over just hoping I would hear his voice whisper in my ear and tell me or give me a clue what he meant. I asked his mother if I could keep his journals and she said yes. They are now carefully packed in my duffle bag with a few of his shirts and sweaters, my feeble attempt to keep him alive a just a little longer.

As I checked the speedometer, I looked down at my hands and smiled when I saw Griff’s ring. Just a few days into my visit with his family, his mother handed it to me. It was his family crest ring and I knew it was the one thing Griff held closest to his heart. He had told me it has been in his family for hundreds of years. At first, I looked at Mrs. Hoyte with a blank expression and tried giving it back to her, but she placed it back in my hand. “Griff would want you to have this Raelynne. He spoke of you so much I feel you are now a part of this family. Since he never had any children, I know he would want you to keep this as a reminder of his love for you. I consider you a daughter now so please take it and remember; I will always be here and if you ever need anything let me know. I’m just a phone call away dear.” I took the ring and put it on my left middle finger and hugged her. Now just thinking of the love she showed me after losing her only son, brings tears to my eyes. And I realized he was no longer my home.