Beneath the glimmering moonlight, we held each other close in bed. Our limbs entangled with one another, tucked away under the blanket. We were safe and sound from dangerous killers. At least, that's what I thought when I drifted off to sleep with my boyfriend in my arms.

Cozy dreams faded away in the cool breeze as I opened my eyes at three in the morning. Blinking away the tiredness, I rolled over and reached over for my boyfriend. But when my arms met nothing but the warm sheet where his body laid, dread shot through me like electricity.

I shot straight out of bed and fumbled through the dark for the light-switch. Casper was gone. He didn't leave a note or text either. That meant he must have left willingly, but why would he go without telling me? Did he just not want to disturb my slumber? Maybe he just went down to the kitchen for a snack or to the bathroom?

Jeez, all the investigating had gotten me more paranoid than Casper. I needed to be sure he was okay.

Perturbed by my boyfriend's absence, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and called him to figure out why he abandoned me in the middle of the night. When his familiar ringtone blared through the bedroom, my heart sunk. I located his iPhone in the bed under one of the pillows. His password was easy and not as complicated as I'd suspect a wannabe detective would make it.

It was my birthday. March 18th (0318)

I noticed a strand of new texts from Katherine. Or, suspect #1, as my boyfriend had programmed into his phone. She was desperate to speak to him in person for some reason. Her texts were too vague for me to know exactly what she wanted to show him, but apparently it wasn't something that could be shared through a text message.

Casper told her to meet him at the stop sign on his street. That ambitious idiot! My heart pounded as I dashed down the hall. I didn't know what Katherine's wicked scheme was, but I'd be damned before I let her try to dump his corpse in Saltwater Bay. I didn't alert Casper's parents yet, not when I thought I could handle everything on my own without him getting in trouble. Maybe that was stupid, but I didn't want to scare them if I was wrong about her.

I was out the door faster than a marathon sprinter. The chilling night breeze caressed my skin as I tread through the grass. Casper's bike was no longer parked alongside mine in the fenced in backyard. Hopefully, he just set out on his murderer-catching mission. I'd still have time to catch up to him.

Before I took off on my own bike, I heard a dog barking. The sound was very close but none of his neighbors had a dog on this block. At least, not that I was aware of. I put the thought out of mind when I reached the sidewalk and peddled as fast as I physically could.

Casper was smart. He knew what he was doing. He must have had a plan created before he left. He wouldn't throw himself into the hands of danger unless he knew what he was doing. Casper wasn't that irrational. Too ambitious? Absolutely. But he'd never do something without a plan. Why he didn't bring his phone was beyond me, but perhaps that had been intentional. Maybe he wanted me to find it and his texts.

Relief flooded over me when I spotted Casper near the bob-wired fence of the Thompson's house, but it was short-lived. As I inched closer to the stop sign, I saw that my boyfriend wasn't alone.There was a gun directed at his chest.

What was I supposed to do? How could I help him? My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to figure what I could do.

I had an advantage. The gun owner had yet to take notice of me, so I made sure to keep it that way. Carefully, I crept over into the neighbor's shrubs to hide myself and my bicycle. I slipped my phone out and quickly dialed 911 to get police routed out to our area. Casper and I couldn't handle the psycho ourselves. We needed backup ASAP.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I'm on Hemlock Street. Katherine is trying to kill my boyfriend," I told the operator. "It's all over a murder case that happened eight years ago. Make sure this gets to Detective Dale Archer. He'll know exactly what's going on."

I answered a few more of her questions before making a brave move of my own. Even I knew how stupid it was, but I couldn't let Casper talk to a killer alone. I couldn't stand around while someone held a gun to his chest.

Peeking out from my hiding spot, I grimaced as Katherine rambled on to Casper. I couldn't hear what Casper was trying to say to calm her down. My own heartbeat was too loud to hear anything.

I knew it would take time for emergency services to get routed out to our area, and I didn't have the patience to be a sitting duck while the person I loved most was held at gunpoint.

Without planning my next moves, I emerged from the shrubbery. Doubt sprinkled down on me like rain from an unpredictable storm with each step closer to the stop sign. I had no clue what I was doing. I had no weapon of defense or wise words to woo the killer over. I just knew one thing. My boyfriend was in danger, and I had to help him. Even if it meant putting myself at risk.

"You don't want to do this, Katherine." I intervened. "I already called the cops. They're on their way. Unless you want to face charges for another murder, you better put the gun down."

"Silas, what the hell are you doing here?" Casper gaped.

"I'm here to save your ass." I stood beside him. "Or, die with you. I'm really hoping for the first one."

"Fuck," Katherine muttered. "You meddling little bastards! Why did you have to start snooping around? We would have got away with everything if it weren't for you."

"We?" I frowned. "Who else is involved?"

"You should catch him up on my latest revelation," Casper said to her. "Tell him the truth before the cops come. Hear those sirens? You don't have much time left."

She seemed frantic. It was obvious she hadn't expected for everything to end this way.

"That's right. I killed the bitch and dumped her out in Saltwater Bay using our family sailboat. I'm surprised it took the bitch so long to resurface. I was starting to think she'd never float back up, but I guess she loved that damn beach too much to stay away. I should have buried her."

Just when I thought we'd met our demise, police sirens echoed close by. Thank God my call got through to the detectives. Perhaps they knew to stick around Casper's house, as he'd been known to attract danger.

Before she could attempt to murder us, she was cut off by the blaring police sirens as multiple cruisers swarmed the neighborhood. All around us, I noticed some of the neighbors turn their porch lights on to witness Katherine get arrested.

"You boys just don't know how to listen, do you?" Detective Archer shook his head.

"We found the culprits, didn't we?" Casper asked. "I know you don't like my methods of investigating, but they work. Just like they have countless times before this. I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I won't back down from making sure justice is served in my town."

The detective laughed. "You've got a lot of spunk, don'tcha? You'll learn how to manage that when you get into the police academy. They'll make sure of it."

Casper blinked. "You know I applied?"

"If you make it through your training and don't fail for disobeying, I'm going to put in a request to be your TO. I'll make sure to keep you in order," Detective Archer replied.

Casper rose a brow. "Are you serious?"

I saw the excitement in my boyfriend's enlarged eyes. I was so happy for him and very scared at the same time. Having Dale Archer as a training officer would be hell and that job could be dangerous sometimes. But, I was glad his lifelong aspiration was finally coming true.

"As much as I wish I was bluffing, I'm not," the detective said. "Now, you boys stay put. Another officer will come to take your statements shortly, then you can return home. And, hopefully stay there without getting involved in anymore murders. Expect both your parents to be called about this. You might already be eighteen, but they need to know you're safe."

I nodded. "We understand."

Casper grinned. "I make no promises, sir. "

We were just on the first chapter of what I expected to be an adventurous, insane life together. I couldn't wait to see what other cases Casper would solve and investigate. Once we settled down in our own house, maybe we'd even get a dog or two. I wasn't sure what was in store for us, but I was excited nonetheless to see our love grow and flourish as we aged together. And ate tons more cheesecake.