She pushed him back and sat upright on the couch.
“What? What are you doing here?”
“I told you, Bryan. I knew it!” Colleen stood in the doorway with Bryan.
Jessica went to him. “Bryan, no...I love you.” Tears came to her eyes. “I would never hurt you.”
Bryan glared at her, anger and hatred in his eyes. Vengeance.
“I can’t believe you. You accuse me of cheating, yet you’re the unfaithful one.” He raised his voice.
Her heart was breaking in her chest. It stole her breath.
“Please.” She reached her arm out to him, but he pushed her away.
“Tell it to the jury!” He rebuffed her, rushing toward the dining room.
She followed him and stood in the entry to the formal dining room. Everyone who had been invited to their engagement party was there, and, in addition, her dead parents. Their faces radiated shame.
She wore the dress and jewelry he had bought her.
Bryan stood at the opposite end of the room beside Judge Flannigan.
“How does the jury find in the case of Bryan versus Jessica?”
Judge Flannigan banged his gavel on the table. The silverware rattled and the stemware vibrated.
Everyone roared, “Guilty!”
“No!” Jessica screamed, but it came out as a whisper.
Tears poured down her cheeks. She hurried to Bryan, but he fell out of reach. There was a ravine at the base of a precipice. He clung to a piece of rock that jutted out at the top.
She bent and tried to pull him to safety. “Hold on, please.”
“You don’t love me.” He released his grip and fell into the blackness that the valley had become.
“No!” She screamed.
SHE JOLTED AWAKE. Her chest heaved trying to derive oxygen. She wiped her forehead of perspiration that dampened it.
She exhaled loudly with the relief it had been a dream, a figment of her overactive imagination. The room around her was black except for the soft glow of the table lamp. Everything was the way she had left it when she lay on the couch to sleep.
The images felt real despite their impossibility. She fought to obtain a full breath. How could she allow herself to even think of Mason at a time like this? She knew it was the mere creativity of her mind at play, but inevitably the impression of guilt made its way to her. Bryan could be dead yet she kissed another man with her heart.
Even though it was a dream, it may indicate something. Maybe it was time to work on becoming stronger on her own without looking to others to lift her up.
But she had been dependent on Bryan for so much of her life that she wasn’t sure how to go about making the change. She loved him since she was thirteen, even though most people would say it’s impossible to know love at that age—she knew. Any other relationships she had were meaningless by comparison. Bryan would be her lifelong companion.
Lifelong.
The word grew stale in her mind. The fact that he could be murdered was a possibility she would continue to ignore. Unless they could produce his body, she would deny it. The weightiness of the situation bore down hard on her shoulder blades and her neck and caused her to massage it as best as she could reach.
Rosa’s words came flashing into her mind: you should get some sleep. This was foolishness. She needed sleep. She didn’t know how many days of uncertainty lay ahead. She switched the light off and headed up the stairs in relative darkness. The large skylight overhead provided enough light from the stars and moon that she could see the trace outline of the staircase.
SHE DID NOT EVEN REMEMBER sleep taking its hold. It seemed like she had just laid down in the darkness of the night, but now sunlight streamed through the drapes. She reached her arm out to the side and fanned it up and down across the sheets. Hoping, no praying, that he would be there but her petition was not granted.
The emptiness of the bed was nothing compared to the void within. The light of day served as a brutal welcome back to the life she didn’t want. She longed for simplicity. The shopping for a dress, wedding plans, idle chit chat about what food to serve their guests, what favors to hand out, the type of life where the man Dimitre was unknown and unheard of.
The phone rang. She reached for it in the hopes they had found a clue in Bryan’s whereabouts.
“Hello.” Time stopped in the seconds it took her caller to speak.
“Hey, Jess. Everything okay? I’m sorry I would have called last night, but last night turned into this morning.” Her voice sounded basked from a night of lovemaking. “I just kicked him out. Told him my girl needed me.” She laughed lightly. “Hope you don’t mind that I used you as an excuse to get his sorry butt outta my bed. Damn, it was good, but too much of a good thing can—”
“Be bad,” Jessica interrupted her friend, trying to fool around with her, even though she was somewhat disappointed to hear Nella’s voice. She had hoped it would be Detective Knight or Falkowski.
“Or become dull.” Nella laughed, but it died quickly. She must have noticed Jessica did not share her amusement. The line had sat rather quiet before Nella broke it. “Okay, what’s up?”
Jessica swallowed and held the receiver tightly. “Bryan’s missing.” Uttering those words at the start of a new day was like a haunting over an otherwise perfect life.
Nella’s voice lowered, “You sure? I mean. I’m sorry, Jess. I don’t know what to say. You go to the police?”
“Yesterday.”
With the single word, events from the previous day poured over her. There was too much to tell, but she would. It was likely a way to heal too. She was disgusted with herself. Almost as if she had given up hope he would return. It wasn’t even a full twenty-four hours since she’d received the phone call. Her thoughts forced her silence.
“I’m coming right over.”
Tears slid down Jessica’s face in quiet succession. She choked back on a gasp of air. “Please.”
“Love you. Leaving now. Stay put.”
“Uh, hum.”
Jessica was beyond the point of forming syllables. She needed companionship. Rosa was around, but they never got along. Beyond concern for Bryan’s wellbeing, no conversation would have existed between them.
Jessica hung up the receiver and sat in the bed with her head against the wall only inches short of reaching one of the three framed photographs that hung over it. She needed friendship and reassurances drilled into her skull. She needed the strength that would come with them. She needed the arms of a man securely around her. Her dream came to the front of her thoughts.
Mason’s face as he kissed her.
She shuddered, pulled her legs into her chest, and rocked. She had been disloyal and unfaithful to the man she had promised to spend a lifetime loving.
THE MAN SAT HUNCHED OVER, feet and wrists bound to the wooden chair. The air was pungent with the stench of blood. Anatolli could taste it in his mouth. The son of a bitch punched him full on in the face when he struggled to restrain him.
“Now you’re going to die.” He pulled the man’s head back by his hair and hit him with the butt of the gun. Blood and spittle flew from the man’s mouth and nose. He hung his head low, only faint breath coming from him.
“I want you to see your death coming, you cocky shit. Lift your head,” Sergey commanded him. “Lift your head and take it like a man.” Those words were aimed at reaching the core of human pride, of facing one’s fate head on and accepting the outcome.
The taunt was successful. The man responded and lifted his head, staring defiantly at his captors. Anatolli raised the gun to his forehead.
“Nothing personal. You just got in the way.”
He pulled the trigger. The bullet hit in the middle of the forehead, execution style.
The man’s head fell back.
Anatolli spit blood on the
ground. “Damn right it was personal. The moment my damn teeth went into my lips, it turned personal.” He wiped his face, smearing the blood on the sleeve of his shirt. “I think the bastard broke my nose.”
“We know Dimitre values our loyalty, my good friend.” Sergey came up behind him. “Now we can tell him that business has been taken care of.” A sinister smirk ate his mouth. He reached over Anatolli’s shoulder and handed him a bottle of vodka.
“Boss?”
“Not another word right now.”
Anatolli accepted the vodka and swigged back a mouthful.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE WE WERE fighting the last time we were together,” Jessica said. Of all the days for him to be abducted, the irony of it being a day they were fighting. These were so few in comparison.
“What did the cops say about that?” Nella wrapped her fingers around her glass of Long Island Iced Tea.
“Honestly, I didn’t think to say it.” She ran one hand through her hair. The gentle breeze was causing wisps of it to blow into her face. “Never even gave much thought to it until now. Not that it would have made a difference. I know who is responsible for his disappearance.”
She couldn’t help but think the day was too beautiful to live in this a sort of hell. They were seated on the patio underneath an umbrella that helped shelter them from the sun.
Jessica picked up the cordless phone, pressed the button to hear a dial tone, and hung up. She put it back on the table.
“Well, obviously the phone is working. It would be nice if they called. I just wish I knew something, anything.” Her eyes misted and she glanced at her friend. “At least I have you by my side.”
Her cell phone vibrated. Her heart stopped and restarted. Nella’s eyes watched her. A wave of panic swept over Jessica as she picked up her mobile. She feared the worst, advising herself the silence may have been what she wanted. Hearing something could be dire news. The caller’s identity revealed nothing to her. She answered on the fourth ring.
“Well, hello there, Miss Pratt.” The man’s voice was cheerful. Jessica’s end was quiet. “You don’t know who this is, do you?” He laughed.
Jessica licked her lips and gave her friend a look of bewilderment.
“Not really.”
“It’s Mason.”
Her chest heaved.
Why is he calling me? How did he get this number? What is it about this guy that makes him so persistent?
With the last thought, she remembered their agreement to be friends—platonic friends. But with him, was that possible?
“You must be wondering how I got this number.”
“Actually, Mason—” she pointed to her phone while narrowing her eyes at Nella “—I was.”
Nella diverted her gaze.
“There’s no reason to be upset with her, not that I’m pointing fingers. I told her I needed to reach you urgently yesterday. I held off calling until now. I must say I put a lot of pressure on her to get this number. Rest assured you have a good assistant in Nella.”
“Well, I’ll have to talk with her. This number is only to be given to clients in a state of emergency.”
Nella was smiling like a child who got away with something mischievous.
“So what is it you called for, Mr. Freeman? What is your state of emergency?” Her cheeks blushed as if she were an enamored teenager.
“I’m not really sure you want to hear it, but I needed to reach you today. Your engagement party is coming up isn’t it? I believe I remember you mentioning it.”
The engagement party—that used to be the plan.
Thank heavens for Nella’s organized mind. They had discussed it and Rosa was taking care of notifying people about the postponement. That would buy time for her to prepare herself for the task of elaborating to their guests, an undertaking she dreaded. Maybe Bryan would return. Somehow, she had to believe that.
Why go into it with Mason right now? Her heart had resumed beating, but it was more like fluttering.
“Yes.”
“I wanted to wish you a happy engagement party.”
Rosa opened the patio door. Maybe the phone rang? But then she noticed the dead phone on the table. She would have heard the landline.
The older woman held a bouquet of yellow tulips. She flipped open the card to show the name before dropping them in Jessica’s lap. She was sure to flash a judgmental glare before she left.
“I was hoping that you had received your surprise by now. And by that gasp, I assume you have. I hope you like them.” She could hear his smile. “I know we didn’t end on good terms the other day at the office, but I want our friendship to continue.”
Jessica lost her voice. The flowers were beautiful. A tulip being one of her favorite flowers and yellow was the color of friendship. How could she refuse such a sincere attempt to repair any damage between them?
Nella had a devilish grin plastered on her face. The expression on her friend’s face only caused her pain. She needed to tell him. If he was sincere about wanting a friendship with her, then friends communicate and recent circumstances were definitely worthy of discussion.
“Actually—” she gestured for Nella to take the flowers from her. Nella sat them on the table by her drink. “There won’t be a party.”
It was as if she had dropped a bomb and waited for the explosion.
“I thought you just confirmed there was.”
“Well, it was scheduled for this Saturday but something has come up.”
SO YOU FINALLY DUMPED THE loser and now you’re ready for a real man?
That is what Mason wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut. And after hearing the reason for the cancelation, he was happy he had. The pain in her voice transferred to him. He ached in his heart for her.
“I really don’t know what to say, Jess, but I want you to know I’m here for you. I can come over right now if you need someone to talk to.”
SHE WAVED HER HAND AS if he could see her. “No, that’s okay. I mean, I have Nella here now.”
“Are you sure?”
Honestly, she doubted her own words. He could provide a comfort that Nella could not even given her best efforts. A woman’s makeup differed from a man. Women could be more emotional and due to that be irrational at times, read more into things. Her response was silence.
“I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
She wanted to say no, to reject him, but she appreciated that he simply listened to her. She needed that.
“I’m assuming the stalker knows where I live?”
Nella sipped back the rest of her drink with her eyes on her friend. Jessica’s drink sat there nearly full, with condensation droplets running down the outside of her glass.
“Well, if you’re asking if I know where the Lexan estate is, the answer is yes.”
“I’ll see you soon then.” Jessica closed her phone but held it in the palm of her hand.
“You’re letting him come over? I can’t believe you. Bryan’s presence hasn’t even left the house. His side of the bed is probably still warm.”
“It’s not like that. I just need company right now. I need some help getting things taken care of too.” She rubbed her forehead. “I still have to get a photograph down to the police station and get a hold of Bryan’s dentist.”
Nella relaxed back into her chair, arms crossed in front of her. “Well, if you want to, live in denial. So what does the card say?” She reached for it directing Jessica’s attention to it.
Jessica had only caught a glimpse of his name when Rosa flipped it. Part of her didn’t want to know what he wrote. The other part anticipated what it might say. She peeled the card from the paper and read it.
All the best to a terrific woman. May he be all you dream of.
Affectionately, your new friend, Mason Freeman.
-
&nbs
p; Chapter 21
DETECTIVE MADISON KNIGHT WOULDN’T NORMALLY concern herself with a missing persons report, but this one held heightened interest for her—Dimitre’s apparent involvement. That served as enough motivation to propel her forward with the investigation.
The surveillance team had traced the call to a cell phone registered to James Calin. Madison was disappointed by the lack of a direct connection to Sergey and Anatolli, but she was still determined to find one.
Calin had been a no-show from his day job for a few days and they suspected he was holed up in his apartment on the east end of town. The warrant had been secured and SWAT had been called in due to the possible involvement of the Russian Mafia.
Knight sat back and watched as the special weapons and tactical team moved in. Until they cleared the building, she had no choice. She sat in the squad car next to Falkowski and had a hard time keeping still.
If they could connect Dimitre’s men to the phone call and find proof of bodily harm to Lexan, this could be what nailed the two bastards. But SWAT would not find anything. Her instinct and experience told her this much.
Calin was likely dead and Sergey and Anatolli long gone.
Working on this made her think of a dog chasing its tail—a seemingly impossible task, yet she had to make it possible. Her obstinate willpower wouldn’t let her be conquered—even if she experienced defeat before she began.
Four men and one woman from SWAT, all dressed in their navy blue jackets with identifying thick white letters, entered the front door of the building.
About thirty minutes later, the leader, Troy Matthews, headed toward the car. It was over too fast.
Knight and Falkowski got out of the car to meet him part way.
They stopped, facing each other a couple feet apart. Matthews stood there with a cocky stance.
“Calin isn’t home, and I don’t think we’ll find him alive. There’s evidence of a struggle and some blood on the floor.”
“Shit!” Knight threw her arms in the air before settling one hand on her hip.
Matthews continued, “There isn’t enough blood to assume he was killed in his apartment, and then moved.”
Life Sentence Page 15
