“Stay where you are,” Serenity called out, panic rising once again, like a shark out of the depths of an ocean. “Stay right where you are or I’m going to be very angry with you!”
Jackson climbed off Serenity and backed away. He put his hands out in front of him, his head craned back as though someone was shining an industrial flashlight in his face.
“What is that?” Genuine fear tainted his voice. “I can’t see! What is it?”
Serenity risked a glance back. Elizabeth stood at the top of the stairs, small and defenseless, dwarfed by the grandeur of the staircase. Her face carried no expression, her young features smooth and vacant. She looked the same as she had a few nights earlier, when Serenity found her sleepwalking.
“Mommy?” she said again, though her face remained blank.
Serenity didn’t want to attract Jackson toward her daughter, but she also didn’t want to leave her standing at the top of the stairs. If Elizabeth was sleepwalking, she might just as easily miss her footing and fall down. However deadly Jackson might be, Serenity couldn’t ignore the normal dangers presented to a small child.
Anyway, Jackson didn’t look like he was going to hurt anyone anytime soon.
The freak he had become stumbled away from the staircase, his arms raised as though to protect his eyes. Serenity couldn’t be certain, but the cause of his fear and discomfort seemed to be Elizabeth.
Slowly, Serenity started to edge her way backward up the staircase, toward her daughter.
“You won’t get away with this,” Jackson snarled. “Whatever trick you’re pulling, I will figure it out and destroy you.”
He turned and, so fast it seemed he simply vanished, he left the house, the big front door slamming in his wake.
Hardly daring to believe he’d gone, Serenity sobbed in relief. She turned and ran up the stairs and scooped her child up in her arms. Elizabeth’s small arms wound around her neck, her legs straddling her waist, exactly the same as any other time Serenity found her out of bed.
Serenity held her close, her face buried in her daughter’s soft hair.
Grief swamped her relief at still being alive.
Sebastian was dead. That monster had killed him.
The loss she thought she’d gotten over all those years ago returned with renewed force. It swelled up inside of her, like a balloon threatening to pop, and she wanted to scream with the injustice. What had she done to deserve this? How could something she thought she’d lost be given back to her for such a brief time, only to be snatched away.
She still had Elizabeth. Her daughter was alive and that was the most important thing. Yet even these thoughts made her cry harder. She hadn’t even realized it until now, but deep down, part of her had hoped Sebastian would be in their lives once more. Now, of course, that was never going to happen.
It was all so final.
Serenity cried into Elizabeth’s soft dark curls, her mind turning over the events of the last ten minutes.
What had just happened? Jackson fled all because of Elizabeth. Somehow her presence had hurt him. Serenity couldn’t explain it, but she knew one thing with certainty.
Elizabeth had saved both of their lives.
Chapter Twenty
What was she supposed to do now?
Serenity didn’t want to leave. Some sad, desperate part of her hoped Jackson had been wrong and Sebastian had survived. Though the house always felt utterly devoid of his presence, to walk away as if he never existed seemed like such a final act.
But she couldn’t stay, not now that Jackson knew where to find her. It would only be a matter of time before he came back and killed her. But Jackson also knew where she lived. Nowhere was safe.
A horrible sickness gripped her stomach. He would always find her. She should have learned that by now. During their marriage, Jackson always promised if she ever tried to leave him, he would track her down and kill her.
It seemed, even after death, Jackson stayed true to his word.
Beside her, Elizabeth blinked and stretched, rubbing her eyes. They sat together on the stairs, Serenity’s arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders.
“I didn’t like that man, Mommy,” Elizabeth said; staring up at her with big, wet eyes. “He scared me.”
“Me neither, sweetheart,” she said, pressing Elizabeth against the side of her body. “He scared me too.”
Heartbroken, Serenity struggled to control her emotions. Sebastian was dead and he’d taken a part of her heart with him. Over the years, she had somehow found peace, knowing Sebastian survived in the world somewhere. Now he no longer existed, he was nothing more than a pile of ash. Maybe she was in denial, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe he was no longer a part of this world. He’d been her guardian angel and with him gone she felt exposed and vulnerable.
Beneath the grief, she was also terrified. Jackson might come back at any moment.
Rage bubbled beneath the grief; furious that Jackson could still do this to her, that he could come back into her life and rip everything she had ever worked for to shreds.
She wanted to cry. She wanted to grieve for Sebastian, for all the dreams she’d allowed herself to imagine—if only for the briefest of moments—but she needed to stay strong for Elizabeth.
Serenity lifted her head and took a wet, nasally breath. Her jaw tightened in fierce determination.
She would stop Jackson; whatever it took. She would kill him again, and again, and again, if she had to. She would kill the creature that took away the only man she had ever really loved.
Serenity had killed before. She’d murdered both Jackson and the vampire, Madeline. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for. She’d experienced more blood and violence at her own hands, then most people who still walked the streets. She’d murdered people, even though, technically, Jackson came back and Madeline was dead to start with.
Except now she had a weakness. Her recklessness had been easy to ignore when she only had her own life to worry about. Now she needed to think about Elizabeth as well.
The moment of power flaring within her quickly died.
In truth she only had two options. Stay and fight, or run.
Did Jackson even work by the same rules as the vampires? Silver and sunlight killed Madeline, but Jackson did not seem to have such weaknesses. He’d appeared here in the daylight
He held Sebastian down as the sun came up…
She pushed the thought away. Being overcome with loss at this point wouldn’t help either her or Elizabeth. Not thinking about Sebastian’s death was the only way she would be able to function.
But if sunlight did not harm Jackson, she had no way of knowing if any of the other ‘traditional’ vampire methods would either.
What the hell had Madeline created?
She would be laughing right now, Serenity thought. Whatever hell the bitch existed in right now, she would be laughing her ass off.
Jackson’s return was the ultimate revenge.
If she didn’t know how to fight him, her only other option was to run.
The thought of being on the run weighed down on her as if the devil himself clung to her back. To run would mean no end to this hell.
Serenity found herself plunged back into the torment of her previous life. Back then, she’d been terrified of leaving him and now she felt as though she were back in the same situation. The same fears encompassed her; if he found her what would he do to her? She could never live a simple life; she would forever be looking over her shoulder, expecting him to be there.
Then she had Elizabeth to consider. Would her daughter ever be able to lead a normal life? If they were constantly on the move she would never get the chance to settle down, go to school, or make friends of her own.
Jackson would always be there.
He would be the movement caught from the corner of her eye. He would be the shape standing in the shadows as she crossed the street. He would be the feeling that she wasn’t alone when it was late at night and she
was tucked up in bed.
Elizabeth would be better off if I was dead.
Depression that had haunted her for many years crept up. Like hands reaching from a grave, the fingers of despair clawed up at her, threatening to pull her down back beneath the earth.
The feeling terrified her almost as much as the knowledge of Jackson rising from the dead. After all, she might be able to run from Jackson. If she fell back into the helpless depression that had dominated her life for so many years, she couldn’t run from herself.
“We need to go, sweetheart,” Serenity said, making a decision.
Elizabeth looked up at her, “Where are we going?”
“To the airport. We’re going to go on an airplane.”
Immediately, Elizabeth’s shoulders stiffened. “Are you coming too?”
“Yes, darling. I’m coming as well.”
“And Sebastian?” she said. “Is my daddy coming?”
Serenity’s heart twisted in pain. “No. Not this time.”
“Why not?”
She couldn’t tell her. She just couldn’t. “Just do as I say, Elizabeth. We don’t have time for a hundred questions.”
“But Mom!” she protested. “He won’t know where we are. He’ll wake up and…”
“That’s enough,” she snapped, and Elizabeth fell silent.
They hadn’t even had the chance to unpack yet. Their bags still sat at the bottom of the staircase.
There was nothing else she needed to do. She just had to pick up the bags and leave.
Serenity grabbed the keys from where Sebastian had dropped them on the hall console. The big electric gates barring the house from the road were controlled by a fob on the keychain and also from a panel on the inside of the door, but she thought she shouldn’t leave the house unlocked.
With a tight, painful lump in her throat, Serenity picked up their bags and took Elizabeth’s hand. They left the big house and Serenity pulled the heavy front door shut behind her. Sebastian’s car sat in the driveway, but she didn’t want to take the vehicle. It felt too much like stealing.
Together they walked down the gravel driveway, the small stones crunching beneath their feet, and Serenity pushed the button on the key-fob. Slowly the gates opened up in front of them.
Serenity glanced back at the house.
I’m so sorry, Sebastian, she spoke out to him mentally. She hoped wherever he was—whatever happened to his kind after they passed—he would hear and forgive her for bringing Jackson into his life. Her vision blurred with tears and she bit them back, pressing her lips together hard, fighting the hard lump in her throat.
They stepped onto the quiet street. Most of the people who lived in this area lived secretive lives and liked their privacy. No one hung out on the street corners in this neighborhood. People either rode in their cars or stayed in their homes.
Except today was an exception. As the gates closed and they started down the street, a car pulled alongside them.
“Mrs. Hathaway?”
She slowed her walk, groaning internally. She glanced to one side at the driver of the standard issue Chevrolet Impala Police Cruiser.
Detective Gingham—the detective who had questioned her down at the station.
Daylight shone through his thinning hair, the dyed black color appearing faker than ever. He still wore the stiff grey suit she’d seen him in at the station. His arm rested on the outside of the car door, the window wide open.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you in this neighborhood, Mrs. Hathaway,” he said. “Not your local neighborhood stroll?”
Serenity tightened her grip on Elizabeth’s hand and kept walking. “I was visiting a friend.”
Still crawling along beside her, he glanced up at the opulent houses, or at least the high walls and gates surrounding them. “Friends in high places, huh?”
Serenity stopped walking. “I wasn’t aware that who my friends were was any business of yours, Detective.”
“We’ve had reported sightings of the man we were discussing the other day in this area,” he said, choosing his words carefully because of the presence of the child. “We’re making inquiries in case anyone might have something else to tell us.”
“I don’t have anything else to tell you,” she said, deliberately.
The car continued to drive alongside, its speed matching her pace. She continued to walk.
“No?” he said, his voiced raised. “Are you sure?”
“Totally.”
“It’s a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?” he continued, without even blinking. “That everywhere this man turns up, there you are as well?”
“Yes, it is a coincidence.” She tried to keep her voice level.
“You see, that just doesn’t sit right with me, Mrs. Hathaway. And I have really good instincts on these things. They got me where I am today. You understand, don’t you?”
Serenity glanced down at Elizabeth. “This really isn’t the time or the place, Detective.”
“Then why don’t you come back down to the station? I’m sure one of our operators can take care of your little girl while you help us out?”
Elizabeth looked up her. “What does the man want, Mommy?”
“He’s a policeman, like your Uncle James. He thinks I can help him find someone.”
“Yeah?” Her small face lit up. “Like someone on the television.”
It briefly crossed Serenity’s mind to wonder exactly what her daughter had been watching, but she went for the easy option.
“Yeah, honey. Like on the television.”
Detective Gingham pulled the car over. Serenity sighed and pulled open the back door. With a heavy heart, she helped Elizabeth climb in the back seat and got in after her. What options did she have? She would rather she cooperated than have the detective find a reason to arrest her. She couldn’t risk being separated from Elizabeth.
Serenity was getting to know the inside of the Los Angeles Police Department far more than she would have liked. She felt like she was experiencing déjà-vu as she followed the detective through the corridors, toward the room where he intended to interrogate her yet again.
Elizabeth had been happy to stay with one of the phone operators, bribed with the promise of hot chocolate and cookies. How well Elizabeth took things in her stride never failed to amaze Serenity. Something that left Serenity shaken and haunted, Elizabeth brushed off within an hour.
The door had a different number on the front, but otherwise the room was identical to the one she had been in yesterday.
Yesterday—had it really only been yesterday?
With the attitude of a sulky teenager, she sank into the plastic chair across the table from the detective. She slouched low, not making eye contact with the sharp blue eyes of the law officer. Guilt stirred in her gut, making her feel as though she were the criminal instead of the victim.
Technically she was a criminal—she had murdered Jackson to start with. But the secrets she held were secrets from most of mankind.
Detective Gingham sighed and leaned across the table toward her.
“So, Mrs. Hathaway, are you going to be straight with me now?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“Don’t bullshit me! Your husband is murdering people and everywhere he is spotted either has some connection to you or else there you are. If you’re not protecting him, then why haven’t you contacted me? You can’t tell me there have been numerous sightings in this area and yet you haven’t seen him?”
Serenity stared at the ground.
“What possible reason could you have for keeping his presence a secret?” the detective continued. “He is a dangerous man.”
Serenity’s head snapped up. “Do you think I don’t know that?”
His eyes narrowed. “Is he threatening you? Is he threatening you and you daughter? If you talk to the police…”
Serenity laughed. “He wouldn’t give a damn about me talking to you. He wouldn’t even think of you as a th
reat.”
Detective Gingham leaned on his forearms and repeated the question. “Is he threatening you?”
“My husband has always threatened me, Detective. From the moment I married him, his presence alone has been enough of a threat. But if you are asking me if I am helping him in any way, then no, Detective, I am not. I hate him more than any other being on the planet.” Her voice shook with emotion. “And if I could do or say something that would make him disappear from my life forever, then I would do it.”
“Mrs. Hathaway? Do you know where your husband is?”
“No, Detective.” Her voice rose in anger. “For the last time, I honestly do not know where he is. Do I think he’ll come after me again? Yes, I do. The whole reason he’s back in this city is to torture me.”
He sat back in his seat and some compassion leaked into the sharpness of his blue eyes.
“Then we’ll set up a twenty-four hour surveillance. We’ll surround you with police so he won’t be able to get within a hundred yards of you.”
Serenity shook her head. “It won’t do any good. He’ll kill your men.”
Gingham raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “My men are trained professionals,” he said. “They know how to take care of themselves.”
“I don’t want any more people to die.”
“Then you and I want the same thing.”
Serenity sighed and sat back in her seat. It didn’t matter what she said. This man had his own agenda. What more could she do? If she told him the truth they would lock her up and probably take Elizabeth away from her.
She would have to disappear. She had no idea how to accomplish such a thing—especially with a small child in tow. If she were in a movie right now, she would know some dodgy guy who would be able to provide them with a fake passport, or other identity. As it was, she didn’t know anyone like that, and the people she did know had either been attacked or murdered. Simply knowing her was likely to get someone killed.
“You’ll understand if I ask you not to go anywhere, won’t you, Mrs. Hathaway,” he said, glancing down at her bags. “You need to stay close in case I have any more questions to ask.”
The Serenity Series: Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 39
