by J. E. Taylor
Pure. That definitely described her to the core. Still, he was surprised Bill honed in on that particular word. “That’s not what I saw.”
“You insulted her career choice. What’d you expect?”
Steve shook his head. His eye hurt along with his pride. This was the second time someone got a drop on him today. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I expected Peggy.” He turned to walk away.
“You know what? You really don’t deserve her, but you bet your ass you’re going to apologize.”
Steve stopped and kept his back to Bill, considering the comment. “Fine, but if she gives me grief, I’m leaving.” He shot a warning glance over at Bill. “And if you try to stop me, you’ll find yourself on your ass.”
Bill smiled. “I’ll give Tracy a call.”
Chapter 8
She ran through the woods, her heart racing in her chest, branches whipping and tearing her exposed skin. Pitch black, not even the moon penetrated the cover of the trees to give her any light. She had to get away, get back to safety but had no clue of where she was running.
His scream put on the brakes and she skidded on the damp leaves, whirling in her tracks. His voice, laced with pain and panic, propelled her in the direction she had fled. She broke through the underbrush into the small clearing, shaking and terrified. On his knees, he struggled to stand. Jagged cuts on his face and chest oozed red, saturating his bare skin with thick blood.
Something sharp sailed through the air towards him.
“No!” she screamed.
She shot up in the chair, the scream escaping from her mouth.
Tracy burst onto the terrace, out of breath. “Are you all right?”
“Nightmare.” Jennifer looked around, her gaze falling on the lake. She shivered.
A knock on the door interrupted them.
Tracy disappeared to get the door.
“Where’s Jen?” Bill asked, stepping into the apartment.
“On the terrace. She just woke up from a nap.”
Bill crossed to the terrace with Steve following reluctantly.
Jennifer glanced at Bill and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Her gaze shifted, falling on Steve. That woke her up with a start and her mouth dropped for a fraction of a second. Steve had a hell of a shiner. Her mouth popped closed and she pressed her lips together, narrowing her eyes in Bill’s direction. “Did you hit him?”
Bill shrugged and stepped back inside. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” He shuffled Tracy out the door and Steve leaned over the balcony, waiting until they had left the building.
“I’m supposed to apologize to you,” he said, watching them drive away. He finally turned towards her.
Jennifer crossed to him. “Does it hurt?” She touched his eye and he winced.
“Not as much as my pride. That’s the second time someone got the drop on me today and the first was a woman. Can you believe it?”
With the dream still fresh in her mind; his joke was lost on her.
He saw the distance in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nightmare.”
“I hope I wasn’t the cause.” He looked down at the parking lot before she could answer. “Where do you think they went?”
“Probably to grab some food,” she said. It was almost dinnertime.
He nodded and headed inside, grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator behind the bar, and took a seat on the overstuffed chair in the living room. He reached for the remote and began aimlessly flipping through the channels.
Jennifer followed him in. His cavalier attitude grated on her. “You seem mighty comfortable here.”
* * * *
Steve raised his eyes to her and glanced back at the television, struggling with the same doubts he had earlier. He met her gaze when she sat on the couch. “Are you acting with me?” he asked. Her reaction solidified his answer.
Jennifer recoiled under his direct, intense stare. Her green eyes flashed and she shot to her feet. “Get out.” She pointed to the door, shaking, and trying to contain her raging anger.
Steve didn’t move from the chair. “Sit down, Jen,” he said. He saw the nuance of real emotion in her eyes, her expression very different from when she acted angry—so much so he was surprised Tracy fell for it. He waited until she sat down, still glaring at him. “I had to be sure.”
“Sure of what?” she snapped, crossing her arms.
“That trusting you wouldn’t get me killed.”
Jennifer’s jaw dropped and her arms fell to her sides. “You had to ask after today?”
“Especially after today,” he replied and leaned forward. “You got me to admit things I never should have and that could burn me, Jen. This isn’t a game. People have disappeared and I have to assume the worst.” He did not fill her in on those who had been found.
“But you know me.” She tilted her head trying to ignore the hurt flaring inside.
He shook his head. “I knew an eleven-year-old girl. Things can change drastically in ten years.” He scanned her. “Things have changed drastically,” he said, his eyes returning to hers. He leaned back slowly and switched gears. “Technically, I could bust you for having alcohol here. Tracy’s a minor.” He smiled a little.
Jennifer watched him closely, her eyes narrowing in response. “Were you acting with me?”
Steve shook his head slowly. “No.” He took a sip of the beer. “If I had been, nothing would have happened.” He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat. “I should have kept my distance, but I couldn’t.”
“Do you regret what happened?” she asked, her voice small and tepid.
He sighed. “No. Not in the least.” He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
“The fact that you asked me that question hurt.”
Steve shrugged. To him, it was a matter of self-preservation and training. “I question everything, Jen. It keeps me alive.”
Jennifer studied him. “You look tired.”
He nodded. “I’m used to napping after, ah, you know.” Heat crept into his cheeks and a dimple made an appearance.
“Have you ever been shot at?”
Steve nodded. “It isn’t fun.”
“Have you ever shot someone?”
Steve shook his head. He stood and went out on the balcony. When she stepped next to him, he said, “Do you really think you can handle that part of my life?”
Jennifer quietly considered the question. “It doesn’t thrill me,” she said. “I don’t like the idea of you in harm’s way.” The dream crept back into her conscience and she shivered. “I don’t like that at all.”
“I can’t change who I am, Jen. I like putting the bad guys behind bars.”
Jennifer smiled. He always loved to play cowboys and Indians when they were younger. “Still the cowboy, I see.”
Steve started to laugh. “I guess.” He always made her play the Indian.
Jennifer joined him, giggling at the memory of him tied to the fence in her yard and her hopping around pounding the palm of her hand to her lips making funky Indian chants.
“So, can you?” His blue eyes implored her.
“I can handle it. But I still don’t like it.” She was rewarded with the slow sexy smile.
Steve glanced at the parking lot again and the road beyond. There was still no sign of Bill and Tracy, so he leaned over and stole a kiss. “How long are we going to play this game with them?”
Jennifer shrugged. “Maybe we should tell them. I would hate to see you get hit again.”
Steve half smiled. “It won’t happen again.” He glanced at her sideways. “Besides, do you think two days is really enough?”
Jennifer glanced at the lake. “No,” she said. “They set us up because we both had someone we love die.”
Steve’s jaw dropped and eyebrows rose at the admission.
“I kid you not,” she said, lifting her hands in an oath.
“Really?” He shook his head. “Okay. Then I’ll see you later.” He gave her a kiss an
d headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To get my car.” He looked at his watch. “Can you remember how to get to my Grandfather’s place?” he asked and she nodded. “I’ll meet you there in a little over an hour.” He smiled over his shoulder. “Oh, and I left after I apologized. I wasn’t going to wait around with you—I’m still an asshole.”
“It’s like five or six miles to campus,” Jennifer said.
“That’s just a warm up,” he said. “I’ll meet you at my grandfather’s. Wear something nice.” He closed the door behind him and headed out.
Steve sprinted the first few miles hoping he wouldn’t run into them. He wanted to be far enough along to make the timeframe realistic. When he’d crossed half the distance between the apartment and the campus, he settled into a moderate jog, getting his wheezing breath back into a natural rhythm.
He nodded to Tracy and Bill a few minutes later when they passed heading in the opposite direction. The matching wide-eyed slack jaw stare was priceless. He wiped the sweat off his face and laughed, continuing his exercise regimen back to the fraternity house.
Chapter 9
Jennifer watched him tear out of the building and wondered how long he could run at that pace. Fifteen minutes later she watched Tracy and Bill pull in. She still had some time before she needed to clean up, but not much. She sat back down in the lounge chair and closed her eyes.
“Jen?” Tracy called.
“Yeah?” she answered from the balcony, stepping into character.
Tracy and Bill came out holding a bag of Chinese food and it took everything Jennifer had not to smile. She looked up at them.
“What happened?” Bill asked.
“He apologized,” Jennifer said and closed her eyes again.
“Why didn’t he stay?” Tracy asked.
Jennifer opened her eyes. “He doesn’t like me very much,” she replied. “And the feeling is mutual.” She got up and headed toward her room.
“Jen?” Tracy whined.
“What?” Jennifer swung around. “What were you thinking?” She slammed the bathroom door behind her, shutting off any further commentary.
Chapter 10
Jennifer stepped into the shower as Steve turned onto Fraternity Row. Out of breath, he bound up the steps to his room. He glanced at his watch. “Not bad.”
The five-mile trek only took him a little over thirty minutes. He grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom to clean up. Twenty minutes later, he was on the road.
Jennifer took ten minutes longer than Steve had, and when she walked out of the bedroom in shorts and a t-shirt, carrying her oversized pocketbook, Tracy called from the kitchen. “We have dinner here if you want some.”
“I’m going out for a bit. I’ll see you later.” Jennifer closed the door behind her before either of them could question her. When she hopped in her car and took off, her memory didn’t fail her. She smiled when she pulled onto the almost hidden driveway.
Steve paced by his car, clad in gray dress pants with a light blue button-down shirt. The swelling had receded but the skin around his right eye still held an angry purple tone.
Her headlights shined in his eyes, making him squint as he approached the car. When she cut the lights and stepped out of the car, Steve stopped, scanning her casual attire. “You consider that nice?” He waved his hand at her.
“No. I figured I’d change when I got here.” She looked at the closed up cottage. “Do you mind letting me in?”
He glanced at his watch, sighed, and raised his eyes back to her. “Okay.” He reached in his car and pulled the keys from the ignition, heading to the cottage without a glance back.
“You look nice,” she said, letting him walk in front of her. “Very nice.”
“Thanks. We have reservations in fifteen minutes.” He leaned against the wall by the door, waiting.
“How far is it to the restaurant?” Jennifer peeled off her shirt in the middle of the living room and reached into her bag, pulling out a sexy little black dress.
* * * *
“Uh, about fifteen minutes.” Steve straightened, watching her slip the silky fabric over her head, the straps just covering those of her black bra. She smoothed it over her body and slipped her shorts off, revealing a hint of black underwear before the fabric of the dress fell over her thighs again. She quickly slid the black high heel sandals on and then turned to him, unclipping her hair, and running her fingers through it. The transformation took less than a minute, and left him breathless.
“Better?” She stuffed her clothes, flip-flops and hairclip back in her bag.
He didn’t respond with words. He moved across the room and took her in his arms, kissing her deeply.
When he pulled away, she ran her hands over his clean-shaven face. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“That definitely was a yes,” he said, leading her out of the cottage to his car. He leaned in and plucked the single rose off the seat, opening the door for her and handing her the rose. “For you.”
Jennifer took the rose with a smile. “Thank you.”
He got in the car, leering at her. “I have half a mind to skip dinner and go directly to dessert.”
“I’m hungry.” She glanced sideways and raked her teeth over her lower lip. “Besides, we can have dessert later.”
Steve raised his eyebrow. “That so?”
“Aye-up,” she answered as he turned the car around.
Steve audibly inhaled and focused on navigating the winding driveway. “How’d it go with Bill and Tracy?” He pulled onto the road.
“Uneventful. I didn’t say much. Just that you didn’t like me very much and the feeling is mutual.”
“That must have killed them,” he replied. In the little time he’d been exposed to Tracy, he picked up that she had to know everything that was going on or she wasn’t happy. “Tracy’s a journalism major, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
He shrugged. “I bet she’ll end up doing entertainment news.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She’s a busy-body, has to have her hand on the pulse of everything and the juicier the information, the more she gets off on it.” He paused. “Regular news just isn’t that glamorous.”
He summed up Tracy in one sentence and Jennifer laughed.
“What made you choose acting?” He glanced over at her.
“I got the bug when I did a high school play my sophomore year. I loved to dance in the recitals, but this was different. I was so scared I actually threw up before my first performance but when I stepped on the stage, everything changed. It was such a rush, having all eyes on me, having people hanging on my every word or note I sang, and at the end, the applause. Steve, the applause is like a drug. It put me in a different state of being and I crave that feeling.”
“You mean I’m falling in love with an applause junkie?”
Jennifer looked over at him with her jaw askew. “What did you just say?”
“You’re an applause junkie?” he replied cautiously. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
“That’s not what you said.” She crossed her arms and stared at him, her lips forming an adorable pout and he turned his attention back to the road without comment.
“Did you mean it?”
Steve didn’t respond until he had parked the car in the parking lot of the restaurant. “I should bring you with me the next time I interrogate someone. You seem to be able to get the most intriguing information without trying.”
“Did you mean it?” she asked in measured beats.
He finally looked at her when he got out of the car. “I don’t know.” He closed the car door and waited for her to get out.
Jennifer looked at the rose in her hand and decided to let it go for the moment.
* * * *
“What do you want, Steve?” She swirled the wine in her glass and took a sip, looking over the rim at him.
He sighed and sat back. “I ca
n’t think beyond the job right now, Jen. I need to concentrate on what I was sent here to do.” He took a sip of his drink. “Before someone else disappears.”
He was pulling away again and she felt it. “So today…” She drifted off and her vision blurred from the welling tears. She blinked them back.
“Today was the best day I’ve had in over two years,” he replied. “Minus getting hit in the face.” He smiled a little.
“But?”
“But, I can’t focus on you.” He scanned her again. “As much as I’d like to…” he trailed off and took another sip of his wine. “Pledge week ends Thursday and initiation is on Friday. Over the last four years, more than half of the disappearances occurred during pledge week. I’m running out of time.”
“I still think you’re looking in the wrong place.”
“I don’t think so, Jen.” He paused as the waitress approached and he ordered for both of them in flawless French. Steve continued after the waitress left. “I’m not off base on this. Trust me.”
“You want me to trust you?” Jennifer asked with her head tilted slightly, looking at him over her wine glass.
“Yes,” Steve said without hesitation.
“Then tell me what you said in the car.”
Steve chuckled and leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “You know what I said,” he whispered in her ear and sat back down.
Jennifer’s smile froze and everything in front of her line of vision disappeared.
She stood on the edge of a clearing, instantly recognizing it from her nightmare. Trembling, she watched a young girl dressed in shorts and a t-shirt push her way through the thick brush into the clearing.
The water rippled and a black form rose from the depths of the pond. Jennifer wanted to scream, wanted to tell the little girl to run and run fast, but her voice locked in her throat. All she could do was stare at the beast in silent horror.
When it stepped onto the moss, the girl found her voice. A shrill cry, a cry of panic, of fear, of terror belted from her lips. And she ran into the woods, still wailing. The thing followed, agile and fast. The sharp siren cut off moments later and the sudden silence broken only by wet sounds of flesh being stripped from bone.
