Sins of the Father (California Dreaming Book 2)

by Stacey Johnston

  “I’ll get it,” a grumbling Stephen says from beside me.

  The loud thumping on the wooden door is not showing any signs of stopping, leaving me to wonder what the urgency is about.

  “What” he yells, as he opens the door.

  Standing on the other side are Ben, Anthony and Hawke with grim looks on their faces. Sitting up, with the sheet wrapped around me, I watch as they walk into the room. So much for privacy.

  “I’m sorry for the early morning intrusion, but we need to leave, and as quickly as possible,” Anthony directs at us both.

  What could have possibly happened since last night?

  “Why?” I ask.

  I’m sure they were expecting at least that from me, but the surprise that is registering on their faces tell another story.

  “It’s not secure here anymore we need to move you somewhere safer. We will give you a few minutes to dress and pack, but then we need to be going. Time is not in our favor I’m afraid. I will tell you more in the SUV.”

  And just like that, all three of them walk back out the door, and down the hallway.

  Still stunned at what just happened, Stephen closes the door and stares at me. Shrugging, I rise and move into the bathroom to change, grabbing some sweatpants and my tank on the way through. If they aren’t going to give me time to at least shower, I’m going to need to put on fresh clothing. Oh shit, I need clean underwear. What can I say; I’m pedantic about the little things.

  By the time I come back out, that boy of mine has both our bags packed and waiting by the door. Pulling me into his embrace, he hugs me tightly, kissing the top of my head as he reassures me that everything will be okay. I am thankful for his presence. I don’t know what I would do without him right now. Parting, he places his hand on the small of my back leading me toward the door.

  “I will always be right beside you.” He murmurs as we walk out into the hallway to follow the agent assigned to us, toward the elevator.

  The ding as the doors opens startles me momentarily, bringing me back down to earth. I allow Stephen to guide me in, turning around just in time to see Vincent standing by the doorway that we have only just exited.

  As the doors close, he grins, casually waving at me, and I hear him drawl, “I’ll be seeing you real soon darling,”

  “Did either of you see that?” I utter mindlessly at both Stephen, and the agent standing beside me.

  “See what Miss Phillips?” the agent asks in return.

  Closing my eyes tightly, I sigh. My god, aren’t these men supposed to see everything? How the hell did he miss that grotesque excuse for a man, standing outside the exact same door that we had only exited from, moments before?

  “Vincent was in the hallway,” I declare calmly, although I can already feel the rear rising.

  Keeping my gaze fixated on the metal doors, it only takes a few seconds before Stephen’s warm body crushes me. Twirling me around so that my face is lying flat against his chest. I bask in his embrace, soaking up as much of his warmth as I can, even if it is only for a few minutes. When the elevator dings again, our agent shoves himself forward so that he is the first person they see. On the other side, it’s just the regulars; the Valentines, Hawke and now, more agents.

  “He is in the building sir,” Mr. Agent man calls out to Anthony, as he urges us to follow.

  “Okay, let’s get moving. I want Sherlyn in that SUV… now.” Anthony shouts.

  Everything that happens next happens very quickly…

  After being hastily ushered out of the building, we are placed in one of four SUV’s that are parked out front of our hotel on the curbside.

  Talk about being prepared.

  Sitting in the back next to Stephen, my body and mind go into shock. How else would you explain the calmness I’m feeling right now? Once again, I feel nothing, and that troubles me. The fact that I’m only concerned about how I am feeling definitely worries me. It doesn’t take long to get everyone out of the building and into the SUV’s, and before I know it, we are quickly moving through the city streets toward the airport. Well, I think that’s where we are headed…

  I don’t know whether it’s fear or anxiety eating away at me right now, but either way, it’s making me nauseous. I’m pretty sure I said that the next time Vincent and I met; there was a chance I wouldn’t make it out alive. Therefore, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by what is happening then, should I?

  During the rush, I didn’t get the opportunity to ask where they were taking us and I guess it would be pointless trying to now as well. Stephen and I are traveling with Kyle and Luke, and coincidentally, Ben, Sophie, Sarah, and Sean are all traveling together in another vehicle. The last time Ben, Soph and Sarah traveled together in a scenario like this one, they were nearly killed by my father.

  The whole déjà vu feeling sweeping over me is really creepy, god I hope we don’t have the same thing happen again.

  Seriously, what would be the odds of that?

  Stephen

  “Did you hear what they found?”

  Huh?

  “What are you on about? What did whom find?”

  I was in my own little world until Luke spoke. He has been sitting beside me for the last hour and that bony ass of his has been fidgeting the whole fucking time. I hope we get to where we are going soon otherwise, I am going to end up elbowing him in the fucking ribs.

  What the hell is his problem anyway?

  Lowering his voice, this time, he whispers, “That chick Sean was with last night, that psycho killed her. He left pieces of her in Sean’s hotel room.”

  W.T.F I mean seriously, like what the hell? By now I’m just staring at him, he must be ribbing me, because this can’t be real.

  “Please tell me you are joking or something. That shit can’t be true.”

  Throwing his head in my direction, he gives me, what I can only describe as a death stare. I suppose that’s my confirmation that what he is telling me is the truth.

  “Why the fuck would I joke about something like that, dick. What the fuck is wrong with you?” oh yeah, he is pissed.

  It’s not hard to miss it when he raises his voice at me like that.

  “Sorry dude, I just can’t believe that this shit is going down, that’s all. When will it ever fucking end?”

  All the commotion has now attracted the attention of Sherlyn and Kyle, who both, in turn, swing around to stare at us.

  “What’s going on?” Sherlyn inquires, straightening in her seat. Up until that point, she was half leaning on the door, with her ass pressed tightly against my leg. Not that I was complaining or anything. Her touch always me make rock hard, it doesn’t matter where we are.

  “Yeah man, spill. What the fuck is going on?”

  Awesome, now both she and Kyle are ganging up on us.

  “Go on, Luke, you may as well tell them.”

  Sitting up straighter, he briefly looks over at me before telling Kyle and Sherlyn what he had heard. Apparently, Sean woke this morning to find pieces of the girl he had been with, scattered across his hotel suite. What a sick fuck this Vincent guy must be, to kill and mutilate a complete stranger like that. As far as they can tell, he snuck in while Sean was sleeping. It seems he hung around the restaurant after all last night, sitting back to watch us. He must have seen Sean and his blonde friend like we all did, and used that to his advantage.

  If he was trying to scare Sean, he picked the wrong person. That boy is as hard as nails. It would have enraged him more than anything else would. I gather he has a motive but I can’t quite work out what it is yet. This sick fuck’s actions over the past twenty-four hours have been unpredictable, brass almost, like he is getting off on taunting us. All I know is that we have gravely underestimated what he is capable of, that’s for sure. Both Anthony and Hawke agreed that it was better for us all to leave straight away after Sean’s blonde friend was found. Not just to keep Sherlyn safe, but everyone else as well. Luke had heard that until they can find out more ab
out him, they don’t believe any of us will be safe.

  Sherlyn, especially.

  That would explain why it feels like we have been driving around aimlessly for the last hour. Originally I thought, they were taking us straight to the airport, but that never happened. What doesn’t help either is that the agent driving us won’t talk; he hasn’t uttered a single word since we left. I feel really bad for Blondie’s family, because none of them, especially their gorgeous daughter, has deserved what happened to them. It makes me wonder how the CBI plan to deal with it. From what I get out of Luke’s ramblings, if the police had been involved, Sean would be sitting in a jail cell right now. The whole crime scene was set up to incriminate him. Maybe that’s what our psycho friend wanted.

  Placing my arm around Sheri’s shoulders, I pull her close, comforting her. One of Luke’s biggest faults is that he has no tact, no filter when it comes to speaking what’s on his mind. He hasn’t always been this way, he lost all reason to give a shit when he lost Peyton, but that’s not my story to tell. Glancing down, my poor girl’s face has paled; she is visibly upset at what has happened. Her brief confrontation with Vincent earlier wouldn’t have helped either. Tightening my grip on her, I lean across to kiss her forehead, attempting to give her some sort of reassurance.

  “That poor girl’s parents,” Sherlyn finally says, her voice small and sad.

  “I’m next, aren’t I?” she frets.

  It can’t be possible to hold her any tighter than I already am, but I’m trying to. Her whole body is shaking in fear in my arms, reverberating each movement through my own body as well. Tears are streaming down her face, she is that scared. Fuck… we all are, but the realization of what he is capable of is now evident and it’s taking its toll on her.

  “Not if we have anything to do about it,” Kyle angrily declares from the front of the SUV.

  “You are safe with us Miss Phillips.” Mr. Agent man finally reveals.

  Whoa, the guy does have a voice after all. Pity he didn’t know how to use it earlier.

  “Mmm, we will see about that, won’t we?” She quietly informs him.

  Slumping further into me, her attempts to calm herself are slowly starting to work as her body stills in my embrace. She has soaked my shirt with her tears, but none of that matters as long as she is alive and safe.

  I don’t know where we were headed to, but I’m glad this fucking vehicle is finally coming to a stop. My legs are cramped from trying to sit, squashed in-between Luke, and his fidgeting ass, and my girl, who is using my body as her support. We make our escape out onto the pavement, finding a decrepitated building that has seen better days in front of us. I can only assume this is their safe house, I mean why else would we be here. Stretching my legs, I grab Sherlyn’s hand and lead her up the path as the SUVs we were all traveling in drive away. Yep, definitely a safe house. I remember the one the guys and I stayed in with our parents when we first arrived in Brooklyn two years ago. Now that place was a shit hole.

  I would bet money that this one beats that.

  Inside we are lead down a hallway toward a large room toward the rear of the house. I’ve only ever seen something like this in movies. The room itself must be some sort of command center because no sooner do we all enter, Sean and Hawke sit down. Both of them are seated in front of some fancy ass computer setup, and all I can do is stare. I knew that boy was talented, but fuck me, he really is good with this shit. Not that I have any idea what the fuck he doing, but from where I’m standing, it all looks pretty impressive.

  Voices from behind me catch my attention; turning around, Anthony is addressing Sherlyn and the rest of our group.

  “For tonight,” he starts.

  “We are staying here at this CBI safe house. Tomorrow morning, a chartered plane will fly everyone out to Hawke’s island.”

  That guy has an island? Seriously, like what the fuck?

  “Arrangements are being made as we speak for your families to join us as well. We will all stay put until Mr. Salvatore can be found and detained.”

  Fuck…. More running and hiding. Will it ever end?

  Just when I think my life can have some sort of normality to it, shit like this goes down ruining all fucking hope. My parents will be pissed… shit, all of our parents will be.

  Oh man, he’s still talking.

  “Sean and Hawke will use the new information obtained, to locate Sherlyn’s stalker, so please try and get some rest. No one is to leave this building, do I make myself clear?”

  The unanimous grumble from everyone in the room seems to please him as he strides away from us over to Sean.

  “Let’s explore baby girl,” I whisper in Sherlyn’s ear from behind.

  I obviously scare her, because she jumps so fucking high, she could have hit the ceiling.

  Chuckling, I apologize, “Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  Turning, she punches me, clutching her other hand to her chest.

  “You can be such an asshole at times, Stephen,” she scolds, in-between her deep, shallow breaths.

  Laughing, I grab her hand once more and lead her out of the room, away from everyone else, to explore our lodgings for the night.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sean

  What a cluster fuck, today has been. Waking up to find body parts strewn across my hotel suite this morning scared the fuck out me. I woke disorientated, wondering what the hell had happened. A closer observation of what gifts had been left for me, showed that the body wasn’t any random one, but the chick I got lucky with last night. My blonde friend from the restaurant. When I finally got my wits about me, I phoned my father and within minutes, my room was flooded with enough men in black suits to make my decent sized suite look tiny.

  What I want to know is how the hell he got into my suite in the first place? He must have paid off one of the clerks behind the desk downstairs because there is no other way he could have gotten in. Secondly, why me? What has he got to gain targeting me? So much for my father saying he wouldn’t hang around. He had to be in that restaurant to know that poor girl was with me; there is no other explanation. Where the hell was he hiding? The only thing I could think of was that he was waiting near the restrooms when we both exited.

  It’s no secret we have underestimated this animal every step of the way. I don’t want to believe that he is smarter than we are, because from what Sherlyn has told us, he never appeared to be. Maybe it’s all been an act to make her think he was stupid. Everything he has done leading up to this was calculated, and more controlled, much like that of a much smarter individual. I can guarantee you one thing, though, and that is, this will be the last time he gets the better of us.

  The safe house we are holed up in for the night certainly has to be one of the worst that the agency has, but it’s sufficient and has all the basic necessities. I’ve never known anyone to stay longer than twenty-four hours here anyway, with exception of the agents we have permanently based here. After mom, Soph, and the others left to get settled for the night, Hawke and I stayed in the communications room going over everything we had discovered. It has been easy to link him to the Alexandria family, but I have also found other damning evidence which when we catch him, will put him away for life.

  It seems our Mr. Salvatore hasn’t been as quiet as we originally thought. Hawke and I have been able to link him to a string of murders of young girls within the Brooklyn and New York City boundaries. I’m actually surprised at how easy it was to dig up so much dirt on him, but until now, we haven’t been looking in the right places. If all of these police reports are correct, which of course they should be, we need to find him, and fast.

  It looks as though Sherlyn has always been his main target, and we believe he has some horrific plans for her. All the police report’s we have come across are linked in some way. The profiles of his victims are all very similar, as if he has a type. Obviously, he did, because every one of those girls looked like Sherlyn. All of his victims cou
ld have possibly passed as one of her relatives. They each shared similar features – their hair was dark colored, they all had brown eyes and every one of them was exactly the same body build. Even more horrifying was that each victim over the years would have been in the same age group as Sherlyn at the time.

  The picture we get is that each year he picked one who was around her age and practiced honing his skills, getting more sadistic with each girl. The last one, which officers found only a few days ago, was planted right under our noses, as if he wanted us to find her. She was dumped in the alleyway next to the hotel we were staying at, but nothing about that triggered anything for us at the time. It seemed completely random so my father didn’t investigate it. We are not in the business of looking into murders unless they are specifically linked to a case we are working on. That particular murder, though, would have been difficult even for the toughest investigating officer, as the things he did to her would make even the strongest of stomachs churn. We believe that he is now ready to take that next step.

  Sherlyn…

  Dad now believes that it was never his plan to kill her when he shot at her in the gymnasium. He thinks that this is a game for him, one of torment to break her before kidnapping her. It’s another reason why my father believe he never touched her last night. He was doing some reconnaissance, scoping out how easy it would be to abduct her. If the opportunity had arisen at the restaurant, he had no doubt she would have been taken there and then. The huge agency presence must have deterred him, but it won’t for long. If there was ever a time for Sherlyn to be scared, that time is now.

  This asshole will be mine. I don’t plan to let anyone else take him down. I can at least promise her that much. He made it personal when he left those body parts in my suite, and I will make it my mission to ensure nothing no harm ever comes to that girl.