by Anna Lewis
“Jason, I’m sorry. I don’t know why they would impound it since you were already at the station when we arrested you. I’ll talk to Sarge and see if I can’t get that cleared up. I’ll bring you to your car.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“It’s the least I can do.”
“It sure is,” he said, laying the angst on thick.
“Jason. I’m sorry. I should have believed you. I want to talk about this. I need you to know how sorry I am.”
“We can talk. But I don’t know how much good it will do. It really hurt me that you didn’t believe me.”
“The evidence said—”
“See, there you go again. That’s not an apology. You’re making excuses.”
“You know what? You’re right. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m already in the car. We’ll talk about this and we’ll figure it out. Because the bottom line is that I was wrong.”
She almost told him that he was in danger, but something told her that that information was better left for a face to face discussion.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said, hanging up before she could say anything else.
He went into the bathroom, looking out the window before he carefully slid it open. He crawled out and shut the window behind him.
Jacob looked both ways down the side of the house before he jogged towards the alleyway at the end of the unfenced yard. When his feet hit the pavement, he took off at a fast pace, trying to put as much distance between himself and Lilly’s house as he could. It wouldn’t do for her to come around the corner and find him so close. She would wonder how he got there that fast.
He’d been planning on ambushing her, but this was even better. Lilly thought he was Jason, and Jason was tied up at his parents’ farm out in the middle of nowhere. Jacob laughed under his breath. As soon as he talked to Lilly and she apologized, he would head out to the farm and give Jason the scopolamine and order him to commit suicide.
Lilly was so distraught over breaking his trust and his heart, it would never occur to her to order a DNA test of the corpse. No, she believed he was Jason, and she would believe that the dead body was Jacob. It would be an open and shut case, and Jacob could slip right into Jason’s life.
That had been his plan all along, but Lilly was an added bonus. It didn’t take a genius to see that she was in love with Jason. So, not only would he get the riches, the dream job and Jason’s sweet life, he would get the girl too.
He turned left at the end of the alley, jogging to the next corner before he slowed to a walk. He made his way slowly, pointed in the direction of Lilly’s house.
If she happened to drive by before he got there, she would see he was coming from the correct direction and she would have no reason to suspect that he’d been in her house.
And she would never know how close she was to dying that morning when she’d nearly come home before she’d had a chance to talk to Jacob.
Jacob shrugged. Woman or no woman, he didn’t really care. But having a willing and pliant woman in his bed sweetened the pot, and Jason had done all the hard work for him. Lilly Bruce was already head over heels in love with Jason. After all Jason had been through with this case, Jacob doubted he would have to work too hard to keep Lilly happy.
She’d be too busy spending the rest of her life trying to make up for her lack of faith.
Things were going much better than Jacob could’ve imagined that they would.
***
Jason pulled over at the gas station, parking the large truck carefully by the pump. A quick look over his shoulder made him grimace.
There was a lot of blood on the seat.
Jason pulled the wad of cash out of his pocket, making a mental note to make sure he paid Silas Marner back everything the man had given him. Jacob had taken Jason’s wallet, ID and money with him, leaving him with nothing.
He also had Jason’s phone.
Jason went into the store, mindful of the bandaging that tugged and bunched as he moved.
“Can I help you?”
“Can I get twenty on pump one and I’ll take one of those prepaid phones.”
“Which one?”
“The ten dollar one.”
The man behind the counter handed Jason the phone and took his money. Jason thanked the man and left, pumping the gas while he read the activation instructions.
“Your phone will be activated within the next hour,” a tinny voice said in his ear. “Please call customer service if your phone is not active within that time frame.”
Jason groaned. An hour? He’d be at her house in an hour. And he didn’t want to just show up without warning her.
He set the phone down, trying to remain calm. It probably gave an hour as the absolute longest that it would take. If he would just be patient, it would probably be up in running in half that time.
Somehow, that wasn’t very comforting.
***
Lilly was halfway home when she put in a call to her Sergeant. It was so odd that they’d impounded his car. She’d seen cars sit in the same area of the parking garage for weeks without issue, but Jason hadn’t even been in jail for twenty-four hours.
Sarge wasn’t in, so Lilly left a message, asking after Jason’s car and asking him to get with Ella on the evidence. Lilly didn’t have the patience to try to explain all this to Sarge, and Ella was much more knowledgeable on the subject anyway.
Lilly hung up the phone and tossed it onto the passenger seat.
She saw Jason when she turned onto her street. He waved, jogging the last few feet to the curb where she was pulling to a stop.
“Hi,” he said, skin glistening from walking from the TRE station to Lilly’s house.
He looked happy to see her, which made Lilly feel even worse. How could she have doubted him?
She stepped out of the car and stood, arms crossed, not quite sure of how she should act. Should she bow down right there in the street and beg forgiveness? Probably not, but she felt like that might be a good plan considering.
When he opened his arms to her and took a step towards her, she melted.
She stepped into his embrace, choking back tears. He smelled so familiar and so wonderful, though there was a hint of something that she couldn’t place. Her breath caught when she realized that it was probably the scent of jail. Heavy and almost greasy, the invisible film left behind from the jail cell in the precinct wouldn’t wash off the first few washes. No, Jason would bear the scent of his ordeal for at least a few showers.
Lilly somehow felt worse, as if smelling off was the worst thing that could ever happen to someone.
Still, she felt like a complete ass and she wanted to get her apology out of the way before they went any further. She needed him to know that she was beyond sorry.
“I’m so sorry. I knew in my gut that you were innocent. I should have listened to you. I should have listened to myself. Instead, I just—”
Her voice broke and she buried her face in his chest, breathing deeply when he squeezed her even tighter. He was on her side. Inexplicably, impossibly, and undeservedly on her side. That knowledge was staggering.
“It’s alright, Lilly,” he said, kissing the top of her head tenderly and swaying almost imperceptibly with her in his arms. “You had to follow the evidence. No one is going to fault you for that. I’m just so glad that you believe me now. That’s what matters most. The past is behind us. We’ve got this. Whatever it is, and whatever the explanation, I’m sure we can handle it.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Lilly Bruce didn’t cry in front of people and she wasn’t about to start now. Especially not on the sidewalk in front of her home.
“We should go inside. I have a lot to tell you. You need to know what we’re up against so you don’t get blind-sided. You’re in danger, and I don’t want you to leave my side until this is over.”
Jason grabbed her hand, bumping her playfully with his shoulder as they walked up to her front door.
; “You’re protecting me? That’s sweet.”
“Don’t make fun of me. You may be a foot taller than me, but I’m packing heat.”
His hand slid down her back and cupped her round backside.
“Definitely packing heat,” he said, squeezing her cheek as he said it.
Lilly shoved her key in the door and dragged him into her home. She was happy that he wasn’t angry, but she didn’t want to put on a show for the neighbors.
She had some decency left.
***
That had been too easy. Much too easy. Jacob looked around before stepping into Lilly’s house to make sure that no one saw him. Not that anyone knew what was going on, but he’d been there not thirty minutes before, and he didn’t want anyone to let Lilly know. Her guard was down now, but the wrong words from a nosey neighbor could make it all come crashing down around them.
Then he’d have to kill her. He really didn’t want to do that.
“You must be exhausted,” Lilly was saying, puttering around the kitchen and making an early lunch.
“I am, but mostly, I guess I just feel, I don’t know…” he trailed off as if searching for the right word. “Violated is the only word that comes to mind.”
He watched Lilly grimace and knew he’d found the exact word. Lilly was smart, and he needed her guard to stay down so that she didn’t catch on to the subtle differences between him and Jason. That wouldn’t be too hard, since Lilly had only known Jason for a short period of time. But he didn’t want to blow the whole thing early on. Once his plan was carried out and the real Jason was gone, he could step into his life without a care in the world and take over where Jason left off. He would become Jason. And once he felt confident in that role, he wouldn’t worry about Lilly figuring it out anymore.
Once his brother was dead and buried, he would finally be able to breathe.
“…and I guess I can’t blame you.”
Jacob pulled himself out of his musings and looked at Lilly.
“I’m sorry, Lilly. I lost myself for a moment. What did you say?”
“I was talking about how you must feel. And how heavy that feeling must be if I can smell jail on you. Do you want to take a shower?”
Jacob started to say no, but then he stopped himself. He hadn’t been in jail, but she didn’t know that. A normal man would want to wash all that away as soon as possible.
“You know what? A shower sounds wonderful.”
“Wonderful. I’ll have lunch ready by the time you get out. Take all the time you need.”
Jacob turned down the hallway and was about to step into the guest bathroom when Lilly stopped him.
“Just use my bathroom. I don’t really have much in that bathroom for you to shower with.”
“Got it,” Jacob said, walking a short distance down the hall and waiting until he was out of her sight before slowing and taking in the doors before him.
Lilly’s place wasn’t very big, but it seemed to have a ridiculous number of doors. The end of the hall turned slightly so that there wasn’t an obvious door to the master bedroom. Jacob was sure that Jason had been to Lilly’s house enough to be familiar with the layout, whereas Jacob hadn’t had nearly enough time to look around before Lilly had called him. Since he’d fled her house to make it look like he was really traveling from the TRE station, he hadn’t had time to look beyond the kitchen.
He felt Lilly brush past him. She opened a door and breezed into the room. Jacob smiled, following her into the master bedroom. It was not the door he would have picked.
“I’m sorry, I forgot that I hadn’t pulled out any more towels,” she said by way of explanation. “I’ll grab those for you and I’ll be out of your hair. You must be exhausted. You were standing in the hall like you were lost. Maybe after your shower, you can take a nap and I’ll wash your clothes.”
Jacob hesitated for effect, then shrugged and pulled his shirt over his head. He handed it to Lilly, and quickly removed the rest of his clothes until he was butt-naked before her.
“What about lunch?”
“I haven’t gotten much started, so I’ll just wait. The laundry takes about thirty minutes from start to finish so I’ll wake you up then.”
“That’s a little fast.”
He was genuinely surprised.
“I bought one of those new two-in-one with the sensor. It takes maybe ten minutes to wash an outfit and ten to twenty to dry it. It only fills up with enough water for the clothes you have. The entire thing is automatic and worth every penny.”
“I guess you wouldn’t need a large-capacity washer being single and all,” he said.
Lilly looked at him, taking a full beat to acknowledge his question. Jacob smiled. She was checking him out and he could see the hunger in her eyes. Unfortunately, she might get suspicious if he was willing to have sex with her so soon. Maybe after lunch, he would have her for dessert.
Lilly noticed that he’d caught her looking and blushed.
“I’m sorry,” she stammered.
“Don’t worry about it. I hope you always look at me like I’m your next meal.”
He didn’t give her a chance for a rebuttal, but instead turned with towel in hand and made his way into the bathroom. He could feel the heat of her eyes on his backside as he went, and he smiled at the thought of having Lilly himself. Tonight, when he snuck away to deal with his brother, he would tell him all about the sweetness that was Lilly. And he’d do it before Jason was drugged so he would know that Jacob had had his girl.
Jacob couldn’t wait to see the look on the golden boy’s face when he found out that Lilly had slept with Jacob and had no clue. Jacob had waited a long time to get his revenge, and he was going to make sure that Jason suffered as much as possible before he died.
Then, maybe he would see how he’d ruined Jacob’s life. He would break Jason, and then he’d force him to write his own suicide note.
Jacob turned on the shower and stepped into the cold spray. Life was good, and it would only go up from here.
***
Lilly laid Jason’s neatly folded clothes on the edge of the bed, but she left him where he was. He looked so content and so peaceful…lying naked between her sheets.
It was tempting to throw all caution to the wind, and to slip into bed with him, but she knew that wasn’t the answer. She’d hurt him, and that was going to take more than a hot shower and a good lay to fix.
She left the room quietly and headed off to finish lunch. At least she could have that ready for him.
She was halfway down the hall when she jumped, frantically pulling her phone out of her pocket and silencing the ringer. She looked at the caller ID, but she didn’t recognize the number. She rejected the call, stuffing the phone back into her pocket and going into the kitchen.
The phone immediately rang again, and Lilly wasn’t surprised to see the same number pop up on the screen. She rejected the call again, turning the ringer off so that it was just on vibrate.
She did her best to ignore the constant vibration while she worked on lunch, but it became apparent after ten minutes that the person calling wasn’t about to give up.
Sighing heavily and hoping that it was just an overzealous wrong number, she answered the phone with a single word.
“Hello?”
“Lilly. Oh my god, Lilly.”
“Who’s this?” she asked.
The voice sounded familiar. Very familiar. But that wasn’t possible.
“It’s Jason. Lilly, listen. You’re in danger. I figured out how all the evidence ended up pointing to me. I have a—”
“Who is this really?” she demanded.
“Lilly, it’s me. He’s coming for you. I’m on my way but I’m still a few minutes out. Whatever you do, don’t let him in your house.”
“How do I know that you are who you say you are?”
“Lilly, it’s me.”
“Prove it.”
He was silent for a moment, as if he was searching for the perfect thin
g to say that no one else would know.
“The first time we slept together, you were wearing a pink blouse and a bra in almost the same exact shade of pink.”
“Anyone could guess that.”
“Lilly. We went to Tito’s on our first date, and we went dancing to burn off the alcohol we’d had. You didn’t want to, but I convinced you to. You tried leading the two-step, but once you let me lead, things went well and we glided around the floor like a couple of professional dancers.”
It was him, she thought.
“Shit,” she whispered.
She heard the door to her bedroom open and her stomach dropped. Why was she still standing in her house? The man she’d thought was Jason came around the corner. Lilly stood turned slightly, pretending that she didn’t even see him standing there.
“Got it, Adam,” she said. “I’ll see you there in a bit. Tell Sarge I’ll fix it ASAP.”
“He’s there already, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, Adam. I’m sorry. I’ve just been so swamped I completely missed it. I’ll straighten the mix up out.”
“Don’t say anything, don’t let him know that you know. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Got it,” she said cheerily and hung up.
She turned, jumping and putting her hand to her heart when she saw him. He bought the act and chuckled good-naturedly.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. I smelled food and there were clothes on the end of the bed. Man I feel much better. A shower and a nap were just what I needed.”
“You only slept about thirty minutes. Are you sure you don’t need more sleep?”
He closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms and planting a kiss on her lips. Lilly fought the urge to pull back, leaning into him instead.
“I feel amazing. And I’m ready for lunch. Was that Adam on the phone?”
“Yes. I didn’t file a form. I don’t know how I missed it. I guess I was just so upset about you being in jail that I totally flaked.”
He was still holding her in his arms, and she felt trapped. But she couldn’t pull away. Not yet. She needed him to believe that she thought he was Jason. At least until she could figure out what to do.