by Joy Elbel
Obviously avoiding eye contact, Lucas mumbled, “Where does he live?” I pointed him in the right direction then placed my forehead against the window and stared at the shadows as they flew by. Did Jackson know that we were on to him? Of course he did—our reactions as he offered me the bouquet would have given it all away. So how would he react to this? Would he give up and pick another victim or would he try to kidnap me before I had a chance to tell the police? Lucas was right—I should have just gone to the authorities and worried about whether or not it was the right decision later. “Too late now” seemed to be my life’s mantra.
It was like an urban legend come to life. A set of high beams flashed into the rearview and then went black. Two more flashes revealed that the vehicle was gaining on us. With the next flash, the light was close enough to blind Lucas and force him to hit the brakes. The car did a 360 on the slick roadway, throwing us violently to the side as we spun to a stop. I was prone to motion sickness—hell, I couldn’t even ride a merry go round without turning a slight shade of green. Even after we were standing still, the sense of unending motion made me want to hurl. I closed my eyes to make everything stop spinning. The vehicle behind us swerved just in time to not hit us.
HONK, HONK, HONK! The horn blared and the lights flashed once more. As the dark SUV passed us, I expected to see Jackson’s leering face behind the wheel. Instead, I saw a vehicle packed with members of the basketball team probably on their way home from the game. The near accident was frightening but my fear was overshadowed by the sense of relief to see that it wasn’t a killer following us.
“Are you alright, Ru?” Lucas asked as he readjusted his seatbelt. “I’m okay.” The truth was I wanted to cry. I wanted to rest my head against Zach’s chest and let the tears flow. I wanted to feel his arms around me and know that I was safe. “Just keep driving,” was all I could manage to say.
A few minutes later, I pointed out the road to Zach’s house. But just as Lucas was about to pull in I shouted for him to keep driving. Dad’s car was parked in front of the Masons’ house. Most nights that he and Garrett hung out together they did it at our place. The one night he decided to switch up the scenery was the one night I needed Zach the most.
“I thought you wanted to see him? What made you change your mind?” There was a note of hopefulness in Lucas’s voice. Did he think I changed my mind because of him?
Sorry to have to deflate that ego. “Dad’s car was there—didn’t you see it? Now there’s no way I’ll get to see Zach tonight!”
“Oh.” Lucas found a place to pull over and turn around. “Now what?” “Now we go to my house and I call him instead. But no one’s home so you have to stay with me until we decide what to do.”
“Don’t worry—there’s no way in hell I’d leave you alone. I mean, I already knew you were in danger but when I saw that freak trying to give you those flowers, well, I kinda snapped. I don’t know what I’d do if you ended up dead on those church steps. I love you, Ru. Even if you don’t love me.”
Have you ever said something and then instantly wanted to take it back? I seemed to be the queen of hindsight. “But I do love you, Lucas.” Oh my God, no! I didn’t really just say that, did I?
Apparently, I did. Lucas smiled and reached for my hand. “Really?” He was a little boy with his first puppy— happy to hold the warm, squirming beast a bit too tightly in his arms.
As that puppy, I had two choices. I could either wriggle up and lick his face or I could sink my teeth into his arm. Whichever approach I took, it would set the tone for the rest of our relationship.
I jerked my hand away quickly. “I do but I don’t think it’s the same way you love me. Right now, I just need a shoulder to cry on.” Delicately, I removed my canines from his forearm without even breaking the skin.
“Sure, Ru. I’m here for you—you should already know that.” He replaced his wounded arm back on the steering wheel. “And once Jackson’s behind bars, then maybe you can devote some time to figuring out what you want. And who you want.”
He was right. I’d dug myself into a deep hole—there had to be a way to climb back out of it. Zach and Lucas each deserved that much respect. The only thing was that I was afraid to make the wrong decision. If I picked Zach, would I ever know the truth behind Lee’s and Lucas’s adoption? It couldn’t be coincidence that their names were identical but backwards—Seeley Lucas and Lucas Seeley. Their middle names were even both the same—Aaron. There had to be an explanation for that beyond mere coincidence. Meeting Lucas felt like the universe correcting itself for the mistake it made with Lee.
But if I chose Lucas, would the thought of what could have been with Zach forever haunt me? Would I see him with a family one day years from now and think, “That should have been me”? The chemistry I had with him was electrifying but was it something that would eventually fade away? My heart hurt just thinking about the terrible choice I would soon have to make.
A fresh set of tracks leading to the mansion was my first clue that something was wrong. The white box on the front porch was my second.
“Oh my God, Lucas! Look!” I shouted, pointing to what would have been an innocent package on anyone else’s front porch. On mine, however, it was a death warrant.
“That’s it, Ru—I don’t care what you say, I’m taking you straight to the police station.” He put the car back into gear and began to turn it around,
“Wait—stop the car! We should probably go get that box! If we’re going to accuse someone of stalking me, we’ll need some evidence!”
Lucas hesitated before hitting the brakes. “Fine—but stay where you are while I go get it. We don’t know that he’s not still out there somewhere waiting to grab you.” He grasped my hand and held it tight. “As soon as I get out of the car, I want you to slide over into the driver’s seat and lock the door behind me. If anything happens to me, just drive. Don’t worry about me—I’ll be fine. Just get yourself out of here.”
“Lucas, no! I can’t just leave you here with a killer!” My hands began to shake and I had to fight to restrain the tears. I couldn’t let him die because of me, too.
“You can and you will!” Lucas said as he let go of my hand and opened the door. Before I could stop him, he locked the door and slammed it behind him.
“Please be careful!” I shouted as I obeyed his instructions and climbed over to the driver’s seat. I stared out the windshield, my eyes scanning for any unnatural movement in the distance. Seeing nothing but the swaying of naked branches in the wind, I turned toward the porch to see if he had the box. The box was gone but so was Lucas.
Frantically, I swiveled my head around to look for him but found nothing. Panic took hold. Where was he? There wasn’t a trace of him anywhere. I turned off the engine and the car went dead silent. The only audible sound was the wind howling through the oak trees, a collective groan rising from the gnarled branches. I’m alone with a killer somewhere nearby. What should I do?!
Lucas told me not to look back if something happened to him, to just drive away to safety. But I couldn’t—I couldn’t turn my back on him if he needed me! I searched for anything I could use as a weapon and hit the jackpot when I got to the backseat. Clenching his rusty tire iron in my hand, I prepared myself mentally for what I was about to do. I lifted the lock slowly and inched the door open little by little.
The temperature was well below freezing so the snow crunched loudly beneath my feet as I walked around to the back of the car. No sign of Lucas but no sign of Jackson either. Just as I was about to turn around, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. Instinctively, I whirled around, swinging the tire iron wildly through the air.
“WHOA!” Lucas shouted as he barely ducked out of my reach. “Ru, what are you doing?! Didn’t I tell you to stay in the car?”
“Oh my God, Lucas!” I said, dropping the tire iron to my side. “You scared the hell out of me where were you!?” “The card was on the outside of the package this time. When I went to read i
t, the wind blew it out of my hand. I’ve been around the side of the house chasing it across the snow.” He handed me a white notecard. “Lucky for me, it blew up against a tree or else it would have been half way to Pittsburgh by now.”
We got back into the car and Lucas gunned it for the main road. I held the box and notecard in my lap, afraid to see what they held in store for me this time. I held my curiosity in check until we hit the first stop sign in town then I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Can you turn the light on?” I asked. “I’m ready to take a peek.” Lucas did as I asked and once the light was on, I could see what the note said. Immediately, I wished the car was dark again.
“For my most special bride…tonight’s the night,” I read out loud.
“That’s what he thinks, the sick pervert!” Lucas exclaimed. My hands trembled as I untied the red ribbon and lifted the lid off of the box. Inside, was a delicate white lace veil. I was about to pull it out of the box when Lucas stopped me.
“Don’t touch it! You might destroy evidence!” He was right. I carefully replaced the lid and placed the box on the floor between my feet. Lucas circled the same street as earlier, still unable to find the police station.
“Just pull over—I’m calling Zach to let him know what’s going on. I’ll ask him where it is.”
Zach picked up on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up?” His voice was strange so I assumed my dad was nearby.
“You can’t talk, can you?”
“No, not exactly.” “Okay, just listen then. I was wrong about Drake— he’s not the killer! But I know who is. Lucas and I are heading to the police station right now. One question, though—what street is it on?”
“Corner of Oak and Porter. I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, see you then.” As I ended the call with Zach, I saw the disappointment on Lucas’s face. But what could I say to him? He knew I was in love with Zach. I’d never tried to make it seem otherwise.
“Corner of Oak and Porter—Zach’s meeting us in fifteen.” Now wasn’t the time to deal with Lucas’s bruised ego. Once Jackson was safely behind bars, then I could deal with my other issues.
Twenty minutes later, the three of us were gathered around Captain Donaldson’s desk with the bridal veil like it was show and tell. He didn’t seem to believe us at first but the deeper we delved into the story, the more interested he became.
“So why didn’t you report these mysterious packages sooner? And it’s an awfully big coincidence that you were also the one to find Portia’s body.” He glared at me with laser beam eyes, like he was trying to cut through the bullshit to get to the truth.
“I didn’t realize who was sending them at first. I thought it was…a friend.” Awkward, infinitely awkward. What kind of girl must I look like to him?
He glanced from Zach to Lucas and back to me again. “A friend, huh? That still doesn’t explain how you happened to be driving around in your pajamas Sunday morning, though does it?”
Why was he grilling me? I wasn’t the criminal here—I was the victim! “It’s like I told you that morning, I was thinking of running away but Rachel got me to change my mind.”
The captain nodded and then switched gears. “Tell me about this Jackson and why you think he’s our man.” Lucas and I recounted the details of what happened at the theater, making sure to include the fact that Jackson once worked at the same college Allison attended.
“Wait a minute—Jackson Jacobs? The maintenance worker? He was the janitor in my daughter’s dorm last year. She complained that he would always stare at her. Jackson is a savant of some sort. He’s able to absorb knowledge and regurgitate facts but incapable of communicating his own thoughts and emotions. He’s an odd duck all right, I’ll give you that much. He’s never shown any signs of violence but I’ll pay him a visit in the morning to put your mind at ease.”
“Morning?” all three of us shouted in unison.
“That’s what I said—morning.” Zach verbalized our fears for all of us. “But morning could be too late!” He pointed to the notecard now lying in an evidence bag on the captain’s desk. “Tonight’s the night! Can’t you at least lock him up for the night for questioning?”
“Sorry, but that’s not how it works. None of the girls were abducted from their own homes so I’m sure if Miss Matthews stays put, she’ll be safe. And with strong, young bodyguards like you two, I don’t think she has anything to worry about.”
Lucas began to protest but Captain Donaldson stopped him. “I can have a squad car drive past her house every hour but that’s it. See that she gets home safely and stays home until morning.” And with that, we were dismissed.
“Look, I don’t care what your Dad thinks of me, Ruby. I’m not leaving your side tonight,” Zach announced the second we walked out of the police station.
“Zach, you know that’s not even an option! Even if he didn’t hate you, there’s no way he would let you spend the night with me.”
“Then I’ll just sneak in after he’s gone to bed!”
“Are you crazy? Have you already forgotten what got you banned in the first place?” Lucas shifted around awkwardly, obviously not wanting to hear the details of what happened between Zach and me. Zach shot him a territorial glance and Lucas retreated to his car where he proceeded to stare at us through the windshield.
“Ruby, I can’t let you be alone tonight! If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do!” Zach said with desperation in his voice. “You can stay at my house and have a sleep over with Rachel—just like the first time I protected you!”
“Do you think my dad is stupid? He would never fall for that idea!”
“But if you just tell him what’s really going on—” “He won’t believe me! He’ll think it’s some elaborate plot we cooked up so that we could be together! He already thinks you sent me the lingerie, remember?”
“If I could only walk you in so that I know no one’s there—”
“But you can’t! That job has to go to Lucas!” Zach stomped his foot angrily into the snow. “It should be my job! I should be the one protecting you—like always!”
“For better or worse, things have changed, Zach! You can’t always be there for me!” Zach put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Just how much has changed, Ruby?” he whispered pleadingly.
“Not everything, Zach. I promise,” I replied softly. I placed my left hand on his cheek—the hand that carried his ring with it. “I haven’t forgotten.”
Then, we kissed. It wasn’t just any kiss, either. It was slow and smoldering, deep and delicious. It was the kind of kiss that made the world disappear, made you forget about everyone and everything else around you. Made you forget that there was another boy who loved you watching the whole thing.
HONK! HONK, HONK, HONK! I opened my eyes and saw Lucas furiously laying on the horn. He stuck his head out the window and shouted.
“We really need to get her home now. Or rather, I need to get her home,” he said sarcastically. Zach peeled himself away from me and approached the car. “After tonight, I won’t need your help anymore and neither will Ruby. Don’t forget that.” He smacked the top of Lucas’s car with the palm of his hand then walked to his own and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest until I was safely inside Lucas’s car.
Lucas placed his hand on my leg. “Don’t worry, Ru— nothing will happen to you. I’ll make sure of that.” The warmth of his hand on my leg was heavenly. I’d spent way too much time in the biting wind and my skin was nearly frozen beneath my jeans. But although it felt good, I had to stop him. I had to resist his advances. It took every ounce of inner strength I had but I did it. Slowly and with much hesitation.
“Thanks, Lucas,” I said as I lifted his hand away and placed it back into his own lap. He smiled without missing a beat, flipped his hair out of his eyes, and turned the key. He revved the engine a few times—most likely as a taunt to Zach—and pulled out of the parking lot. Zach
followed closely behind us until we got to the gates to Rosewood. When Lucas pulled into the drive, Zach sat idling on the main road until we were safely inside the mansion then he drove away. With Zach gone, the romantic drama was over—at least for the night. But of course, there was more than one kind of drama in my life. And the show was just about to begin.
33. No Silent Night
Lucas opened the door to the mansion slowly and carefully. But as he flicked the light switch, the only thing that met our eyes was the soft, warm glow of the chandelier. The house was comforting and without a hint of any type of intrusion. It was good to be home.
“I figure that it’s pretty much impossible to search every inch of this house thoroughly so let’s head straight to your room. After I’m sure it’s safe, then you can just lock the door behind me, okay?”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. I followed closely behind him as he led me to the attic. He made me stand just inside the attic door as he checked my bedroom and bathroom for any signs of danger. Lucas made me feel safe—just not as safe as I felt when I was with Zach. Zach was willing to die to protect me. If it came down to that, would Lucas be willing to do the same? Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out. But I wasn’t prepared to discover that answer tonight.
“All clear,” he announced as he returned to where I stood. “How late do you think your parents will be out?” “Probably not much longer—I know that Shelly has Rachel coming in early to work. She’s trying to get the bed and breakfast open by April and they’re running behind schedule. Why do you ask?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Just wondering, that’s all.”
“Oh.” I knew he couldn’t stay but it didn’t change the fact that I wanted him to.
“Hey, text me when they go lights out, okay? I’ll do one more drive by of the house before I settle in for the night.”