“How do you know that?” Josh inquired, stopping his pacing to listen.
“Because he believes that he has done so once before. The man who came here tonight called me Jackson.” Jack met Troy’s gaze who gave a knowing nod. “Does that name sound familiar to you?”
“Yes.” Troy admitted. “And I must tell you that Lillian believes the same thing.”
“And that’s why she came to me. Why she…” Jack stopped, lowering his forehead into his hand as if to regain himself.
“It was a surprise to her.” Josh said from across the room. “Seeing you, knowing that she has known you once before. She never expected to see you again after.”
“After Ewan tossed Jackson into the ocean?” Jack spoke up to clarify.
Josh nodded.
“And you believe it too, that I am this Sloan Jackson?” Jack scoffed in disbelief. Troy nodded firmly.
“I do.” Josh replied, straight-faced. Jack laughed out.
“Then you are more insane than she is.” he accused.
“She was there, Jack. She saw Jackson first hand. She knew him. She loved him. Do you think that she would not be able to recognize him in you now?” Troy put to the man. Jack sobered somewhat. He still had that sarcastic smirk on his face when he shook whatever thoughts he had been thinking from his brain, and fell back onto his sofa with a loud, frustrated exhale.
“She wouldn’t want you to go tonight.” Josh said lowly.
“Right now I don’t give a shit what that woman wants!” Jack retaliated strongly.
“Then you’re going?” It was Troy who asked.
“What other choice do I have?”
“You could allow us to go in your stead. You have no idea what you are dealing with here. We do.” Josh said enthusiastically.
“Then I advice you to fill me in because they instructed me to come alone, and that’s exactly what I mean to do. No matter who she is, what she has done, I won’t leave her there to them.” Jack vowed, and Troy couldn’t help the hope that leapt into his heart at the detective’s strong declaration. Perhaps, there was some hope yet? The detective didn’t have to know that Troy and Josh would be following him when he left out tonight. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and perhaps, just perhaps there was a chance that together they could defeat these monsters once and for all.
Chapter thirty-five
A scream of denial erupted from Lillian when she awoke to the solid blackness around her. How had she come to be here? She had been like this once before, she recalled, locked away inside of a coffin where no escape was possible. Well she wasn’t the weakling that she used to be, she coaxed herself! Ewan Derringer had another thing coming if he thought she would put up no fight. No! She knew a thing or two now. She was ready for a fight. They had come upon her with the art of surprise on their side last night. Now, it was she who would possess that art.
Her nails digging frantically at the lining of the top of the coffin, she tore it away, and slammed a hard fist into what seemed to be unyielding steel. Screaming out in frustration, she tried again and again, not even making a dent! Damn! She screamed again, this time in fury. She would have to wait until the lid was lifted, she realized. She would save her strength, she was thinking when she heard something working the outside latches of the coffin. So soon?
“Lilly?” Jack’s urgent voice came to her. No!
“No! Jack get away from here! Go! Run now!” she screamed through the lid, hoping that he would hear her muffled screams, and do as she had instructed. “Jack?” she called after a moment of silence, and then she heard the latches working again.
“Roll to your left, Lilly. I’m going to have to shoot the lock off!” Jack’s muffled voice came to her inside the coffin.
“No!” she screamed. “Just leave! Please, Jack! Just leave! Run!” She cried out desperately, but then a loud gun shot rang out, and the coffin lid was being lifted away. Moonlight poured in, and then she saw Jack’s handsome face above her. It was the sweetest thing she had ever seen in her life, she thought in settling alarm.
“Shut up.” he growled out, and he reached in to help her out. Lillian allowed him to lift her from the coffin and set her on her feet. “Lilly, you have a lot of explaining to do.” he exhaled, and she stared at his eyes. She could read of him that he knew. He knew, and he was furious with her. He doubted her, her feelings for him, and she hated it.
“I will, Jack. I promise you.” she returned. “But first, we need to get out of this place.” she was saying when she heard the applause coming from just before them. “Get behind me!” she screamed, and she pressed his body behind hers.
“Like hell.” Jack muttered in complaint, and he stepped to her side.
“Jack Stone, don’t you do this to me again!” She hissed, and he threw her a wink before pulling the Nine from his shoulder holster, taking aim, and shooting Gerald, the dark haired vampire that Lillian recalled quite vividly from the past. Gerald went down hard, hitting the cement floor, and clutching his right knee that had been shattered on impact.
Ewan, who had been leading the pack, stopped, and stared with shocked green eyes.
“Who’s next?” Jack inquired of the room.
“You son of a bitch!” Gerald wailed up at him, and Jack grinned.
“Can’t blame a guy for evening the score. Hello, Ewan. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” Jack stepped in front of her now, and Lillian grabbed his shoulder, and pulled her way back to his side.
The white haired vampire, Martin was pacing madly back and forth before them like a caged lion waiting on his master’s permission to rip them to shreds. Ewan waved the vampire back. His bright green eyes met Lillian’s for the briefest of seconds, and then he turned his attention back to Jack. No, Lillian thought in alarm. I won’t let this happen again!
“You won’t find me as easy to conquer this time around, Ewan.” She called to get his attention away from Jack.
“Who said that I wanted to conquer you, Lillian?” Ewan spoke to her at last.
“Possess is more like it.” Jack muttered, and he took aim at Martin who was steadily advancing them. Ewan again waved the vampire back as Gerald continued to howl in pain from the floor.
“Be quiet, Jack. You don’t know what they’re capable of.” Lillian warned.
“You’re wrong. I do know. Your buddies Troy and Josh filled me in. I also read your journal.” Jack returned coolly. Lillian sent him a scowl for that one, and he grinned and shrugged his big shoulders.
“And you came anyway?” she cocked a blonde brow curiously. She could read the conflict within him. He wanted to hate her. He wanted to walk away from her forever, but he hadn’t been able to do so. Ewan clearing his throat to get their attention did the trick. She looked to the darkly, handsome vampire, and instantly recalled every ounce of grief and misery he had so callously bestowed upon her.
“Did you get my letter, Ewan?” she asked as if asking over the weather, and his green gaze narrowed on her.
“I did.” he returned, smiling tightly.
“And it pissed the hell out of him too.” Jack added his two cents. Lillian looked to Gerald struggling with his busted knee on the floor. She watched as Martin lifted his friend up, allowing the injured vampire to lean on him for support. They wanted her blood, she realized. She could read it of their raging thoughts. The only thing that stopped them from attacking her now was Ewan.
“But it seems your plans didn’t quite turn out the way that you had hoped.” Ewan stepped in closer, and Jack aimed his gun at the vampire’s chest. Ewan smiled and paused. He glanced from the gun to Lillian. “So tell me, Lillian? What have you learned in all of these years that will help you to kick my ass now?” he laughed out.
“Be a man and face me alone and I’ll show you.” she taunted, and the smile slid from his face.
“A man? Why would I reduce myself to such a lowly creature when I can be a god?” the grin was firmly back into place.
“Then f
ace me like a God, but face me alone. Or are you afraid of me now, Ewan, afraid I might win?” She hoped that her taunting would injure his pride. Ewan laughed out loud and hard.
“What are you doing?” Jack muttered in worried complaint, but she ignored him, and stepped forward.
“Just you and I, Ewan.” she repeated.
“The devil facing off against an angel? It hardly seems fair.” Ewan taunted, raising a dark brow. “We’ve faced off once before if you will recall? As I recall that night ended in deep satisfaction for me, but you, dear, sweet child, you left in tears. Now, didn‘t you?” he reminded, and the evil, lustful thoughts of what he had done to her on that fateful night rushed his brain like an orgasm. He had enjoyed it, had enjoyed hurting her.
“I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!” Jack snarled, and he took aim, and shot at Ewan’s head. The vampire simply stepped out of the path of the bullet, and brushed imaginary dust from his shoulder as if Jack‘s shooting at him was as insignificant as a mosquito that had come to bite him.
“Is that all you got, Detective?” Ewan challenged, and Martin and Gerald laughed in amusement.
“There’s more where that came from.” Jack growled in a rage, and he tried to go after Ewan, but Lillian hauled him backward rather he wanted to go or not. His amber gaze came to her questionably, as if asking, how the hell did you do that?
“Work with me, Jack. I’ll create a diversion. When I do, run!” She sent the order to his mind, hoping like hell that he would heed her advice, that he would do it, run and not look back. Only then would they stand a chance. His amber gaze came to her then in wonder that he had actually heard her voice in his head, but then he shook his dark blonde head in denial.
“Like hell.” He muttered aloud.
“It’s the only way.” Lillian hissed.
“They’ll kill you!”
“I’m already dead! What does it matter?” she argued fitfully, and then leading with him in his own mind. “Leave! Save yourself!”
“Not on your life, Lady.” Jack returned stubbornly, and Lillian scowled over at him.
“Don’t be stubborn about this. I know what I’m doing, Jack.” she growled in sheer frustration, but Jack didn’t budge in his resolve to stay there by her side. “I lied to you!” She reminded him, thinking that perhaps she had found a way to piss him off just enough to get him to walk away from her. No, to run away! “You thought I was human at the very least. What I am is a cold-blooded killer. I killed them, Jack. I killed those men. I drank their blood.” the words were incredibly difficult for her to say, but she knew that she had to do it. She had to make Jack believe her a monster. She had to make him mad enough, to hate her enough to leave her there. His jaw tightened at her words, and there was indeed hatred shining in his beautiful eyes.
“You’re saying this to make me leave! Like before, with Jackson on the ship.” He countered in a clipped, furious tone.
“I’m trying to save your life, you fool!” she hissed fervently, but Jack would not back down.
“And I am here to save yours!” He returned through clenched teeth.
“My existence is not worth saving.” she met his dark eyes to say, and he just stared at her, stared at her as if seeing her for the very first time. She could read the conflict in him. Could feel the love-hate dilemma that argued back and forth within him. “Hate me, Jack. Hate me for all that I did not say, for all that I concealed, for all that I have done.” she encouraged, and still he would not look away from her as the war raged inside of him.
“As interesting as this all is,” Ewan’s hated voice suddenly filled the air. “Neither one of you are leaving here tonight.” The threat was evident. Lillian ripped her gaze away from Jack’s, and turned to face the demon before her. Martin and Gerald had crept closer during her and Jack’s debate, she realized, and she became angered with herself for not paying closer attention.
Jack’s gun arm came up in warning, but he did not see the missile slung at him from across the room. Lillian caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, and she dove to block Jack from the flying tire rim. It caught her in the back and sent both she and Jack sprawling to the floor. The pain ripped up her spine, and she cried out.
“Lilly!” Jack called urgently as his hand swept up and down her injured back in search of injuries. But there was no time. She felt her body being lifted away from his, and in the moment, the pain ripping through her was still too intense for her to fight them. Feeling her body being propelled backward, she went flying across the room to collide with a stack of rubber tires. Round, black tires fell from the pile, and bounced and rolled away from her as the scent of rubber filled her nose.
“Jack.” she exhaled his name in desperation, and she forced her feet beneath her until she was standing on shaky legs, and then she hurried forward.
“Ah. Stay back, Lillian.” Ewan warned, as he tossed Jack’s now useless gun away from them. Lillian watched the metal handle disappear beneath a stack of tires before her gaze returned to Ewan, and then to Jack, who was now being held back by Martin and Gerald. They held him tight, despite his struggles. Jack was strong, but his mortal strength did not compare to their superior, immortal strengths, Lillian thought as she watched him fight and struggle to no avail. His arms were locked behind his back, held easily there. His muscles tightened and bulged as he continued to struggle with all of his strength. He wasn’t the sort of man to give up, she realized. He would fight until his dying breath, and he would not leave her!
“What do you want?” Lillian found herself asking of Ewan. Ewan grinned greedily.
“Lilly! No!” Jack shouted, but she ignored his pleas, and she met the haunting green eyes of the ghost from her past. She had vowed to kill him, to make him suffer for what he had done to Jackson, to her, but with Jack here, like this, she knew that Ewan was holding all the cards.
“What do you have to offer?” Ewan feigned interest. He thought he had won, she read of his thoughts. He was just playing with her now, amusing her.
“Let him go. Let him walk out of here. I’ll go with you, I’ll go with you wherever you want, do with you whatever you want.” she tried anyway. The lust-filled smile that spread across his handsome face sickened her as she listened to his mind go over all of the lustful possibilities.
“I will never walk out of here!” Jack shouted in a rage.
“I will not lose you again!” Lillian sent the loud cry to Jack’s mind. “If you ever loved me, Jack. If you ever felt even an ounce of anything remotely close to love then do me this one service if they give you the chance. Walk out of here and don’t look back.” She dared not keep her gaze on Jack for long in fear of Ewan discovering that she could in fact communicate in such a way now. Closing her eyes, picturing Jack in her mind’s eye, she tuned his thoughts out of her mind. It would do her no good now to listen. She had one objective, one obstacle. No, make that three, she glanced at the two other vampires in the room. She could read of them what they longed to do to her, and to say the least it wasn’t pretty. They hated her, hated her because she had plagued their master for so long, like a thorn in his side. They wanted her gone, gone forever!
“Do we have a deal?” she stepped closer to Ewan, so close that he could grab her if he wanted to, and grab her he did. He grabbed her to him in a brutal hold, ripped her head back to near the breaking point, and slammed his mouth down on hers. The kiss was not passionate, it was brutal, punishing like before. His lips bruised her own. His teeth bit into her bottom lip, but did not draw blood. It was all she could do to stand there, and allow the assault to continue, but she knew that if she showed an ounce of disrespect, or allowed the disgust that she truly felt to show upon her face then Jack would stand no chance of survival. So she endured the punishing kiss until Ewan pulled back in satisfaction. His green gaze had gone white in his greed and lust.
“How can you come to me fully if this man, the one that you are so willing to die for, is still around?” he asked, tilting his dark
head to a side as he stared at her. “You love him. You rebuked your own kind, and allowed this, this mere mortal, this disgusting human being to ravish your body, to possess your cold heart! No, Lillian. I don’t believe I can forgive such betrayal.” Ewan swore violently.
Lillian heard Jack’s shout of warning too late. She felt something slam into her lower back and fell to her knees in excruciating pain. Faintly, she heard Jack’s shouted threats of murder if they dared to touch her again, and then the others’ cruel laughter as they did just that. The kicks, the hits came like lightening, hitting her from every angle, bruising her, cracking bones, causing blood to spurt from her mouth and body, and then she fell forward, face down with a mouthful of blood.
“Jack.” she whimpered through the pain. She could still hear him shouting, shouting that he would kill them each slowly, shouting her name to get her attention as she tried desperately to find the strength to stand. Crawling to her knees, she saw a pair of booted feet coming toward her. She lifted her gaze just in time to see a swinging bat coming at her face, and she reacted instantly. Her right hand shot upward, catching the bat in mid strike, and her left fist went slamming into the crotch of the vampire who stood before her, bringing him down to her level. She wasted no time in climbing over him while he withered in agony. She grabbed him by the throat, and she squeezed until she felt the bones of his neck start to give. Martin racked with pain beneath her grasp. His piercing blue eyes turned white, mirroring the evil that lurked deep inside of him. She was injured. Every inch of her body hurt and throbbed, but she could not stop now! Jack needed her, and she would not fail him again.
“Lilly!” Jack shouted in warning, and she turned sharply, dodging out of the way just in time as Ewan reached for her. Standing, she turned fully to face the advancing vampire. She could see Jack struggling against the one who held him to no avail. It was up to her to save them! She knew that. This was their last chance!
“You were always the self-righteous little bitch.” Ewan growled. “The way you looked at me after you found me with that stupid little boy, as if I were some sort of - “
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