Dark Memento

by Katie Reus

  Pop. He felt the chain slacken as it broke free. They would get the shackles off them later but for now he would drag them to safety.

  Lincoln dove back into the hole just as someone started punching through the wooden lattice base a few feet away.

  Lucas crawled toward the edge of the crawl space and kicked at the lattice as well. It splintered, opening up a hole. “We’re over here,” he called out to whoever the hell was out there.

  Lucas hooked his hand under Serenity’s armpit and dragged her with him as quickly as possible in the small space, trying to get her toward the Federal agent ripping the lattice free.

  “Take her,” he ordered, pushing her out in front of him. He allowed himself a fraction of relief as her feet disappeared through the hole, then turned back and took Bianca from Lincoln. Another Fed was there, pulling her out.

  Cool air blasted him as he and Lincoln finally crawled out.

  “They’re both breathing, some burn wounds, nothing serious. But they need oxygen,” one of the agents said as he crouched down next to Serenity.

  Lucas knew the women also might have internal injuries. For now, getting them away from the fire and smoke was the most important thing. At a creaking sound, he heard a whoosh and glanced back just as one of the walls caved in.

  Lifting up Serenity as gently as possible, he stood with her, his heart racing. “Gotta move them.” One of the agents had lifted up Bianca before Lincoln could.

  “Lucas,” Serenity rasped out as they raced around to the front of the house. He knew his brother had a first aid kit in his truck and he wanted to start tending to her wounds.

  He looked down at her pale face, rage simmering under the surface as he thought about how close he’d come to losing her. “You’re okay, you’re okay.” He bit down, because he was saying it for himself.

  “Chloe,” she rasped out. “She did this.”

  “We know. Save your energy. There’s an ambulance on the way.” He wanted that monster caught and punished.

  He moved to Lincoln’s truck and eased open the passenger side as she started crying. Ignoring the frantic movement of the federal agents and deputy sheriffs around them, she buried her face against his chest as he settled her into the seat. As he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, he heard the sirens in the distance and allowed another fraction of relief to slide through him.

  Rubbing a hand up and down her spine, he made soothing sounds. “You’re okay and so are Adeline and Bianca. We’ll get these chains off you soon.”

  She’d be dealing with this for a while, but she was going to be okay.

  She was strong.

  Even though he needed to tend to her wounds, he gently wrapped his arms around her and held her close for a long moment. He shuddered as she tightened her grip and he closed his eyes.

  “You came for me,” she whispered.

  His throat was so tight he could barely answer as he held her to his heart. “Always.”

  Chapter 39

  Serenity opened the hospital door and peeked inside to see Adeline sitting up in bed, flowers and other gifts surrounding her, and a green Jell-O cup in her hand.

  Her friend’s eyes widened even as she smiled, putting the cup down on the table. “Hey! The doc said you’d been hounding him to come see me. Glad you finally got the okay.”

  Wearing hospital scrubs herself instead of one of those awful gowns, she stepped farther inside, holding the door propped open.

  “I’ll wait out here,” Lucas murmured, leaning against the outside wall. “Spend time with your friend. I’ll say hey once you guys are done.”

  “Thank you.” He hadn’t left her side in the twelve-plus hours since she’d been admitted to the hospital with Bianca and Adeline. And the Feds had put someone on all of their doors so they weren’t left unguarded.

  “He can come in,” Adeline said, even as the door shut behind her.

  “I’m going to be selfish and spend some time alone with you first.” She hurried across the room and pulled her friend into a gentle hug. Tears sprang up as she held Adeline tight.

  “I’m so glad to be alive,” Adeline rasped out, her own cheeks wet with tears as Serenity pulled back.

  “Me too. You look good,” Serenity said. Adeline’s left arm had a light bandage where she’d been slightly burned. She’d also suffered some smoke inhalation, they were monitoring her for kidney damage, and they had her on an IV of fluids because she’d been so dehydrated.

  “I feel good, considering,” Adeline said as Serenity grabbed a chair and pulled it close to the bed. The blinds were up, letting the morning light in. “I’m just pissed they haven’t found that bitch yet.”

  “Yeah, me too.” She wanted Chloe behind bars forever. Just like her father.

  “How are you doing?” Adeline asked, motioning to Serenity’s hands.

  Her knuckles had little steri-strips on them and her right calf was bandaged up where she’d suffered shallow burns. They’d also put her on antibiotics to stave off any infection, but otherwise she was good—and grateful for it. “Fine, seriously. This is all very superficial. My hands are sore but I’ll heal. So what have you heard so far?” Serenity wanted to make sure that Adeline was up to date on everything. She’d been getting updates from Lincoln, who was in contact with the Feds—who had initiated a manhunt for Chloe. Serenity had already been by to see Bianca and had filled her in on everything too.

  “Just that she’s on the run and that there’s an agent keeping watch on my room.”

  “According to Lincoln, she ditched her vehicle not long after setting the trailer on fire. Well, her neighbor’s vehicle, not hers. Anyway, they followed her tracks to another hiding spot where they’re certain she got into another vehicle. Looks as if she had this all planned out.”

  “Jesus, what a psycho.”

  “No kidding.” She was even worse that Black. Chloe had insinuated herself into her victims’ lives, had gone after her friends.

  “The first day she bragged to me about how smart she was, how she was going to enjoy taunting you.” Adeline shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. Her dark hair was pulled back by a headband, her curls wild and clean again. “Mainly she just liked to watch me and talk about how smart she was.” She snorted derisively, then winced slightly.

  Serenity jumped up. “Do you need something?”

  “No, no, I promise. I have cracked ribs—because she also liked to kick me. Not much anyone can do about that.”

  She sat back down, guilt eating away at her. “I’m so sorry that—”

  Adeline cut her off with a hard look. “You better not be apologizing for any of this. Chloe Thompson is guilty of this. Her alone. Not you, not anyone else. I don’t care if she had daddy issues or mommy issues or whatever. She killed people and she was going to kill us. That’s not on you.”

  Serenity blinked. “Well then. You are…very wise.”

  Adeline’s mouth kicked up. “I know. So how’s Harper dealing with all this?”

  “She’s great. She doesn’t really know what happened. I’m sure she’ll hear things at school but I’ve downplayed everything. Right now she’s with Lucas’s mom and dad and they’re spoiling the heck out of her. She’s safe and happy.” Which was all Serenity wanted. Still, she wouldn’t rest easy again until Chloe was caught.

  “Thank God. I…I still can’t believe any of this happened. How did she fool everyone?”

  She’d been wondering that too. Going over every interaction with Chloe that she could remember. There had been no signs. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve got little bits and pieces from the Feds. She’s really smart apparently, at least when it comes to technology. She spoofed Harper’s school’s phone number to make me think Harper had been hurt.” Serenity fought a chill as she kept talking. “They think she was able to sneak around town because she hadn’t been using her own car and that was what the Feds had been keeping an eye on. They’re still trying to piece together some things, but she’d been pl
anning at least some of this for a while. She…she had all of the jewelry that Black had taken from his victims. Not in her house, but in her neighbor’s. She either left it behind because she didn’t care, or didn’t have time to come back and get it.”

  Adeline shut her eyes for a long moment before looking at Serenity again. “They’ll get her. Now that they know who she is.”

  She wouldn’t be able to rest easy until that happened. “That’s what I keep telling myself. Supposedly someone spotted her up in Georgia a few hours ago so…” She lifted a shoulder. “I’m going to be vigilant until they do.”

  “You and me both.” Adeline yawned, her eyes drooping slightly. “Hey, how’d you get scrubs instead of this?” She picked at her white and blue gown.

  “I simply asked.” Serenity grinned as she stood. “Go ahead and eat your breakfast. I know you probably want to get some more sleep.”

  “I’m fine,” Adeline said, even as she yawned again.

  “Uh huh. I’ll be hanging around for a while. They’re releasing me soon, so I’ll come check on you again in a little bit.”

  “Okay. I am kinda tired.” She gave a grateful smile and Serenity hugged her again, tighter this time.

  As she stepped outside the hospital room, Lucas was still standing there like a sentry. Some of her tension lifted to see him standing guard. The man was a force of nature, risking his life by running into that fire to save her.

  He pushed up from the wall immediately. “Hey, everything okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s doing good. Tired but good.” Serenity nodded politely at the Federal agent who was standing across the hall, keeping watch.

  She linked her hand through Lucas’s as they headed back down the hallway. She and Adeline were on the same floor and only five doors separated them.

  Her slippers were silent against the floor as she laid her head on his shoulder. Being with him grounded her, made her feel steady in an unsteady world. “I feel better after talking to her, seeing her. She’s going to be fine.”

  “So are you.” He kissed the top of her head.

  Warmth spread through Serenity at the chaste kiss. She loved this man so much and was so damn grateful for how much he’d stepped up, how he’d been by her side this entire time.

  “I got a call from Lincoln when you were in with her,” he said as they neared her room’s door. “There was a spotting of Chloe up in South Carolina, so she’s going north at least.”

  “Hopefully she’ll be too busy trying to stay alive to worry about killing more people.” Serenity shuddered. The woman had been smart enough to cover that she was the true owner of various properties, and the Feds had found records of fake IDs she’d made—so they were running those in all databases right now. But who knew what else she’d done to facilitate her escape? The only thing they thought they knew was that Black hadn’t been behind any of this. He’d been in contact with Chloe, yes, but he hadn’t been urging her to kill. Or at least he didn’t appear to be, given the notes the guard had read. Nothing was certain though.

  Not that it would have mattered. Chloe was guilty as hell, and as soon as she was captured she’d be locked up forever.

  Serenity wasn’t going to try to figure out the whys of it all. Because some people were just born bad. And she sure wasn’t going to feel sorry for Chloe, who by all accounts had been raised in a decent home by her maternal grandparents. And at the end of the day, the bitch had helped murder Savannah. Serenity would never forgive that.

  As they reached her room, a loud siren went off, piercing the hallway. She tensed even as the Federal agent pulled his phone out and began quickly talking into it.

  “Go in your room, now!” he ordered. “One of the hospital guards has been found bleeding out.”

  “Is it her?” she demanded, fighting a fresh wave of terror.

  “We don’t know. Inside, don’t open the door.”

  “I’m armed,” Lucas reminded the agent. The Feds had approved it earlier.

  The man nodded and looked down the hallway, motioning to the other guard. “Stay put inside. One of us is going to be watching both your rooms.”

  She wanted to ask more questions but Lucas ushered her inside, shutting the door behind them. The siren continued, but was slightly quieter in the room. It didn’t do anything to stop the jagged streaks of terror slashing through her. “Why the hell would she come back? It’s got to be something else.” Though Chloe was freaking unbalanced so maybe that was reason enough for her to return.

  Holding up a finger, Lucas drew his weapon and pointed to the bathroom door, indicating he was going to do a sweep.

  Heart in her throat, she leaned against the wall for support as he stepped back out of the bathroom and ducked behind the curtain, likely checking under the bed. She shuddered, thinking about a monster like Chloe hiding under the bed. She couldn’t see how anyone could have gotten past the agent who’d been keeping guard, but she was glad he was being vigilant.

  Pulling her phone out, she planned to call Louise to check on Harper and ease her mind. Before she could dial, the hospital room door opened and a nurse in the standard pale green scrubs walked in. A name badge hung around her neck and a waterfall of her platinum blonde bob hung down over her face as she read something on her chart. It was time to be released—though she was sure she wouldn’t be leaving the room any time soon. Not until whatever was going on was settled.

  She frowned when the woman looked up, revealing her face. She gasped, then froze as Chloe whipped up a gun, pointing it right at her.

  Chloe stood before her, looking nothing like the picture the Feds had blasted out to the news. The wig covered her ears, her bangs fell over her eyebrows and she had on big round glasses. And she must have on some kind of padding because she looked about thirty pounds heavier than before.

  “Chloe,” she rasped out, hoping she didn’t know Lucas was in here.

  Raw shock stole through her. What the hell was she doing here? She’d escaped—she could have gotten away. She really was out of her mind.

  As if she read Serenity’s mind, Chloe stepped forward, gun in hand, the bitterness in her eyes clear. “I’m not going to live in a world where you’re alive,” she hissed.

  “You could have gotten away.” Numbness stole through Serenity as she focused on Chloe’s face, forcing herself not to stare at the gun. Lucas was behind the curtain, behind her. There was no way for him to sneak up on Chloe but if she could distract her or knock her off-balance or…something. She was going to.

  “I’m not going to run for the rest of my life,” Chloe said. She took another step forward, dropping the chart to the ground. Barely two feet separated them now. She could pull the trigger and that would be it. “And I’m killing you before they take me down.” Chloe’s hand wavered slightly as she glanced around the quiet room.

  Serenity knew she might never get another chance. And she wasn’t going down without a fight. She rushed forward the few feet separating them, glimpsed the shock in Chloe’s eyes as she ducked low, ramming into the woman’s middle.

  She heard a faint sound behind her, knew it was Lucas making his move, but she slammed Chloe to the ground.

  Pain exploded in the side of her head as Chloe bashed the gun against her skull. She fell back just as a wild shot went off.

  Plaster rained down on them from the ceiling tiles. Rolling to her knees, Serenity saw a blur of movement as Lucas kicked the gun out of Chloe’s hand.

  “Don’t move!” he shouted, holding his own gun on Chloe with precision.

  Chloe twisted underneath him, kicking at his ankles, her face contorted with frustration and fury. He stumbled slightly and she pulled out a knife.

  Serenity didn’t think, she reacted. “No!” She dove for Chloe, grabbing the woman’s wrist and twisting hard as she tried to pin it to the floor.

  Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as they rolled on top of each other, Chloe wrenching her arm free.

  Serenity grabbed the knife wris
t again, slamming it down—into Chloe’s chest.

  Chloe’s eyes widened in shock and pain, her fake glasses fallen beside her. Serenity stared as blood spread across the front of Chloe’s stolen scrubs. She was vaguely aware of Lucas lifting her off the ground and moving her out of the way.

  Her feet felt rooted to the spot as she continued to stare but Lucas kicked the gun out of Chloe’s reach and hurried her out of the room, taking her with him.

  “We need to—” She was cut off as two armed Federal agents raced past them.

  Lucas simply pulled Serenity close to him and hurried down the hallway as more law enforcement rushed by.

  “I wish you’d let me shoot her,” he bit out, pulling her close as they stopped a few doors down.

  “I didn’t think, I just reacted.” Lucas hadn’t been in real danger. He could have just shot Chloe. But Serenity had seen that knife and something primal had snapped inside her. She’d needed to stop her. To fight back. To end this.

  “I can say I stabbed her,” he murmured, holding her close. “For the official report.”

  She stared up at him in shock. “No. No way. I want only the truth on the record. We did nothing wrong.” She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his middle. The shakes had her now, her chest tight, lungs struggling for air.

  “Staying behind that curtain was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” His words were rough and unsteady as he gripped her tight. “I tried to get a clean shot but you were in the way. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I was so afraid she would just shoot you point blank if I revealed myself. Those ten seconds felt like…an eternity.” He shuddered, his pain almost palpable.

  Pulling back she looked up at him, but didn’t let go. She was vaguely aware of the agents coming out of the room and the rush of activity in the hallway but right now the only thing that mattered was Lucas. “You’re not superhuman. If you could have taken her out, I know you would have. I trusted you to have my back. And I know I said this before, but I’m making it crystal clear that I want a future with you. I’m laying it out there again because…” She swallowed hard, fighting back tears. Because she could have died. Twice. So could have he. “Deep down I’m still scared that things won’t work out and I’ll lose a best friend. But it’s worth it. You’re worth it. I love you, Lucas.”