CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I woke up bound in the pitch dark again. Disoriented, I tried to find my bearings to no avail. I realized with surprise that I was blindfolded. That was new. I wasn’t in a chair, either, like I usually am in this scenario. My nightmares always start the same way, why is this time different?
The blindfold that obscured my vision was also incredibly itchy. I rubbed my face on my shoulder to alleviate the itch, and the blindfold slid up my face onto my forehead, solving that problem. I was surprised by how much light was in the room, most of it coming from behind the drapes and from the gap between the bathroom door and the floor. I surveyed my surroundings, and I came to the conclusion that I was in a hotel room. The dated decor and double beds gave it away, along with the heavy drapes that were drawn across the single window. Now I was really starting to get some clarity, and I had an awful thought- I’m not dreaming. This is real. Panic started to creep in, despite my efforts to stay calm. I’ve had dreams about this ever since I’d heard the news about Jack escaping, but the nightmares couldn’t even come close to the terror of the real thing. I need to escape- it was a matter of life and death.
I managed to sit up on the bed and maneuver my hands under my legs and knees so that I could see the knot tying them together. Jack had used some sort of cloth for the knot. It wasn’t as tight as the ropes in my dreams normally were, and I freed my hands and made quick work of the cloth knotted around my ankles. I took one quick glance around the room, then ran for the bolted door next to the heavily draped window.
I got all the way to the door and was pulling back the chain at the top of the door when a pair of arms grabbed me around my middle, knocking the breath out of me. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re not getting away now. Not after all I’ve done to find you,” a familiar raspy voice snarled.
Jack Nelson. The man who’d featured prominently in my nightmares for the past month. The whole reason I had to go into hiding. He was here in real life. He’d found me. I tried not to go into full-on panic mode, but it was hard not to when Jack picked me up and threw me down on the bed. He laid on top of me, pinning me down while he secured my wrists to the lamps that were built into the wall on either side of the bed. He reached down and shoved the discarded cloth into my mouth. Tears streamed from my eyes and my nose started running. I had to will myself to calm down so I didn’t suffocate. Deep breaths, deep breaths, Kelsey. You’re going to get out of this jam.
Jack sat back at the edge of the bed and gave me a long, hard look. He liked what he saw, apparently, because he smiled and adjusted his cuffs. He was dressed up in a suit and tie as if this were a special occasion. Maybe for him it was. According to the evidence from the trial that I hadn’t believed, he always dressed to the nines before he slashed his victims’ throats.
“I bet you thought you could hide from me, Kelsey. Did you think you could walk away and forget about the life you ruined in that trial?” Jack asked me, eyes narrowed. “Well, I’m too smart for you. You could never hide from me, not really. Nothing could keep me in that prison. Not handcuffs, not guards, not even concrete walls. Jack Nelson can’t be caged.”
I’d forgotten how much Jack liked to talk. He’d always been like that, even before I knew he was evil. His ego was astronomical, which meant that it could be stroked. I needed to play along and make him think I was on his side if I were going to get out of here alive.
“Howdidshueshape?” My question was muffled by the cloth Jack had shoved into my mouth. He reached forward to pull it roughly out of my mouth.
“What was that?” he asked.
“How did you escape?” I asked, desperate to keep him talking while I waited for Liam to come and take him down.
“All I had to do was get a guard under my spell. Oh, he was a handsome boy. Young guy named Leroy. It was almost too easy- he was so eager to please me. All I had to do was whisper a sweet word to him here and there and let him pleasure me, and he would’ve followed me to the ends of the earth. It really is a shame I had to kill him.” Jack pouted with mock sadness. “But loose ends and all that.”
Jack seemed pretty pleased with himself, and I did my best to seem impressed by his seduction and murder of an innocent prison guard so that he didn’t gag me again. Jack seemed satisfied with my act, and he continued on. “After I got out, I had to lay low. I couldn’t come straight for you or every fed in Virginia would’ve been on me in an instant. So I bode my time, kept my eye out for any news about your whereabouts. Imagine my surprise when I had the good luck of happening upon a news article about Agnes Day and her husband enjoying a quaint Winter Ball in Small Town USA. Imagine my even bigger surprise when Agnes Day was a dead ringer for Kelsey Jones. I knew I’d hit the jackpot- they hadn’t hidden you very well, had they, Kels, if you were going to be appearing in small town gazettes? How was it, by the way? Nothing like the sophistication you’re used to in law firms in Virginia, I would imagine.” Jack winked at me and I grimaced, trying to make it appear like a smile. “Again, I waited. I tipped off the cops that I’d been in the Bahamas. I even bought a plane ticket to really sell the ruse. So when everyone was looking for me down south, I went north to find you.” Jack smiled smugly.
“You really had it all figured out,” I said. “One thing I can’t figure out, though. Why do you want me so badly? I tried to keep you out of prison, remember?”
“You broke a promise to me, Kelsey, and I take promises very seriously. A person is nothing without their word but a sack of blood and flesh. Maybe you broke your promise to me on purpose, hm? Did you not like what I am? Were you in on it the entire time, conspiring with the judge and the jury to send me away?” Jack’s eyes glinted terrifyingly as his manner shifted dramatically. He leaned forward to tighten the bindings on my wrists and ankles. I had thought the calm demeanor was frightening, but this was way worse.“You should know there’s nothing I like more than exacting revenge, counselor. Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Jack, you’ve got to listen to me. I’m on your side. I worked very hard to keep you out of prison because I believed you were innocent. I believed every word you said to me when we were preparing for trial.” I was such a fool. “Jack, if you’re so proud of the ‘work’ you do, why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you just tell me you did it from the get-go?”
“Oh please. Don’t play coy with me, Kelsey. Don’t pretend you didn’t know what I was all along, that a little part of you didn’t love it.” Jack ran his finger along my calf and I shuddered.
“I didn’t,” I protested. I was struggling not to gag as Jack continued to stroke me.
“Liar,” he spat out. “You reveled in it, knowing all the naughty things I’d done to those filthy bitches. I played innocent for the public, and you can’t tell me you didn’t love how we were deceiving those idiots together. See, there’s a darkness in me that calls to you. I can see your own darkness as well- it’s why I chose you. Someone who fights tirelessly to keep men like me on the streets.”
He was deranged. “You’re wrong, Jack, I’m nothing like you. I fought to keep innocent men out of prison. Not monsters like you. There is no darkness in me, that’s your delusion talking.” I knew as soon as I said it that I shouldn’t have, but he’d struck a nerve in me. There was no darkness in me, no kindred spirit with this serial murderer.
“You do, Kelsey Jones. Even if you can’t see it, I see the real you.”
“You’re a fucking psychopath, Jack. Don’t you dare compare me to yourself.” Jack’s eyes widened, then just as quickly narrowed in rage. He didn’t like hearing the truth.
Crack. Jack slapped me across the face with an open palm. “Bitch. Do you think you’re better than me?”
I recoiled, not able to touch my stinging face. I gathered all my courage. “Actually, I do. You’re a pathetic excuse for a man who takes pleasure in others’ pain. I hope you enjoyed your little stint of freedom, because you’re going away for a long time when you get caught. As soon as Liam gets here, you’re going straight back to prison, and I don’t think you’ll be able to talk your way out of super max this time.”
Jack produced a large knife, and I tried not to stare at the light glinting off of it. He ran it across my belly, the sharp metal scraping against my skin as Jack stared, transfixed. I stared as well, dreading whatever plans he had for that knife.
“Liam?” Jack snorted. “The bodyguard waiting for you outside the diner? Oh, I don’t think he’ll be coming for you anytime soon.” He had a nasty smile on his face, and he swirled the knife in a circle. He increased his pressure, breaking skin and drawing blood.
I ignored the stinging from the cuts as dread pooled in my stomach. “Why?”
“I killed him, counselor. Now we don’t have to worry about being interrupted.” His grin grew larger until he was smiling ear to ear. He pushed the blade further in, and I cried out.
I felt nauseated. It was as if I’d been punched in the gut. I struggled to breathe, the pressure in my head increasing. Liam was dead? Liam had been killed because of me. He had died not knowing how much I loved him, because Jack Nelson was targeting me. A low moan escaped from my throat and turned into a sob.
“No need for hysterics. You can save those for later, when I’m really giving you a reason to cry.” Jack’s leering face was spinning out of view, all I could feel was that cold blade on my body, and all went black.
***
I woke up still tied to the bed with a pounding headache. Jack was in the corner, typing away on a laptop. “What are you doing?” I tried to ask, but nothing came out. My throat was too raw and dry. I swallowed, trying to moisten my throat a bit. “What are you doing?” I said more strongly.
“Buying us tickets,” Jack said without looking up. “Stop talking so much.”
“Tickets?” I asked stupidly. “Tickets to what?”
“More like tickets to where,” Jack corrected me. “We’re going to Nepal.”
“Nepal?” I was starting to freak out now. “What’s in Nepal?”
“More like what’s not in Nepal- an extradition treaty with the United States. Once we’re there, we’ll never be bothered again.” Jack’s smirk was sinister.
“Why don’t you just kill me?” I moaned. I meant it, too. I would prefer death over whatever slow torture he planned for me in Nepal.
“Oh, counselor, I have far larger plans for you than death. I know how you love pretending to be married to men who aren’t your husband, so I got us some fake passports. We’ll be traveling as Ethel and Frank Rosenbaum, a husband and wife on a grand tour around the world. Once we’re settled down in Nepal, you’re going to help me cure their women of wickedness. It’ll be much easier to find women if I use a woman to get them, I think,” Jack said contemplatively.
Horror set in. Jack wanted me to be part of his murder plan? I really would prefer death over this. “You’ll never get away with this, Jack, because I won’t go along with your plan. How do you even plan to get me past airport security without me telling everyone I see what you’re doing?”
“If you value the lives of your sister and nephews, you’ll go along with this. You think I’m a lone wolf? Think again. I have associates all over the country who are chomping at the bit to have their next kill.”
Anna. I went limp on the bed, all the fight taken out of me. If I resisted, my sister’s entire family would be murdered. What else could I do besides go along with his plan until I found a way to kill him?
“Time to start packing the car up. Don’t worry, I’ve got all you need for our trip.” It was a bizarre parallel to the last time I’d been whisked away without warning, and I felt sick comparing the two wildly different men and situations. Jack checked my bindings to make sure I was secure while I stared at him with pure hatred. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek while I recoiled. “We’re going to do great things, you and I.” I jerked my head from him and he smiled. “In time, you’ll embrace what you really are.”
He went the door, where three bags were lined up and ready to go. “I’m going to go start the car and load these up. No use wasting time.” He checked outside to make sure no one was in the hallway, then left.
I started to tug at my restraints as soon as he was gone, but stopped at the thought of my sister. I slumped down in despair. I had no energy to react when the door swung back open.
“Kelsey,” he said. That wasn’t Jack’s voice, it was deeper, less raspy. Liam.
“Liam?” I whispered, starting to cry. “Liam, you’re alive?”
“Of course, baby,” Liam said, rushing to my side. “No time to talk now, we need to get you out of here while we wait for backup.” He reached up and untied my wrists, and I flung my arms around him, sobbing now while I kissed him all over his face. He squeezed me quickly, but gripped me by the shoulders. “Kelsey, we have seconds left until Jack comes back.”
“No, you don’t,” Jack said from behind Liam. He swung an iron upward and knocked Liam to his side. “I should’ve squeezed your neck, harder, it seems. No matter, I’ll do it right this time.”
Something metal glinted in the light from the lamp. Liam’s gun. I took my opportunity when Jack turned for a split second and grabbed the gun. Thank goodness Liam had shown me how to use one in the backyard one time. I turned the safety off and pointed it at Jack while Liam moaned.
“You’re going down, motherfucker,” I said, taking aim for his heart. I pulled the trigger and Jack reeled. I’d shot him in the arm, which was just as well. He dropped to the ground, whimpering. Apparently he could delight in inflicting pain, but when it came to himself, he couldn’t take it. Liam sat up and gently pried the gun from my hand, then turned the safety back on as soon as he had it out of my possession.
Liam cuffed Jack quickly while Jack was still prone on the ground, then he sat on him and read him his rights. Jack sneered at Liam and struggled to get up, but Liam readjusted his position to put pressure on Jack’s wounded arm. Jack went down flat on his stomach with a whimper. “You heard Kelsey. You’re going down, motherfucker.”
All at once, the room was flooded with U.S. Marshals, all of whom had their guns pointed at Jack. Liam got up and came to my side while the Marshals hauled Jack up roughly and took him with them. Liam untied my ankles and rubbed them before coming back up to my face.
“He told me he killed you,” I said. I couldn’t stop crying. Liam reached up and wiped the tears off my face.
“He tried. My neck was too strong for him to strangle, I guess,” Liam joked. “Kelsey, I promised to protect you, and I failed. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t, Liam, it’s not your fault,” I said. I leaned forward to pull him to me, and I winced. I looked down at my stomach and was surprised to see how blood-soaked my shirt was. “Hey, Liam?” I said
“Yeah, baby?” he asked.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, and everything went black as I fainted yet again.