Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3) (41 page)

“So where exactly is the police station in this town?”
Lucas asked as he drove around the block one more time
looking for it. “I thought it was on this street but I don’t see
anything.”

“Forget about the police station. What I really need to
do right now is talk to Zach.” In my heart, I knew I was right
about Jackson but I was too emotional to make such a big
accusation. After that final scene in the theater, Lucas wasn’t
that much better. I could see that the rush of adrenaline he
felt when he
confronted the killer was
still very
much
affecting him.
Zach would be the only voice of reason, the
only one who would see the situation clearly.

“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “We’ll go back to your
house and call him.”

“No—I want to see him. I don’t care if my dad
grounds me forever—I want to see Zach in person.” Even
with Lucas by my side, the second I realized that killer was
standing right in front of me, I was scared. The only way I
ever felt truly safe was when I was with Zach.

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 it, 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.”