Jack And Jill: Dawn Of Forever Part 32

Knight Irene added a surgical mask to her GI Jane attire. The stench of infected flesh mixed with fecal matter must not have been her aroma of choice.

"Are you excited to see your twin? I'm going to reel him in and toss him in the cesspool with you two."

"He won't come," Knox said.

"Oh, he'll come."

"Only to take your life. If you see him at the door, I suggest you say your last prayer."

Jillian tried to decipher Knox's motive, if he had one. Irene captured both of them. There was no reason to believe she couldn't get Jackson too.

"Are you suggesting he's smarter than the two of you?"

"Yes." Knox didn't hesitate.

"Do you concur?"

Jillian looked at Irene and then at Knox. She didn't want to join the discussion. "Depends on the day."

Irene grunted, a sly grin curled her lips. "Well, he's not smarter than I am."

"He is."

"Listen, Mickey, shut your hole or I'll do it for you."

"Don't you f.u.c.king call me that."

There was never a bag of popcorn around when Jillian needed one. The Irene and Mickey show captivated her.

"You cheated on me-twice. I'll call you whatever I want to call you."

"I didn't cheat on you."

"You f.u.c.ked Sunny and her daughter." Irene glared at Jillian.

"I did not."

That got Jillian's attention.

"I didn't f.u.c.k Sunny while we were married or while she was married, and Jessica ..."

She waited. He called her Jessica. Why?

"It was training. Period."

Knox looked at Irene as if Jillian wasn't in the room. Jillian dared him-needed him-to say that to her while looking her in the eyes.

"I saw the security footage. I have the security footage. Did you really think Grant would send his precious little girl to someplace that didn't have eyes? Of course mine are the only true eyes that have seen it. Jackson will come. He will watch it. He will kill you. I will kill him and ..." She c.o.c.ked her head at Jillian. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do with you and your Dr. Jones. I'm sure it will be mind-blowing."

Jillian stared at Irene and her psychotic-b.i.t.c.h grin that reached her eyes. She couldn't see her mouth, but she knew it was there. Irene's eyes narrowed a fraction. Her brows drew together in a grimace as Jillian sucked in her bottom lip, sinking her teeth into it until blood dripped down her chin.

"You're a sick head case."

Jillian's tongue swiped along her lip. "Don't forget it, b.i.t.c.h."

Irene pivoted in her boots and stomped up the stairs.

"You taste that?"

Jillian looked up at Knox, her face stone, her heart numb, her emotions gone. She nodded once.

"What do you taste, sweetheart?"

"Power."

"I sure as f.u.c.k hope so ... it's the only thing that's going to save you. It's coming ... she's going to bring you to your knees with Jackson and Luke as her weapons of choice. Kill or be killed. Do you understand?"

Another nod.

Jones With Lake safe on a plane back to San Francisco, Luke decided to visit Dodge and Lilith. He also decided to bring coffee and pastries.

The older man at the door gave him a once-over before saying anything. "Is this a special Sunday delivery? Have we been enrolled in the Breakfast of the Month Club?"

"I'm a friend of Jillian Knight."

"Oh, well, why didn't ya just say so." He held open the door. "Come on in."

Breakfast proved to be unnecessary. Jillian Knight was the secret pa.s.sword.

"I'm Dodge and the corpse over there is my wife, Lilith. You'll have to get in her face if you want her to hear ya."

He took the drink holder and bakery bag from Luke.

Lilith smiled and waved Luke over. "I can hear fine out of one ear. Have a seat."

"Thank you." Luke sat on the sofa next to her rocking chair.

"Did I hear you correctly? You know Jillian."

"Yes."

"Am I supposed to share this with you two?" Dodge asked over a mouthful of Danish, a to-go cup in his other hand.

"What's your name, young man?" Lilith ignored her husband.

"Luke."

All remaining color drained from her already pasty-white face. "Downstairs, Dodge. Now."

"aPlease.' Have you ever thought of asking instead of ordering me around?"

"Go!"

Dodge grumbled a few expletives that included "old bat" and "bossy cow" as he grabbed the bag and headed toward the stairs.

"Dr. Jones," she said.

He squinted, with an easy nod. "How-"

"She told me everything. Not on purpose at first. Dodge led her to believe that I'm deaf. I let her think it because I wanted to hear the most romantic love story I'd ever heard ... and I could tell she needed to share it, relive it. I think I love you too, but don't tell old grumpy. Or do." She winked.

Luke smiled as something inside of him lit up. Jessica didn't let him go. "Do you know where she is?"

"Oh my goodness. You've tracked her down ... you've come to save her like her knight in s.h.i.+ning armor with your trusty steed." She pressed her hand to her chest, tears pooled in her eyes. "That's so ... incredibly romantic. I'm right, aren't I?"

"I don't actually have any official armor and I took a plane and rental car."

Lilith leaned forward and rested her hand on his. With one blink her tears released. Her eyes and smile filled with hope.

He returned a small smile. "Yes. I'm here for her."

She sighed, sitting back in her chair. "You're the one. You know that, right? AJ needed her, but you ... she's always needed you. She must need you now more than ever."

Her words pained him. They confirmed what he already knew-Jessica needed him. But he couldn't find her.

"Do you know where she is or have you heard from her?"

"No. Sorry. Greta Housby, their neighbor across the street, she said Jillian was taking some time for herself. But I a.s.sume you've talked to Jackson so you probably already knew that."

"Yes. However, she left her phone at home and Jackson doesn't know where she is so we have no way of contacting her. I'm worried about her. I understand she..." saying it was harder than thinking it "...loved him. So she has to be grieving."

"This must be terribly hard on you? How did you find her? How did you know she's alive?"

"I saw her at a hotel in Houston."

"Oh my. You must have thought you were seeing a ghost."

Luke nodded. "I think I should fly to Portland. I don't want to be insensitive to his family. I'm sure they're still devastated. But maybe she said something to them after the funeral."

Lilith shook her head. "That's not possible."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she wasn't at the funeral."

"W-what are you talking about? Jackson said she went to the funeral."

"No. She wasn't there. I think his family was a little disappointed, but they understood. AJ left treatment to be with her. She was the last person who saw him alive. We all a.s.sumed she was worried about their reaction to her, but they weren't upset. She changed him and everyone saw it. In spite of the tumor, she made him a better man."

"If ... uh ... you'll excuse me. I really have to go." He tried to keep his fear in check. "Thank you for talking with me."

Lilith nodded. "Luke?"

"Yes?" He zipped his jacket.

"I don't know where you'll find her, or what mindset she'll have, but I know one thing with unwavering certainty-that girl loves you like no woman has ever loved a man in the history of the world. She called you her heart. And I believed her."

The words to describe his love for Jessica didn't exist. He smiled in spite of the pain.

Knight Forever didn't come in a text; it came with a knock at the door. It involved the woman he loved leaping into his arms and kissing him with fervor. Ryn, however, texted Jackson.

Can you come over?

He didn't text her back, but within ten minutes he was at her front door.

Forever didn't have red swollen eyes that refused to make contact with his. He stepped inside. Ryn stared at him, just short of meeting his gaze. She drew in a shaky breath and held it, but she didn't say anything. It seemed as if her words were the only thing holding her together and if she spoke them, she would crumble to pieces at his feet.

"This is goodbye," he said.

She bit her quivering lip and nodded. Pain robbed her beautiful face, and she threw herself into his arms, but not in a forever way. He hugged her back so hard he feared feeling her ribs crack against his. In a matter of days, forever turned into never.

"Maddie h-hates me. I-I can't leave her. She won't ... come. I-I love you so much, it feels like ... like I'm dying inside. But s-she's my child. If I leave ... it will be l-like she died." A broken sob ripped from her chest. "If you leave ... it'll be like ... you died."

He didn't know what to say. If he stayed he'd put her in danger. Luke's trip to Omaha opened the door for their past to find them. There was no way to stay and guarantee anyone's safety. He'd rather die than leave her, but he'd never be able to live with himself if something happened to her. She needed to come with him, soon, or he needed to get as far away from her as possible-completely dissociate himself from her life for her own safety.

Ryn fisted the back of his s.h.i.+rt, her tear-stained face buried in his neck. "Say something. Please."

"I'll come back."

She shook her head. "Don't say that unless you can promise me." She cupped his neck and pressed her forehead to his. "Can you promise me you'll come back?"

Her tears dripped between them. He fisted her hair.

"Say it." She sniffled. "Promise me."

"I can't."

Jude would have said that moment-the heart-breaking dream-shattering moment-was the reason to never get emotionally involved.

Not Jackson.

He loved Ryn Middleton with something bigger than his heart. She dug deep and found his soul, and she would forever have a piece of it.