27. Jax

Jax

I 'm stranded on the side of the road with no way to get home. I start walking. The only thing I can think of is getting back to the guys. They'll have realised I'm missing by now. I hope. They'll be frantic. One foot after the other, forcing myself not to think about it. I don't have my phone or my wallet.

Louis is alive. I've seen him. He's no longer the ghost that haunts me. I have nothing to defend myself. I can't call for help. Hell, there aren't even any cars I can boost.

Louis killed Sparrow.

Sparrow is dead.

I can't even believe it. All these years, that man has had such control over my life. Yet I'm almost waiting for Louis to appear and drag me down to hell with him.

But I discovered something. I don't want to die. Nor do I want that future. I want to live this life, and I'm sick of existing on pause. That fire ignited when Louis ripped away the past. I want a future with my guys. I want to be happy.

I keep my head down and keep trudging along, right up until I hear sirens behind me. The sound sends chills through me. I turn and find Detective Wayland in an unmarked van pulled over just behind me.

I stop and exhale, my feet already ache, but despite all that, I'm almost relieved to see him. Almost .

"Can this day get any worse?" I whine softly when he grins at me.

My skin prickles, and my stomach tightens viciously. Wayland and Sparrow were best friends. Wayland had enough time to get changed. He climbs out of the van and lowers his sunglasses to peer at me. Wayland is wearing dark clothes. He could be housing Louis' spirit inside him. It could be him. We're close to where he was. What was Wayland doing out here, anyway?

How do I tell?

"Why, hello, Jax Shade. I was under the impression that you knew you were going to be arrested if you left the house. And here we are…you walking along the side of the road a very long way from home."

I shrug. "It wasn't voluntary."

"Are you saying you were kidnapped? That's a serious accusation. Care to throw a name in my direction?"

"No," I mutter, utterly defeated. I can't tell him Sparrow is dead. He might be Louis, who actually did it, or he might think I did it. Either way, I lose.

"Get in the van. I'll take you home. We'll consider this my one and only act of goodwill," Wayland snaps.

A shiver goes up my spine, and a voice inside screams at me to run, similar to the one that wanted me to run from Sparrow. But logic and reason grab me and show me my options. Run and be arrested. Get in the van and deal with the scenario once I'm in.

I stomp to his van, opening the front passenger door. I throw all the attitude and bravado I can muster as I look inside.

"Get in the back, Jax," Wayland says with a grin. "I'm not your friend. I'm a fucking cop."

I wince. The last place I won't to be is in the back of this van.

"Sure, Wayland. "

"It's Detective Wayland," he snaps with his normal snarky attitude.

I open the rear door and get in, glancing at the lack of locks when I get in the back. I discreetly try the door handle again, but it doesn't open. My heart hammers. I'm exactly where I feared. Locked in with a possible serial killer with a grudge.

I watch carefully as he starts the van and nonchalantly drives us into town. He whistles and sings the entire way, driving my nerves to the breaking point.

"I have to stop at the shops. Do you need anything?" Wayland laughs at his own joke and pulls into an undercover parking garage. It's the same place where I met River that day. In front, a door of light shines with people coming and going. This feels safe, and my hope rises.

The shopping center is huge and one I know well, but I go out of my way to avoid it even on the best of days. There's too many people, always pushy, always in the way.

"Actually, can I come with you?" I ask, leaning forward to hang on the cage separating us.

Wayland considers it, and then smirks. "Yeah, why not?"

"Do you see the ghosts?"

Wayland snorts. "Ghosts? Really? That's where you want to go?"

"So, you don't see them?"

"No, I'm not a crazy person. I don't see ghosts."

He can't be Louis. Relief hits me in such a powerful way that I sag.

Wayland opens the back of the van and lets me out. He grabs my arm before I can run, increasing his pressure until I whimper. I stare at the place he's holding me with growing horror.

No one can see what he's doing, and the roar of traffic and people will wash away any scream I make. I open my mouth anyway, but thunder roars, and the skies open with torrential rain .

"Hey, Jojo?"

I jerk my head towards him, staring up in stark terror. It's him, it's got to be. Louis has me. I'm fucked.

"Hide, little darling, and hide well. At midnight, it's your wedding night."

My eyes widen as I recognise the date. November eleventh. Six years to the day we were supposed to get married. The day I killed him instead. My panic turns my body weightless and boneless. My knees crumble, and only his vicious hold on my arm keeps me upright.

No one knows that. No one but Louis. I didn't even tell my guys.

"You're not him," I say, but I'm not confident. Not at all.

"Why do you say that?" Wayland puts a hand in his pocket and brings it out with something clutched in his fist.

"You said your wedding night, not ours," I say, but I tremble when he puts his fingers to my mouth. I pull and fight, but Wayland is huge, with the strength of a man who works out a lot. With ruthless precision, he pulls my jaw apart and drops the pills down my throat.

"There now," he croons. "It will all be better soon. You wait and see."

I struggle against him as he pulls me to the back of his van. He shoves me in and slams it closed.

I fight and shove against the doors, but I can't open them. My head starts to spin, and I get groggy. I recognise the effects of Diazepam and know based on how I react to them that despite all my attempts to stay awake, I'll fall asleep very soon and be helpless.

Unable to defend myself.

I sit down, and then lay down on the floor of the van. A flickering black shape appears and brings tears to my eyes .

I swipe at them and try to get up but end up falling on my ass and then lying on my back. I'm surrounded by dark shadows now. Flickers and rainbow lights.

"Wake up, baby."

"I can't, mama, I can't. I can't fight the sleeping drug," My whisper is haunting.

"You can."

I shake my head. "I'm going under. Tell…them…I don't know, tell them Louis is everyone and to run. To get out of here."

My mother starts screaming, but it all fades away. I turn my head away from her and stare at his gorgeous face.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was worth it. Every moment was worth it."

"I miss you."

"Good, that means you care about me."

"Course, I do," I slur. "You're my Mase. My protector. I loved you for so long. Before I loved Louis, I loved you."

"Tell Terrance that I'm glad you have him and that I forgive him," Mason says.

We fall silent for a while, and it gets harder and harder to think. "Will you stay with me?"

Mason moves closer. "I'll always be with you."

"He's going to hurt me. Maybe kill me," I whisper, then I sigh and smile. "Time to pay the piper."

The ghosts flicker in the dark, and then I'm being sucked down into weird dreams. I'm on a boat, rocking. All the people in my life line up and take their faces off and reveal they're all Louis. In my dreams, I hear Wayland scream until the sound is abruptly cut short, then I hear Louis laugh. I walk up the aisle in a white dress, leaving a trail of blood, and when I get to the groom, he turns, and Louis stands there, smiling at me.

He leans down and whispers, "Till death and beyond. "

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

I sit upright, my heart racing. I'm awake, but it's night. I know that instantly. My breath fogs out in a white cloud in front of me. Time's up. And the van door is open.

***

The eerie silence feels like a heavy blanket that makes my skin crawl. My hands tremble as I get up on my hands and knees. I almost want to stay in the van, but I know that's a false safety. If I stay in the van, I'll be dragged out or locked in. My legs shake as I fight off the dregs of the drugs. I crouch over and walk to the edge of the van and peer out into the car park.

My stomach drops as I look around. I can only see half of it, but what I can see is nothing but empty car spaces. There isn't a single car to be seen. I swallow on the dryness in my throat and carefully climb out of the van, leaning on it, hoping it will provide me some kind of safety.

I look behind the van and find the dark underground ground car park and the dark buildings. There should be lights, but there aren't any. I make an instant call not to go in that direction. But I hesitate, there is something terrifying about going out into the middle of an exposed area, and the carpark is nothing but empty.

There's trees in the distance, with dark buildings behind them. Pylons could be hiding people. The rain has stopped, but everything is shiny and silver. It's so eerie and quiet.

I take a single step and turn, searching everywhere, looking for movement. I'm not alone. Deep in my bones, I can feel it. Fear wants me to run, logic shouts, ‘which direction,' and I'm frozen, unable to move .

I cock my head to the side, listening hard, and force myself to take a step. It breaks the spell.

I move quickly but calmly, making sure my steps are even. It's hard not to burst into a frantic jog or to freeze. I'm a third of the way across when a black flicker appears beside me. I turn my head in that direction and catch the movement of a car slowly driving down the road.

Fear explodes inside me. I freeze, ready to turn and bolt the other way.

The car stops outside the car park and Gideon gets out. Relief hits me hard, and I let out a groan as I change my direction and veer towards him. Dane and Rafe get out. Dane shouts something. I wave but then realise that his face isn't happy.

They run towards me, and I realise the expression is fear.

No.

Please, no.

I start to turn when an arm comes around my stomach, a head over my shoulder, the face covered in a black mask.

"Say goodbye to your lovers, Jojo."

In one split second, I stare at them, realising this has been a dramatic trap. One last punishment. One ego boost to prove who has the power.

I feel a sharp pinch in my neck, and the world melts away. My last thought as I'm lifted and carried into a swaying grey and blue world is that I wished I'd gotten to say goodbye.