Chapter 81 Better this Way
eighty-one
Better this Way
Jacob
It’s dark and rainy when I land at SeaTac Airport. I mostly maxed out my credit care, but I caught a red-eye at the last minute, thanks to a helpful counter attendant, who has a son in the Army.
Her name is Jessica.
I have a return ticket that will get me back in time for my deployment and a message to my commanding officer explaining why I left.
I’m driving as fast as I can on rain-slicked and mostly empty roads.
I rented the fastest car they had, but it’s still too slow.
It’s been over seven hours since Michael said he was on his way to Jess–plenty of time for him to get to her.
I hope he bought the diversion Jasmine gave him and didn’t go straight to her house. If not…I press the gas down harder.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get there.
It’s not like I could bring a weapon on the airplane.
Jess’s dad has a full gun safe, but I don’t know the combination.
I hope I don’t need a gun. I hope I find Jess alone, and that I can convince her to come back with me.
She can stay with my parents until things get sorted out with Stephens or whoever sent the messages and the emails.
I crest the hill that leads to her house, and my hopes for a clean get away are shattered. There’s another car in her driveway, a Lexus. I grab my phone and dial 9-1-1. I learned my lesson last time. This isn’t a situation I want to go into without support.
Jess
I stay still in my bedroom, wishing I hadn’t turned my lamp on. I think about my options, places I could hide until he leaves. He doesn’t know I’m here.
The door between the kitchen and the garage opens and closes. He’s seen my car.
“Jess,” he calls. He starts up the stairs.
I pull on the jeans I was wearing when I came, reach under the bed and get the pistol I took out of Dad’s gun safe.
I tuck it into the back of my waistband and pull a sweater out of my closet to cover it.
The whole time I’m thinking I’m being paranoid.
This is a knee-jerk reaction to the trauma I’m still holding onto from Brad.
Michael is my friend. He would never hurt me.
The cards were just a way for him to show he still cares.
Maybe he isn’t even the one who sent them. He just came to check on me.
I steady my breathing and try to keep my voice calm. “Michael?”
He moves into my doorway and flips on the lights. “Jess, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I…what are you doing here?”
“Jacob called me. He's worried about you. He said someone emailed a bunch of pictures of you to him. He thinks they’re from your old boyfriend. The one who’s in jail.”
“Brad?”
He moves closer. “Yeah, that’s the one. He said they were pictures that were taken without you knowing it—when you were running, at the yoga studio—that kind of thing.”
My mind races. If he’s telling the truth, if Jacob really sent him, if he really got pictures like that of me…
I haven’t been to a yoga studio since before I broke up with Jacob.
If there were pictures of me there, it couldn’t have been Brad.
At most he's been out of jail for a couple of weeks. I can’t tell if Michael is making it all up, if I’m paranoid or–
He steps forward and puts his hands on my shoulders. “He asked me to take care of you, just like Matthew did. I gave my word as a soldier, and that’s something I take very seriously. You need to let me take care of you.”
“Thank you for coming.” I work to keep my voice steady and then realize maybe I shouldn’t. Michael is here to play hero. If I let him have that role, if I play along, maybe I’ll be okay.
He cups my face in his hands. “It's been so long since I’ve seen you. You look so beautiful. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I've missed you too.” I force myself not to pull away, not to stiffen as he presses his lips against mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and focus on kissing him back, hoping he doesn’t move his hand down far enough to feel the gun. He does.
He pulls it out. “What is this?”
“Sorry. I was alone and,” I look down. “I’ve been getting weird messages too, for a long time.
Cards in gray envelopes. Texts. Phone calls from someone saying they're thinking of me.” I wait for him to tell me it was him, that he was worried about me.
That he just wanted me to know he was thinking of me.
He doesn't.
"The gun is a good idea, but I should hold on to it, and we should get out of here. The first place he’s going to look for you is your house. I’ll get a hotel in Seattle. Two rooms if you want. But it would probably be better if we stayed together.”
I reach for my phone. “Shouldn’t we go to the police? If Brad is really–”
He puts his hand on top of mine. “I already called them. They said there’s nothing they can do for you. But don't worry about that, I'm here I won't let—”
We hear it at the same time. The low growl of a sports car. I know without knowing how that Jacob is in that car, that he’s coming for me, even if he's supposed to be on the other side of the country. Even if he's supposed to be on the other side of the world.
I can’t let Michael get to him.
I wrap my arms around him. “You're right. We should stay together.”
I lift my face to his and kiss him.
Jacob
I pull into the driveway, for the first time wishing I hadn’t rented such a loud and conspicuous car.
There’s no chance for stealth, so I pull up right in front of the house.
I look up at the window of Jess’ room. Her bedroom light is on.
Two shadows hold each other behind the curtains. They’re kissing.
It’s just the way Steve said it would be. For a second I feel like an idiot, like I've fallen into their trap and their upstairs laughing at me. Then the taller shadow, Michael, lifts his arm. There's something in his hand—a shape I recognize immediately.
He has a gun.
My first instinct is to storm through the front door, race up the stairs, and overpower him.
I realize that’s a good way to get shot, maybe to get Jess shot too.
Something Gage told me comes back now. A helpful hint in case you ever need it.
The tree in the back leads directly to Jess’ bedroom window.
I didn’t ask him how he knew that, but I trust he knew what he was talking about.
Jess
I’m doing everything I can to keep Michael from looking out the window, but when we hear the car door slam, he moves me behind him. “Stay back.” He peers out the curtains and swears. He lowers his voice. “He’s here.”
He can't know I know who’s out there. “Brad?”
“Yeah. Stay here; I’ll go make sure he doesn’t get in.”
I pull him into another kiss, stalling for time. “Be careful.”
“I will.” He nods solemnly.
As soon as he’s out of my room, I reach for my phone and dial the number I’ve had memorized since I was seventeen.
“Jess.” He answers immediately. “Are you–”
“I’m okay. Michael is out there. He has a gun, please, go back to your car, lock the doors and–”
“Open your window. I’m coming up.”
Branches scrape against the house. I run to my back window and pull it open. Jacob climbs in. I wrap my arms around him. We only get a second.
“Step away from her.” Michael’s voice is behind me.
I turn to face him. “Michael don’t–”
Jacob moves in front of me.
“I said, step away from her.” He points the gun at Jacob's head.
“Do what he says, please,” I say to Jacob. “He won’t hurt me.”
Michael gestures for me to come to him. I agonize for a second, but then move to stand beside him.
He wraps his arm around my waist. He keeps the gun on Jacob, talking fast. “It was him all the time, Jess, don’t you see?
He was the one sending you the messages.
He was the one who took the pictures. He wanted you to be afraid so he could be your hero.
He’s been trying to get between us from the very beginning.
He asked me to come here tonight, so he could get rid of me.
He knew you’d never stay with him as long as I was around. You believe me, don’t you?”
I turn around to face him, look into those beautiful green eyes and understand he’s giving me a kind of twisted confession.
“Yes,” I answer.
“I did all of it for you, so we could be together. I love you, Jess.”
I try not to choke on the words, “I love you too, Michael.”
“That’s what I was waiting for.” He pulls the trigger.
Jacob
The gunshot reverberates through my head. I stumble, step toward her, and fall forward. Something warm drips from the side of my face.
She’s screaming my name, but her voice is far away, under water.
His voice. “Turns out I had the courage after all.”
Another gunshot.
“Me too.”
She’s on the floor beside me. I reach for her hand.
“It’s better this way.”