The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (58 page)

Sera

As I waited for Tiffany to mix the dye for my color, an old woman shuffled slowly by. Our eyes locked in the mirror, and she smiled at me. As I began to smile back, I felt an overwhelming sense of danger. I sucked in my breath as disturbing images flashed through my head. Images of a young woman handcuffed to a bed, screaming her head off. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on her face, but then Felicia’s voice distracted me.

“So, I heard you’re going blonde, Sera,” she said, now standing next to me.

I opened my eyes and looked into the mirror, but the old woman had disappeared.

What the hell was that about?

Felicia’s eyes widened. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

“I… I’m fine,” I replied, although I didn’t feel fine at all. 

She pointed toward the magazine in my hands. “You sure? Your hands are shaking.”

I stood up and put the magazine down. “I’m fine. Could you tell Tiffany that I’ll be right back?”

“Sure.”

I stepped around her and walked back to the bathroom. When I walked inside, the old woman was there, studying her reflection in the mirror.

“Oh, hello,” she said, turning to look at me.

“Hi,” I replied, forcing a smile as I turned on the faucet. I wasn’t sure why I’d followed her, but something told me it was important.

“Beautiful day,” she commented.

“Yes,” I said, looking at her in the mirror. There was something strange about the old woman, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Her smile turned brittle and then it was gone.

She’s a man.

I wasn’t sure why it distressed me. We’d had other transvestites in the shop and they were usually wonderful people. But, this cross-dresser frightened me more than anything.

He watched me closely. “Are you okay?”

I laughed nervously. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a long day.”

“Oh,” he looked at the smock around my neck. “Getting your hair done?”

I was amazed at how much he sounded like an old woman. “Yes. I’d better get out there before she comes looking for me.”

“Good idea,” he replied.

I quickly left the bathroom and went back to Tiffany’s chair, where she was waiting.

“You ready?” she asked, grabbing her comb and a piece of foil.

“Yes,” replied, still curious about the man in the bathroom.

“Let’s get to work, then.”

“I’m in your hands,” I replied. “Make me blonde again, Tiffany.”

She smiled and began.

***

Ten minutes later, the cross-dresser stepped out of the bathroom. As he walked by, I noticed another curious thing – his limp from earlier seemed to have disappeared. I stared at him as he moved through the salon, and when he passed Sinclair’s station, something about the way he looked at her made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Tiffany when he walked around the partition.

“Where are you going?” she called, as I bolted out of the chair and raced toward the front of the salon.

Ignoring her, I stopped at the counter next to Thane, who was on the phone. Unfortunately, the cross-dresser was already leaving the building.

“What’s going on?” asked Tiffany, now standing next to me.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think that old woman is Michael. The one who’s been after Sinclair,” I answered, looking back at her.

“You’re kidding!” she gasped.

Thane hung up the phone. “What did you say?”

I pointed toward the front door. “That old woman who just left here?
She
was actually a
he
, and I think it might have been that psycho stalker. Michael.”

Thane shook his head. “No, that’s just some old lady who came in for a manicure. You’ve got her tomorrow, by the way.”

I turned to him. “Thane, seriously, I think that’s really him. I even followed him into the bathroom.”

“She did,” said Tiffany.

He laughed. “Did you need to see his johnson to know for sure it was a dude?” 

  I scowled at him. “No. I just followed him because I had one of my… impressions.”

His smile fell. “You think it really, seriously, could be him?”

“Yes,” I walked back around the partition, where Sinclair was now trimming Reed’s hair. “Did you see that old woman who just walked by here?” I asked quickly.

They both turned to look at me.

“No, why?” she asked.

“I think that may have been Michael.”

Her face turned white. “What?”

“Him and his fucking costumes,” snapped Reed as he jumped out of the chair. “Is the fucker still here?” he asked, heading quickly toward the front of the salon. Sinclair and I both followed him.

“No, he left,” I said.

“Let’s go check the parking lot,” replied Reed, clenching his jaw as he walked around the counter.

“Wait,” said Thane.

“Wait? He might get away,” growled Reed, opening the front door. “Not again. No fucking way.”

“Reed!” hollered Sinclair. “No!”

Reed hesitated.

“She’s right. Stay in here,” said Thane, walking around the counter. “Listen to me – the old woman is coming back tomorrow. If it really is this guy, we’ll get the bastard then. You go out there now and he’ll know that we’re on to him. This could be your only chance to catch this guy.”

Reed began to pace, his fists clenched. “Fuck, I want to beat the hell out of that guy.”

“He might have a gun,” said Sinclair, her voice shaky. “There is no way I want you confronting him by yourself. Call your cop friend and see if he’ll set up a sting or something.”

“Fine,” he replied, still agitated. “I’ll call him. Fuck, I want this guy now, though! What if he doesn’t even come back tomorrow?”

“He will,” I said evenly. I turned to Sinclair, the man’s obsession. The one he wanted to possess and would do anything to do just that.  “I guarantee it.”

Chapter Forty-Five

Sera

Thane stayed at the shop with Reed and Sinclair to wait for a detective who had worked Michael Richie’s case during the time she’d been kidnapped.

“Your hair looks great,” he said, kissing me in the parking lot. “I knew it would.”

I smiled. “Are you happier now that my ‘drapes match the carpet’?”

He ran his hands over my rear. “I’ll let you know after my inspection later. I want to make sure they really do go together.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Thane kissed me again and then opened up my car door. “You’d better get going. Emma is probably dying to see your hair.”

“I know.”

“Are you changing her color back, too?”

“This weekend. I’d like to have it done before she goes back to school.”

“Understandable.”

I sat down in the driver’s seat and looked up at him. “I hope tomorrow goes okay.”

“It will be fine.”

“I just have this feeling…” I said, rubbing my forehead.

His face darkened. “What do you mean?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. I think I’m just frightened.”

“Don’t be. From what it sounds like, we’ll have cops all around. You won’t even have to deal with this crazy animal.”

“I hope not. Well, I’d better go to Emma,” I said, still feeling uneasy about the entire thing.

He leaned down and kissed me again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Thane.”

He shut the door and watched me as I started the engine and left.

***

I parked the car in the garage and walked over to Fred and Arlene’s. When Fred answered the door, I stared at him, thinking back to what Thane had said about Ray.

“Oh, your hair looks great,” he said, nodding. “Emma is going to love it.”

“Where is she?”

“In the house playing checkers with Arlene, I’ll get her.”

“Wait – can I talk to you a minute?” I asked. “Alone?”

“Of course,” he said, shutting the door behind him. He waved toward the wooden rockers on the porch. “Why don’t we have a seat?”

“Okay,” I said, sitting down.

He sat on the chair next to me and leaned sighed. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Ray.”

He didn’t say anything for a while and then he gave me a sheepish grin. “What can I say?”

“Why did you do it?”

He reached over and grabbed my hand. “Did I ever tell you about my first wife?”

“Bits and pieces?”

He patted my hand. “She was a fine woman. So sweet, and so damn beautiful. We married fairly young, you know…”

I nodded.

The smile left his face. “She was a good woman. Had a heart of gold, she did. She was also very… naïve. Believed the best in everyone. Always willing to give them a second chance. Even those who didn’t deserve it.”

“Don’t you think that everyone deserves a second chance?”

“I do, but only those people who are willing to change for it.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

He nodded. “Anyway, back to the story…”

I waited, but he didn’t say anything.

“Fred?”

“She was raped,” he said, his voice suddenly hollow. “Not once, but twice. By the same man.”

I stared at him in horror. “What?”

“She was raped one night when I was at work,” he said, looking away. “Raped and left to die.” Fred began to cry quietly. “I wasn’t even there to protect her, I was too busy trying to protect everyone else. Mr. Big-shot-rookie-cop.”

My own eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry.”

He wiped his face. “She… she was a good Christian woman, one who went to church and did everything she could in the community to help others. She prayed. She made me pray. I’m not what you’d call a religious guy, but I did it for her. I loved the woman more than life itself.”

“Did they catch him?”

He nodded. “They caught him and he served his time. When he was in prison, he sent her letters, apologizing for what he did. Telling her how bad he felt. How he’d found Jesus and would never lay a finger on another woman again.”

“She read them?”

“She sure did. I didn’t want her to, but she did. Like I said, she was a woman like no other.” He took a ragged breath and went on. “She sent him a letter back, telling him that she forgave him. That she was happy that he found God and wanted to start over.” His face darkened. “But it was all an act. It was calculated. He was obsessed with her and wanted to win her over.”

“Why?”

“Because he was playing with her. He knew she wouldn’t read his letters if he said what he really wanted to say.”

“How do you know he was lying?”

“Because after he got out, he went after her again,” he said.

“He did?”

“Grabbed her when she was walking our dog. Shot the dog and then kidnapped her,” he said hoarsely. “Two days later I had to identify her body in the morgue.”

I covered my mouth. “Oh, my God.”

“The report said she was raped again before he murdered her. He also bit her. Actually put bite marks on my wife’s skin. Up and down her body.”

I shuddered. “What a monster.”

“He was. He also had an alibi. A friend of his said they were at his cabin fishing during that time.”

“But you knew they were lying?”

“Yes. Of course they were lying.”

“What did you do?”

He smirked. “Let’s just say that justice was served and that monster never had a chance to hurt anyone else, ever again.”

“Oh.”

“I knew I couldn’t prove it, but he’d killed her. Just like we couldn’t prove everything Ray had done. Justice needed to be served, before he returned and finished you off, Sera. There was no way that I was going to take that chance.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything. I was so overwhelmed with everything he’d told me.

“Now,” he stood up. “That’s the last I’m going to speak of it. I’d appreciate it if you’d just forget about Ray and live your life to the fullest and without fear, Sera. You and Emma deserve to.”

Just then, the front door opened up and Emma barreled out of the house. “Mommy! Your hair is back to normal!”

“It is,” I said, standing up.

She hugged me. “Does that mean we don’t have to hide anymore?”

I looked at him over her head and nodded. “That’s right, pumpkin.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Sera

I’d just put Emma to bed when Thane called my cell phone.

“Would it be all right if Sinclair stays over tonight?”

“Of course,” I replied without hesitation. “Is she afraid to go home?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d be frightened, too.”

“I’m going to drop her off at your place and then I have to run a couple of errands. I’ll be back afterwards.”

“What about Reed?”

“He’s going to stick around and see if Michael shows up.”

“That’s crazy. By himself?”

“I think Jesse was going to hang out there too. At least for tonight.”

“Ah…”

“Do you… do you think they’re going to run into any problems?”

I sighed. “I really don’t know, Thane. I wish I could just close my eyes and find these things out, but it never works that way.”

“I understand.”

“Thanks for believing in me, though,” I said, smiling into the phone.

“You’re the one thing I truly believe in, Sera.”

“You’re sweet.”

“Don’t let anyone know.”

I laughed. “I don’t think you hide it as well as you think you do.”

He chuckled. “Are you saying my growl is worse than my bite?”

“I’m saying your growl sounds like a kitten’s mewl these days.”

“I’ll have to work on it.”

“No, I like you docile.”

“I’ll show you docile.”

I grinned. “I’m sure you will. Anyway, Emma is asleep. I’ll watch for your car.”

“I’ll let Sinclair know. Thanks, babe.”

“Of course. I’ll watch for you both.”

“Okay.”

***

An hour later, Sinclair and I were sitting on my sofa watching the beginnings of a thunderstorm out the window.

“We really needed this rain,” I said, thinking about Emma and Arlene’s garden. This year they’d planted even more flowers and vegetables. It had been a hot and dry summer, however, so we were constantly watering it by hand.

“I know,” said Sinclair. “Maybe it will even continue on until tomorrow. This heat is already starting to get to me.”

“Wait until you’re into your sixth and seventh month. You’ll find yourself hot even in cold weather.”

She rubbed her stomach. “But I’ll also get to feel the baby move, and I can’t wait for that.”

I smiled. “It’s a wonderful experience. It’s one thing that I miss about being pregnant.”

“Will you ever have any more children?”

“I hope so,” I said, thinking about Thane. We’d started talking about getting married and now that Ray was gone, we could move forward in our relationship without having to worry about me still being married to him.

“You’re obviously a great mother.”

“Thank you,” I replied, smiling.

“And thank you for letting me stay here, Sera. Reed said we’d be fine at my apartment, but I was just too freaked out.”

“Do you think Michael actually knows where you live?”

“I’m sure he does. Now that I know he’s really in town, I wouldn’t doubt if he’s watching it.”

“Do you think he knows Reed is now staying with you?”

“That, I don’t know.” She frowned. “And that is what scares me the most. I’m frightened that something is going to happen to him, but he’s being so bullheaded. He thinks he can handle this guy by himself.”

“Does he own a gun?”

She nodded.

“Well at least he has something to protect himself with. I also heard Jesse will be with him.”

She snorted. “I love Jesse, but… he’s not a fighter. Unless you steal his hair-gel. Then he might get up and into your face.”

I laughed.

Her face became serious. “So, what’s it like to have psychic powers?”

“To be honest, it’s frustrating. I can’t control it and sometimes I get these… impressions but I can’t always understand them.”

“But you knew the old lady was really Michael because you
sensed
it?”

“Yes, I knew something was off about Mrs. Michaelson, and not just the name. I even followed her into the bathroom and that’s when it really hit me. I also got this other image that was really disturbing,” I said, lowering my voice. “Do you know if he’s kidnapped other women, besides yourself?”

“I really don’t know. I guess I wouldn’t doubt it. Why?”

I told her about the image I’d gotten of a woman tied to a bed and screaming.

She shuddered. “That’s horrible. I hope the police catch him and put him away for good.”

“Me, too. Are they setting up an actual
sting
tomorrow?”

Sinclair nodded. “Yes, in fact we had to call the other customers with appointments and reschedule them. The people in the shop tomorrow will be undercover police officers.”

I sighed in relief. “At least they’re taking us seriously.”

“Reed harped on the detective last night, until he had no choice but to believe us.”

“You must be tired,” I said, standing up. “Especially being pregnant. You should get some sleep.”

“I’m exhausted but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.”

Just as I was about to offer her a cup of warm milk, the lights went out.

“What’s going on?” she gasped, getting to her feet.

I tried to reassure her. “Maybe one of the electrical poles was hit by a bolt of lightning?”

Another flash lit up the sky. “Yeah, maybe,” she said, staring out the window.

“I’ll get some candles,” I said. “Just sit down on the sofa so you don’t trip over anything and fall.”

“Okay.”

I used my cell phone as a light and went into the kitchen, where I pulled out a lighter and three candles. As I began lighting the first candle, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. I quickly turned toward the kitchen door, prepared to see someone staring back at me through the window, but there was nothing.

I sighed in relief and began lighting the other candles.

“Sera?” called Sinclair.

“I’m coming,” I answered, grabbing two of the candles. I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, but she wasn’t there.

“Sinclair?”

It was then that I noticed the front door was slightly ajar.

“Sinclair?” I called, walking toward it. I opened the door wider and looked outside, into the rain. What I saw made my heart stop – a man was struggling with Sinclair, trying to drag her to his car, which was running. Her long hair was twisted around his fist and he was pushing her forward with the other.

“Sera!” she screamed, trying to get away.

Gasping, I ran outside through the rain and up to the couple. “Let her go!” I hollered, trying to shove him away from her.

He let go of her hair and backhanded me.

“No,” she screamed as I fell backwards. Sinclair elbowed him in the ribs and he let go of her completely. She then raked her fingernails across his face and he hollered angrily.

I stood back up and then both of us were running toward the house. I reached the doorway first and slammed it shut when she was inside. Locking it, I turned to her. “Call the police!”

Sobbing, she grabbed her cell phone off of the coffee table.

“Mommy, what’s going on?” asked Emma.

I turned to find her standing in the hallway, looking frightened beyond belief.

“Go to your room and hide under the bed,” I ordered, rushing toward her. “Stay there until I tell you it’s safe.”

The sound of breaking glass in the kitchen made all three of us gasp.

“The front door!” I whispered, changing my mind. “We need to get out of here and get to Fred.”

Sinclair turned and ran back toward the front door as I picked up Emma and followed. She flung it open and I pointed to Fred’s. “Go that way.”

As we were racing down the porch steps, Sinclair’s foot caught on something and she fell forward, landing on her knees.

“Come on,” I cried, reaching for her hand.

Crying, she got up and we started running toward Fred’s driveway when Michael rounded the corner, his gun pointed at us.

“Stop right there unless you want to lose that little girl,” he said, grinning like a lunatic. He was between both houses and moving slowly through the rain.

We froze.

“Please, don’t do this,” begged Sinclair. “Let us go.”

“I’ll let them go if you come with me, Sinclair,” he said as the rain continued pouring over us. With his pale skin and pointy features, he looked truly ghoulish.

She held up her hands. “Okay. Just, put the gun down and I’ll do whatever you want.”

“No. You step away from those two and get into the trunk. Then we’ll leave together.”

“You promise not to hurt them.”

“I’m not making any promises, Sinclair. But, if you do what I ask, there’s a good chance that all three of you will walk away unharmed.”

It was then that I saw Fred’s silhouette, coming up behind Michael.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, trying to stall him.

“Because she’s mine,” he said, motioning toward Sinclair. “And she knows it.”

Shuddering, I thought back to Ray and how he’d sounded just as insane.

“Put your gun down, young man,” ordered Fred.

Michael stiffened up, his smile now cold. “I have my gun aimed at the child. Can you see the red dot?”

I hadn’t noticed the red light emitting from Michael’s gun, until now. It was aimed our way and all of the blood rushed to my head as I thought of my baby getting shot.

“This isn’t your business, neighbor,” said Michael, when Fred didn’t respond.

“You’ve made it my business,” he said cocking his gun. “Put your gun down. Now.”

A set of headlights moved toward us and I knew immediately it was Thane. As the car pulled closer, everything seemed to happen at once. Michael turned around and fired his gun at Fred, who was still about fifteen-feet away. He fired back at the same time and I watched in horror as Fred fell to his knees, while Michael remained standing.

“Run,” I screamed at Sinclair, putting Emma down onto the grass.

We both took off in opposite directions as Thane’s car barreled over the curb directly toward Michael. The gun went off again, just before Thane crashed into him.