Shattered (LOST #3)(67)

“What?”

“The man who took Molly Guthrie may be waiting inside or . . .” Jax exhaled slowly. “Maybe he just thinks I’m a dumbass who will walk straight into a building that’s probably wired to explode if I so much as breathe on the door.”

“Jax, stay where you are, do you understand? I’m on my way!”

He could see police cars rushing down the road. Their sirens weren’t blaring—a good thing. He’d warned them to come in silently, just in case. “Better hurry,” Jax told Brent. “Looks like the show is getting started.”

HE HUMMED AS he positioned his prey. Moving him a bit to the left, because he wanted this picture to be absolutely perfect. He’d sliced with his knife, a drive straight to the fool’s heart. In and out.

Easy.

He wondered when the body would be found. Who would find it. Oh, but he could hardly wait to see what would come next.

His knife tapped on his victim’s face. Then cut through the gag. But the guy wasn’t trying to talk anymore. He wasn’t doing anything.

He was stone-cold dead.

THERE WAS A line of police cruisers leading up to 508 Dubois Street. Lots of cop cars, but, thankfully, no terrible blaze rising into the air.

As soon as Brent braked his car, Sarah leapt out. She could see Carlos in the vehicle behind her. A silent guard who was still shadowing her. Sarah didn’t stop to talk with him. She ran toward the cops, calling, “Jax! Jax!”

“I’m here, Sarah.”

She turned.

He was leaning against the front of a patrol car. Looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. His arms were crossed over his powerful chest. He had on a short-sleeved, white T-shirt, and the shirt stretched over his muscles and contrasted with the dark swirl of his tattoos.

She rushed to him and had one of those instances in which she wasn’t sure if she wanted to yell at him for taking such an insane risk or if she just wanted to hug him tight.

But then, she didn’t do either thing. She stumbled to a stop in front of him. Sarah glared up at Jax. “Do you have some kind of death wish?”

One blond brow rose. “Not to my knowledge.”

Not to his . . . Her teeth clenched. “When a psychopath calls you, you don’t run out to confront him yourself!”

He was staring over her shoulder, at the old house. “He wasn’t here.”

Sarah wanted to catch that guy—so badly—but she was glad he hadn’t been there. “Good, that’s why you’re still alive.”

His gaze shifted to focus on her.

“He’s baiting you.”

“He said he would kill you. That he would slice you up, Sarah.” His hands closed around her shoulders. “You think I would let that happen?”

“And do you think I want anything happening to you?” No. “He’s pulling you into this mess because of me. Because he knows that we’re involved and he’s using you in order to get to me—”

“He knows things that he shouldn’t.”

Sarah shook her head.

“About my past.” Jax’s voice lowered. “He knows things that I only told you and your LOST members. The bastard said that if I came here, alone, he’d tell me about my past.”

“He’s lying to you,” she said. Couldn’t Jax see that? “I don’t know how he found out—maybe the jerk put a bug in Gabe’s hotel room—but he wasn’t going to tell you anything.”

“I know that.”

The bomb-sniffing dogs were running around, but they didn’t appear to be catching any scents.

“And he knew,” Jax continued roughly, “that I wasn’t coming over to talk. I was coming over to kill him.”

“Jax . . .”

He smiled at her. “But I changed my mind. I called the cops. I didn’t come armed to send the bastard to hell.”

Her heart was beating too fast.

“And do you know why I did it?”

Sarah shook her head.

“For you. Because I wanted you to think I was more than a fucking killer.” His eyes darkened as he stared at her. “But now I’m wondering, hell, maybe she already thinks that. Everyone else does. What do you see, Sarah, when you look at me?”

She stepped closer to him. “I told you before, I see strength.” Sarah wrapped her arms around him and held tight. “I see the man I want.” A man she was coming to need, more and more, with every moment that passed. “I see you.”

She stayed there with him, her hands linked with his, and she watched as the cops searched the scene. They didn’t turn up any bombs and the man they were looking for wasn’t there.

Maybe he never had been.

Maybe it was all just one of his sick games.

The sun rose, sliding higher and higher into the sky. By the time the cops gave the all-clear, it was close to noon.

And Sarah knew exactly what she had to do. “Will you . . . come with me, Jax?”

“Where?”

“Back to my past. There’s someone there that I have to face.” She didn’t want to see him. Sarah had vowed once that she would never see him again, but, this time, she didn’t have a choice.

It was time for Sarah to visit her dad, Murphy the Monster.

A faint furrow appeared between Jax’s eyes. “But first,” she told him. “We’re going to need to make a little pit stop.”