Casanova Killer (22 page)

Jonathan howled in pain, sending birds and other woodland creatures scattering away from the commotion. Jerry wondered at how part of her brain took in the animals’ movements all the while she fought for her life.

With both legs free, Jerry kicked the knife from Jonathan’s still flailing hand before crashing the rock down one last time on his head. The final blow sent Jonathan slumping onto the ground, a fountain of blood draining the life from his body.

Jerry dropped the rock, grabbed the knife and stepped away from the body. He was dead, or soon would be, and she felt nothing but relief. Standing bent over with her hands on her knees, she caught her breath before straightening to her full height and staring over the cliffs.

The sun was dipping just below the horizon, sending a kaleidoscope of oranges, yellows and reds into the sky above. Without a doubt, it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

Chapter Twenty

“He’s down, she did it.” Rodney relayed the fight between Jerry and Jonathan, blow by blow to Dylan and Nate. All three men breathed a collective sigh of relief at his last words.

“Now we just have to find her.” Nate scoured the shoreline, looking for anything that would stand out in the quickly changing light. Just then, his phone rang.

“It’s me, Boss.” Jerry sounded weary, but strong. “It’s over.”

“Are you okay?” Nate motioned to Dylan that the call was from Jerry.

“Never better,” Jerry joked. “I found my phone in the car, he’d disabled it, but you should be able to track the GPS now. Come and get me, would you?”

“We’re on our way.”

Jerry heard the chopper land only minutes before she saw two figures running up the hill towards her. Two flashlights swung from side to side in the growing dusk as they searched for her location. With keys she’d found in Jonathan’s pocket, she started the car to let the headlights guide them.

Dylan reached her first, grabbing her in a big bear hug before he pushed her away for a head to toe inspection. Satisfied, he passed her off to Nate without saying a word.

“I’m fine, really,” she assured both of them after Nate gave her a once over of his own. “Too bad I can’t say the same for Casanova over there.” She nodded in the direction of Jonathan’s body.

“Gotta love Karma,” Dylan grinned. “She’s a bitch, but she’s fair. Bastard got exactly what he deserved.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Nate headed in the direction of the body, already punching numbers into his phone for the coroner.

“Where’s Ethan?” Jerry asked, confused that he was not with Dylan and Nate. In the darkening minutes that passed since she’d killed Jonathan, thoughts of Ethan had both warmed her and kept her sane.

The shadow crossing Dylan’s face before he turned away gave Jerry her first inkling that something was wrong. Grabbing Dylan’s arms, she made him face her.

“Is he okay, what happened?” The emotion she’d kept neatly in place during the ride in the trunk and during the ordeal with Jonathan was now beginning to spiral out of control.

“He’s fine, he’s safe.” Dylan assured her, dreading the moments ahead more than anything he’d ever done. “He had to leave.”

Jerry searched his face for answers and didn’t like what she saw. “What do you mean, leave? Where did he go?”

“He went back to Europe.” Dylan gingerly removed the camera pin from her scarf and disabled it. “He said to say goodbye.”

Jerry noticed Dylan’s movements and heard the words he spoke, but she didn’t understand what he was saying. “He left, back to Europe? Today? But why?” She felt Dylan lead her back to the car and help her into the passenger seat. Her eyes followed him as he slid into the driver’s side and turned to face her.

“Are you sure you want to have this conversation now? You’ve been through enough.”

“What do you mean,
this conversation
? Tell me what the hell is going on.” Her voice began to rise, the shock from the day’s events threatening to become hysterics. Dylan sighed and took her hands in his.

“I know you love him, but the truth is that he is not worthy of you.” He began, cursing himself silently when tears sprang into her eyes.

“What exactly are you saying, Dylan?”

“Your relationship wasn’t real, it was just a game to him. He was seeing at least three other women that I know of this past week, God knows how many he had during the entire time that he was here.” He watched as horror replace confusion on her face. This was killing him. “I’m sorry, Jerry, but he left this morning, said to tell you, and I quote, ‘It was fun.’”

“No. That’s not possible. He loves me. He would never do that.” Jerry felt her world shift. The always-present part of her that believed she was not worthy of love grew stronger in the aftermath of her denial.

“I have proof.” Dylan said softly.

“Show me.” Jerry whispered, calmly accepting that Dylan was not lying and that she would never be good enough.

“Are you sure?”

“Show me.” She repeated, defeat nearly breaking her in two. It was best to get it all out now, rip the bandage off completely so the wound would begin to heal. As if that will ever happen; the little girl’s voice inside her spoke the truth.

Dylan pulled the pack of photos from his pocket and handed them over to her. “You don’t have to do this now,” he said again. She looked so fragile, so completely unlike the Jerry he knew and loved.

“Yes I do.” Removing the photos, her heart began to pound and sweat broke out over her brow. There was Ethan’s beautiful, lying face, smiling into the eyes of some blond bombshell, the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. The next image was taken at night. He and an attractive brunette lounged on the sand at the water’s edge, the lights of Pier 39 shining in the distance. The third picture showed Ethan and a different blond, he must be partial to bottled color, hanging off the side of a street car, laughing.

Jerry placed the pictures back in the pouch and sat silently for a long moment.

“How is it that you have these?” She finally asked.

“I suspected that he was a scumbag from the moment I laid eyes on him. I knew that you were falling for him, so I had him followed. I never wanted this, Jerry, no matter what I thought of him. You have to believe that.”

“When were you going to tell me?” She felt dead inside, drained as surely as Jonathan’s corpse.

“As soon as I could prove it. I just got the pictures today, this morning in fact, after the scumbag left. I didn’t even get a chance to punch him.” Dylan growled, wishing he could do some serious damage to Ethan’s face right now, no matter how good his reasons were for leaving.

“He’s not worth it.” Her voice was devoid of emotion, the heat and the fury Dylan knew would save her had not yet surfaced.

“He didn’t deserve you, Jer.” Dylan told her as he reached over to take her in his arms. “You deserve so much better.” He stroked her hair and felt the shudders run through her. She was too drained to cry, too hurt to speak. He knew the tears would come soon, he’d seen them in a vision.

“Let’s get you home,” he crooned and rocked her like a child.

Epilogue

“Tell me she’s okay,” Ethan’s demand sounded more like a plea.

“Physically, she’s fine.” Dylan said tersely. He’d spent the better part of the night letting Jerry cry it out on his shoulder. Ethan Barnes was not his favorite person at the moment.

“And otherwise?” Ethan asked, though he already knew the answer. Leaving Jerry had created a hole in his very soul, he could only imagine how much harder it was for her, believing that he’d lied to her and played her for a fool.

“How do you think she’s doing, Barnes? Spare me the stupid questions. Was there another reason for your call?” Dylan still had the urge to bash in Slick’s face.

“No. I just needed to know that she was safe.” Ethan’s voice dropped.

“Read the report, watch the video. It’s all there.” Dylan growled. “Go do what you left her to do.”

“I will. And I’ll be back for her, Dawes. Count on it.”

Dear Reader,

Thank you for making the books of my series, Timeless Trilogy, best sellers at Amazon U.S. and Amazon U.K.; I’m humbled by your loyalty and your kind words.

 Ethan and Jeri find each other again in the third novel of the SSCD series, Bayou Butcher. Discover how Jeri (Jerry) and Ethan meet again after more than two years apart. Will she forgive him? Does he deserve it?  

If you enjoyed the story, please leave a review, no matter how brief. Thank you. For excerpts of my other works and for details of upcoming novels and purchase links visit my website,
http://www.TallulahGrace.com
. Take a look at the Flashy Shorts page to read short stories and flash fiction created just for my fans.

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