The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (37 page)

‘Let’s go home. There’s nothing more
for you here.’

‘Home,’ he said, and as if in a
trance, he stood up and left the office with her.

*   
-    -    -    *

Jared opened one eye and sighed as
he realised that the sun was already on its way down again. He rubbed the
stubble on his face and raked his fingers through his hair as he sat up in bed.

‘I’m coming!’ he yelled at the
ringing cell phone.

The phone ignored Jared and
continued its relentless ringing.

It was Amy’s father. Jared cleared
his throat and pressed the answer button. ‘Hello?’ He raised his voice slightly
to try and give the impression that he had been awake for some time now.

‘Hello, Jared,’ Amy’s father greeted
softly from the other end. ‘Is this a bad time?’

Jared checked his watch. Could it be
five in the afternoon already? ‘No,’ he said. ‘I can talk. How are you?’

There was a moment of silence before
Amy’s father spoke again. ‘Amy,’ he said and paused again. ‘She...’

‘Yes...?’

‘She passed away. Her heart stopped beating...’
the voice broke off in a choke and Jared waited for him to continue. ‘Her heart
stopped beating an hour ago.’

Jared was speechless. He looked at
Natasha. She was lying undisturbed in the spot she had been laying in the past
two days. She smooth contours of her elegant body distracted him. Jared shook
his head to clear it. ‘She’s dead?’

Amy’s father swallowed back the
sobs. ‘Yes...’

Jared knew that he should feel a
deep remorse for Amy’s death, but in actual fact, he felt relieved. It felt
like a huge stumbling block had been removed from his life and he could now
move on to greater things. Natasha would lead him to greatness. She was the
way. She was the truth. ‘I’m...sorry,’ he said. There was nothing else he could
say that would mean much more to the man. ‘I really am.’

‘Who was that?’ Natasha asked when
Jared cut the call. He sat at the edge of the bed, just staring out blankly
ahead of him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her sweet aroma
almost made him lose track of his thoughts.

‘Amy’s father,’ he said. ‘He just
told me that she died an hour ago. The memorial service is at nine on Thursday
morning.’

‘Oh boo hoo,’ Natasha said behind
him and pulled her face in a pantomime of sadness. She gently pulled him back
onto the bed. ‘Come, lover,’ she said. ‘It’s time to put the past behind you
and embrace your future.’

It was always overcast at the
funerals that Jared attended. This was his fifth, and today was no exception.
The clouds billowed thick and grey over Kelwick, adding a depressing mood to an
already morbid event.

Jared observed the people standing
around the grave. Both Amy’s parents were there, sobbing at the loss of their
only child. Her work colleagues were there, all dressed in black too. Scattered
between the friends and family members were people that Jared had only casually
met once or twice before through Amy.

Natasha clutched Jared’s arm as the
people went their own ways after the sermon. Jared pulled away gently. He
didn’t want to give the wrong impression to Amy’s parents. Natasha ignored him
and hooked her arm into his as Amy’s grief-stricken mother and father
approached.

‘Thank you for coming,’ Amy’s mother
said. Jared couldn’t see her eyes behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses, but
he knew that she was looking at Natasha.

Jared merely nodded. ‘I’m so sorry,’
he said and embraced the woman.

‘She had her whole life ahead of
her,’ Amy’s mother said and broke down in tears. ‘She had so many plans, so
many hopes and dreams.’

Amy’s father wrapped his arm around
his wife’s shoulder. ‘This has been hard on all of us,’ he said. ‘We’re still
struggling to come to terms with the reality of the whole thing.’

‘Please let me know if there’s
anything I can do for you,’ Jared said. Natasha snaked her arm through his like
a vine. ‘Anything at all.’

‘Thank you, Jared,’ Amy’s father
said and shook his hand again.

Her mother gave him another hug and
kissed him on the cheek. ‘You two were such a lovely couple,’ she said before
her husband led her away.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Jared said.
He wanted to close this chapter in his life. He wanted to be free. He led
Natasha back to the car and opened the door for her to get in. He was about to
walk around to his side when a figure, leaning against a car not too far off,
caught his attention. Jared frowned. ‘I’ll be right back,’ he said and made his
way to Shaun.

‘Sad day, isn’t it?’ Shaun asked as
Jared approached.

‘What are you doing here?’ Jared
hissed through clenched teeth.

‘Sam and I were her friends, too,’
Shaun said, undeterred by the tone of Jared’s voice. ‘Remember?’

Jared ignored the rhetorical
question. He didn’t have time for childish guilt trips. ‘We’ll talk business at
the office tomorrow,’ he said as he turned to leave.

‘What happened to you, Jared?’

Jared stopped.

‘Why have you changed?’

Jared spun around and advanced upon
Shaun with a quickened pace. ‘I’m not the one who’s changed,’ he said, waving
his index finger under Shaun’s nose. ‘I’m not the traitor.’

‘Traitor?’

Jared laughed. ‘Are you going to
pretend that you have no idea what I’m talking about?’

‘Jared, I...’

‘Are you going to deny telling Amy
that you saw me kissing Natasha?’

Shaun bit his lip and lowered his
eyes.

‘You’re not denying it, are you?’

‘Jared...I did it to save you, to
save the company. Can’t you see that?’ He nodded his head at the passenger in
Jared’s Bentley. ‘She’s bad news. Can’t you see it?’

Jared clenched his balled fists. He
looked at the people mulling around nearby and relaxed his hands. ‘Leave her
out of this.’

‘I just wish you could see,’ he
said. ‘You’re not yourself, Jay. I of all people would know. She’s changed you,
man. It’s like you’re someone else, a complete stranger almost.’

‘If she did change me,’ Jared said.
‘It sure as hell is for the better. I’m so much better off now that I don’t
have these burdens weighing me down.’

‘Burdens? Like what? Amy?’

‘She’s on the list, yes.’

‘You don’t mean that.’

‘Don’t flatter yourself, Shaun,’
Jared said. ‘You’re way up on that list too.’

For a moment there was an
understanding silence between the two. Each knew where they stood with the
other. ‘Go home,’ Shaun finally said. ‘Sleep it off. You reek of alcohol.’

Jared merely stifled a laugh. ‘Enjoy
your last day at Whyte,’ he said. ‘I want your desk cleared out by the
morning.’

‘Gladly,’ Shaun said and opened the
door. Before he got into the car he paused and held up his index finger. ‘Oh,
and one more thing,’ he said. ‘Amy was pregnant.’

*   
-    -    -    *

Jared sat in the dark. The only
light
came from the cyan LED pool light and the occasional
flash of lightning. He twirled the ring between his fingers, replaying Shaun’s
words over and over in his mind.

Amy was pregnant.

Lightning flashed.

Natasha was at her apartment,
preparing for the evening’s function. Jared had to pick her up at eight. He
still had well over half an hour before he had to leave. He picked up the
almost empty bottle of Drambuie and unscrewed the cap. He would have to
re-stock his cabinet.

Pregnant.

Jared took a swig from the bottle,
finishing the last portion of the golden liqueur in one big gulp. A moment
later the alcohol kicked in. His head spun like the empty bottle just before it
crashed and shattered against the cement wall not too far away.

I did it to save you.

Jared spat on the ground. ‘Save me?’
He shouted into the night air. The cry was directed at God Himself. ‘
Save
me? I’m not the one that needs saving!
’

He stumbled into the house to get
another bottle of whatever he could find. Cointreau would have to do. Once he
was back in his seat in front of the pool, he swallowed down a sizable portion
of the bottle in one go. ‘You can’t even shave yourself,’ he slurred. ‘And
now...you want to save me?
Me?
’

Amy was pregnant.

‘Damn you all!’

She’s bad news.

He looked at the ring, wondering if
the world had gone mad. He was still exactly the same Jared Greene that he had
always been. It was everyone else that had changed. Natasha wasn’t bad news.
She was the answer to his prayers.

Can’t you see it?

From his jacket pocket Jared
produced the Smith & Wesson .38 special that he purchased before the
funeral. He lightly shook it up and down to gauge its weight. It felt heavy for
its size. He double checked; all five chambers were loaded. He only needed one
for what he contemplated doing.

I did it to save you
.

Jared pressed the barrel of the
pistol into his mouth and sealed his lips. His teeth scraped the cold metal and
he almost choked.

Amy was pregnant.

He pulled back the hammer.

She’s bad news.

He rubbed his index finger over the
trigger and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Amy was pregnant.

Lightning flashed followed by a clap
of thunder and for a moment Jared pictured the gun going off; a bullet ripping
through his brain before blasting out at the back of his skull. The image
jerked him back to reality and he pulled the gun from his mouth and unclipped
the hammer. He looked at the gun once more and buried it back in his jacket
pocket.

She’s bad news. Can’t you see it?

It wasn’t about not seeing. It was
about finally being able to see. Natasha didn’t change him; she merely made him
see the light. He was blind to the lies his family and friends had spun around
him throughout his life. For the first time in years he felt truly free again.
Free do to as he wanted. Free to raise himself to greatness.

You are the one, Jared Greene. All
power goes to you.

Yes
, Jared thought. ‘All power goes to
me...’
I am the one who can guide people to a better future.

He finished the bottle and looked at
the ring one last time before throwing both the bottle and the ring into the
swimming pool.

I can change the future
, he thought as he made
his way to the Vanquish, bumping over a vase and a chair in the process.
I
have the money, the right contacts, and Natasha.

As he turned the ignition key, a few
drops of rain pattered down gently on the windshield. Within a matter of
minutes, the rain poured down in full fury.

Natasha
, he thought as the engine growled
to life.
My salvation lies with her
.
She’s my everything, and without
her, I am nothing.

*   
-    -    -    *

Rebecca tossed and turned in her
sleep. She moaned softly as her dream engulfed her. In her dream, Jared was
racing down a dead-end street in a very fast car. At the end of the road was a
wall with a target sign painted on it. In the middle of the target were blood
stains. Jared’s laugh echoed in her mind as he stepped on the accelerator,
picking up speed as he raced toward the wall.

Jared stepped on the accelerator. He
wanted to be with Natasha. He
needed
to be with her; to feel her
embrace; to press his lips against hers. He wanted to hear her voice whisper
his name. He wanted to hear her sing.

In Rebecca’s dream, the wall came
closer.

Jared! Stop!
She yelled, but her
voice merely echoed blankly back at her.

The car increased in speed. Jared
threw his head back in laughter as the wall rushed closer.

The truck driver’s eyes blurred. Ten
more minutes until he reached his destination. Ten more minutes before he could
get out of his seat and catch a few hours’ rest. The truck-stop sign told him
that he didn’t have much further to go.

The inside of the cabin lit up as
the tiny flame of a lighter ignited his cigarette.

This’ll keep me company until then
, he thought and smiled.
A woman’s voice rang over the radio and he joined in with her as loud as he
could.

The truck was approaching. It would
have to be timed just right. The figure on the side of the road stared as the
truck advanced upon him from the right.

Not yet...

He looked to his left. In the
distance two headlights of an approaching car appeared through the thick
blanket of rain.

Not yet...

The truck was almost upon him.

Now!

The figure took a deep breath and
stepped into the road in front of the truck.

‘What the—?’ the truck driver
shouted and jerked at the wheel. The truck swerved to the left, into the oncoming
traffic lane.

In Rebecca’s dream, the wall was
almost upon Jared. Her son laughed as he drove faster and faster toward his
impending doom. He looked at Rebecca and winked at her. She wanted so much to
be with him; to see him one last time. She tried to reach out to him, but
couldn’t.

Jared! Please! Stop!

He gave her a thumbs up.

Please! I beg you!

A second later, Jared smashed into
the concrete wall.

The truck driver’s stomach flipped
when he saw the oncoming lights. ‘Turn, you beast!’ he yelled as he pulled the
truck to the left again. ‘Turn, damn you!’

Jared had a split second to react to
avoid a head-on collision with the truck.

Lights blurred.

Tires screamed.

Rubber burned.

The truck jack-knifed and the load
came at Jared with full force, blocking the entire road. There was nowhere to
turn. Nowhere to go. In a second he would smash into the truck at full speed.

He yanked the steering wheel to his
right and the car left the road and shot up the embankment. It tilted as it
went up the steep slope. For a split second Jared was overcome with relief. He
was actually going to make it.

He was wrong.

The end of the truck slammed into
the back of the car, sending it soaring through the air for what felt like an
eternity before it finally crashed into the road. Sparks shot in every
direction as the car skid down the road, moving into the other lane as it went.