Chapter 28

Jessica got out of Andrew's car and started digging in her purse for her wallet as she walked toward the door. Someone grabbed her arm and dragged her to a red pickup truck. She started to resist but he jabbed her with a gun.

"I'll kill your boyfriend after I shoot you if you resist, Lily," a voice with a thick accent whispered harshly. "Just like I did your sister's husband."

"I'm not..." Jess started to refute him, but when she turned and saw his face, her eyes fell on his scars. Her brain caught up with his words as he pulled her into his truck. "Omigawd, you shot Ian?"

"Just in the leg... Close the door and put your seatbelt on or you can bleed out here and watch your boyfriend die too... I just want to talk to you," Erik insisted then lied, "I'll let you go if you talk to me."

"Oh... okay... Just don't hurt my family," Jess tried to raise her voice and sound as much like Lily as she could. "What do you want from me, Erik?"

"Put these on, now, or I will shoot your boyfriend when he comes back to the entrance." He held out a pair of handcuffs and a sleeping mask she recognized from her apartment.

"Please don't hurt him." Begging for Andrew's life when he waived the gun at her, she obeyed, clicking the cuffs around her wrists, then covering her eyes.

He put the truck in gear and started driving away from the hospital. "You and I have a lot to talk about. Marlana was just a stupid girl who believed in foolish myths. You caused me so much trouble because of her."

Pretending to be Lily, Jessica refuted him, "She was my best friend. You killed her and left her for the seagulls to peck."

"She was supposed to wash away with the tide but you found her. What were you doing there?"

Jess bowed her head, remembering every detail Lily had told her about that day. "She wanted me to meet you. She said you were her soul mate."

He laughed. It was the most evil sound Jess had ever heard. His words horrified her, "They all think that... But not you... You could see the truth of what I am. I want to know how."

Jess didn't know how to answer his demand, so she stayed quiet. Feeling the truck turn, she was very aware of where she was. He was heading for causeway to the marina district. If he put her on a boat, her chance of escaping would go down dramatically, but so would his. She had already decided she was going to kill him or die trying to protect Lily if he tried to snatch her. She exhaled sharply when he poked her with the gun.

"Tell me how you knew."

"I knew because you killed Marlana," Jess insisted.

"Did you? You told her something was wrong with me before I killed her. How did you know?" He demanded again, angrier. When she didn't answer, he punched her in the side and she gasped for breath.

"Answer me."

Jess had seen his social media pages and they showed he was a narcissist, but she couldn't say that, she had to say what Lily would say. "I... I just felt it."

"You felt it?" He growled then asked, "Did you also feel something was wrong when you attacked me on New Year's Eve?"

"Yes," Jess whimpered. She could smell the sea air now. "I saw you with the girl who looked like Marlana and I knew you were going to kill her." Jess pretended to sob, "Did you have to use her mala?"

"I did... It was like I could still feel the last moments of their lives when I touched the beads. I never believed in souls or anything spiritual until then... Is that why you gave them to your sister to keep? Because you could feel it too? I was told you tried to kill yourself after you got them back." Erik chuckled as he added, "I am so glad you failed."

The truck slowed then started up the causeway bridge. Jess smiled slightly as she peeked out the edge of the lace on the sleepmask, watching Erik reach to downshift the gears as the truck climbed to the top. The gun was in his lap.

"I'm glad Lily failed too."

"What did you say?" Erik started to reach back for the gun.

Jess twisted her wrists as she pressed the release button. The prank handcuffs fell off as she attacked him. Knocking the gun into the floorboard, Jess rotated and kicked Erik as hard as she could with her back braced against the door.

"I'm Jess... And you will. Never. Hurt. My sister. Again." She rammed her feet into his arm, hip, and ribs with all her strength and every word.

He shouted in pain as the truck swerved and flipped onto its side, sliding down the road. She kicked him in the head as hard as she could, savoring the sickening crack of his jaw. His arm hung uselessly. Panting and bruised, she released her seatbelt and then kicked out the windshield. She flung out the gun, so it laid out of reach on the road.

Grabbing his face, Jess hissed her hate for him. "Fuk you, Erik! You ruined my sister Lily's life. You're going to prison for attacking my family and Marlana and all the girls you've killed." His eyes widened in fear as she promised, "And your father's fuking money won't save you this time. You screwed with the wrong sisters, because once I am working for the FBI organized crime unit, I am going to make certain he gets audited or investigated in every country he does business in every year for the rest of his life. I will destroy him while you sit in prison and watch." She crawled out, and screamed toward the people who stopped, "Help! Help! He kidnapped me, help."

Looking back at him, struggling to release his seatbelt, Jess flashed him a malevolent smile, then she staggered to her feet, playing the damsel in distress and falling into the good samaritan's arms, crying, "He's got a gun."

As Erik crawled out, the police arrived. Two of those who stopped were pointing guns at him. "Stay where you are!"

He stood but he couldn't speak with his broken jaw as the police joined the armed citizens. "Get on your knees! Hands on your head!"

He looked between his gun on the road and the police. Suddenly, he sprinted and jumped off the bridge as the police shouted at him to stop. As he fell he was shocked to see a large container ship below instead of open water. Jess and the other bystanders rushed to the edge, only to watch him collide with the edge of a steel shipping container then cartwheel into the water like a ragdoll. Staring down at the water, Jess knew he was dead. She had broken one arm and the collision with the ship broke the other. She hoped the sharks found him before the Harbor Patrol.

"Miss Johansen, are you hurt?" An officer demanded.

"I'm fine. Just bruised. How do you know who I am?"

"There's a city-wide APB out for you. What happened?"

"He kidnapped me at gunpoint from the hospital. When I realized he was trying to take me to his dad's boat to kill me at sea, I kicked him to cause the crash then climbed out," Jess answered honestly. "He said he shot my brother-in-law. I need to get back to the hospital. I need my purse and phone."

Another officer came over, "An ambulance is coming to check you out but Detective Javier wants you to wait here if you aren't badly injured."

Jess gritted her teeth but nodded. "Can I at least get my cell phone from my purse?"

"I'll get them. Just stay here."

The way the second officer looked at her made Jess groan inside, so she snapped, "Yes, I worked as a stripper to pay for college. Any other question you don't want to ask me?"

The man narrowed his eyes. "Why did a guy who kidnapped a stripper jump off the bridge?"

Jess tipped her chin, and admitted, "He has targeted my little sister since he killed her roommate three years. Tonight, he kidnapped me because I let him. He can't tell us apart. And he jumped because he is a serial killed with over a dozen victims just in Florida and would go to prison for the rest of his life. Any more questions?"

He stared at her with his mouth open then he asked, "So what are you doing next week?"

Smiling beautifully, she held up her left hand and answered truthfully, "Getting maybe married, but it's going to be a short honeymoon because I am going to Virginia for the FBI agent training next month." An unmarked police car with a light pulled up and stopped. "Excuse me, I believe that is Detective Javier who I have been working with for the last two months to catch that murderer." She walked away from him with a proud walk. Stopping at Erik's truck, she pulled her purse out of the debris and sent a text to the family group.

I'm safe. Erik jumped off the Sunshine causeway bridge to keep from getting arrested. Pretty sure he is dead-dead this time. Detective Javier here. Be back to hospital soon. Love you all.

<<@>>

Andrew and Lily looked at their phones at the same time and both sagged in relief as Hillary muttered, "Thank the lord."

Evie stood, "I'll go tell Kitty what happened."

"Mrs. Hastings?" The doctor stood in the door.

"How's Ian?" Lily clung to her aunt's hand, pulling her back down.

"He's going to be fine. There was a fragment of the bullet that was caught in a vein and moved to his lung. We were very lucky it didn't catch in his heart as it passed through. We had to remove part of his lung, but he isn't bleeding and is breathing without distress. He's going to be in the ICU for a while, but his prognosis is very good. He is in recover, and you can see him now."

Everyone exclaimed their relief as Lily wept. She wiped her eyes then looked at Ava. "Uhm?"

"Go, we'll watch her," Evie insisted, taking baby Ava.

As Lily rushed out, Hillary held her arms out for her granddaughter. "Go and check on Kitty. We'll be right here when you get back."

Nodding, Evie went to talked to her eldest grand-niece, with a prayer of thanksgiving in her heart that no one except Erik died.

Andrew hugged his mother and niece. "You know, Mom, this has been the worst seven months of our life."

"Actually, it's been the best with a few hiccups. Lily gave us this angel after an accident that should have killed them both, she recovered from her incident on the ice, and took Ian back after I made a fool of myself. Jessica chose you when she could have easily hated us the way most of her family does, then she escaped that lunatic stalking Lily. Ian will recover. Kitty will recover, and we still have all our family members." Hillary inhaled and exhaled slowly. "It's been a very fortunate seven months."

Andrew nodded, then grinned at her, "Who are you and what have you done with my suspicious mother?"

"She became a grandmother and realized love is more important for my boys than keeping them safe." Hillary patted Ava's bottom and smiled at the baby. "And Grandmother has to change a diaper now."

<<@>>

Two weeks later...

Jess checked her makeup then turned to Lily. "Are you ready?"

"Are you sure this is okay?" Lily asked.

"Absolutely! I always hoped for a double wedding with one of my half-sisters," Jess insisted.

"Liar! You vowed you would never get married," Kitty reminded as she walked in. "It's time. The boys are getting ancy. I can still drive you both out of here."

Lily giggled then apologized, "No thank you... I'm just happy you are both here this time. I'm sorry I didn't include you last time. I know you both love me and worry but I love Ian and it isn't just me being sunshiny. I really do and he loves me. I love you both so much."

Kitty stepped between her sister and her half-sister who looked so similar but were as different as spring and fall. She kissed each on the temple. "As long as you are both happy, then I am happy for you. I love you sissy. I love you half-sissy."

"I love you, half-sissies," Jess grinned at them. "You're the best sisters I could ever have."

"Girls! Come down," Aunt Evie's voice echoed up the stairs.

Lily and Jess both picked up bouquets of tiger lilies cut from the garden outside and followed Kitty downstairs, where their half-brothers waited to walk them down the aisle and their half-sisters waited to be bridesmaids. Their family was as far from traditional as one could get but none of them would trade it for another. Aunt Evie smiled at the girls and kissed them both on the cheek. As the processional music played, she carried a picture of Ava while Hillary carried baby Ava as they walked to their seats. Andrew stood tall while Ian sat in a wheelchair, but the brothers smiled at their brides-to-be when the wedding march began.

It was a good day for a double wedding on the shore of Lake Michigan at the Tiger Lily Inn.

<<@>>

I hope you enjoyed, it needs a lot of re-writing but it was the project I rolled for the 85K90. Thanks for reading this rough draft. Remember if you are feeling depressed or self-harming, you can talk to someone by calling 9-8-8 in the US.

Be blessed.