He had spent nearly half of his life behind these walls, and during that time, the darkness that gave him the strength to destroy his adoptive mother’s boyfriend had grown inside him, taken root, and become a permanent part of him. He tried his best to hide it, but each day it grew stronger, as if he had left a part of him behind, or perhaps it had lain dormant. Now, he felt it stronger than ever. His pointed incisors and the restless flow of excess energy just beneath his skin served as constant reminders.
He had been waiting for over an hour. His sponsor, Dr. Rothschild, had given him her number, but with no cell phone, he had no way to call her, not that he would have. He refused to set foot inside the prison again, not even long enough to make a phone call, so he waited, placing his earbuds in his ears to pass the time and quiet his mind.
Jaci dropped her briefcase on the bar and kicked off her shoes as soon as she made it home. Exchanging her suit for a kaftan, she sighed with the relief accompanying the removal of her bra, then padded back to the kitchen in her house shoes. Washing her hands three times first, she opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a small container of chicken salad and a take-out garden salad with a special order of extra blue cheese dressing.
Placing the salads on the bar, she sat down, then reached back in and added a few strawberries and grapes to her menu for the night, along with two bottles of water. The way she saw it, as long as she added vegetables and fruit, everything else was fair game. At least no one could say she had completely strayed from her diet.
The minute she took the first bite, her stomach lurched. What am I doing? What gives me the right to…?
She shoved the food back into the refrigerator and ran down the hallway to her bedroom. Donning a pair of jeans, she considered skipping the bra, but decided that might not be the impression she wanted to make. After adding a t-shirt, she grabbed her wallet and keys, setting the alarm before she dashed out to her mini-SUV.
Dialing Frank’s number as soon as she pulled out of the parking lot to confirm, she raced toward the halfway house where she’d asked Frank to deliver Andreus.
“Hey, Frank. Did you take him to the one on Old Shell?”
“Yeah. What are you doing, Jaci?”
“I’m on my way to get him.”
“Why don’t you wait until—?”
“Don’t they still lock the doors at seven?”
“Jaci, listen to me. I really think you should—”
“You know I’m not hearing that. Thanks for covering the gap, Frank. I’m gonna take tomorrow off. I’ll check in with you later.”
She turned into the driveway of the halfway house and hit the “end call” button on her cell. Glancing at the digital clock on her dashboard before turning off the ignition, she took note of the time, letting out a sigh of relief that she had made it before lockdown. Jaci took another deep breath, then stepped out of the SUV.
She had barely rang the bell when the door swung open, revealing a tall, thin blonde man with a familiar face. “Jaci?”
She smiled, genuinely happy to see him. He was one of the few men she knew who wouldn’t give her a bunch of bull about whether or not she should be sponsoring a parolee who’d been convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He’d worked at the prison with her, and knew she could handle herself.
“Hey, Steve. I’m so glad you’re working tonight. I had an emergency earlier today so Frank brought Andreus Shannon here for me. Where do I sign to pick him up?”
Steve whipped out the record book for Jaci to sign. “I showed him his room and he hasn’t been back out yet, not even to go to the head. You know I watch ‘em like an overprotective papa when they first get here. He declined dinner, so maybe he’ll eat something once you get him settled. He’s a cold one. You can see it in his eyes.”
“Brrr.” Steve shuddered, then laughed, his shoulders moving up and down as he thoroughly enjoyed his own joke.
Nothing quite like the sense of humor of a reformed ex-con, Jaci thought.
“Guess I might be a little cold myself if I’d been in prison since I was sixteen,” Jaci said, offering him an accommodating smile.
“I know that’s right. I was pretty cold myself when I first got out, but this is different. Something else going on with this one. I wouldn’t say evil, but something… I don’t know.”
“Creepy?” Jaci offered.
Steve hunched his shoulders and lifted his hands, palms up. “You’ll see what I mean. I’ll go get him for you.”
Still exhausted from crying all afternoon, Jaci leaned against the front desk and waited.
A few moments later, Steve returned with Andreus several feet behind him, a brown duffel bag slung over his right shoulder. The details of his crime etched in her mind, Jaci did a quick once-over, noticing his striking features, but once she looked into his stark green eyes, she could not look away. Mesmerizing. This is gonna be interesting.
Although she was not one to wax mystical or paranormal, the first phrase popping into Jaci’s head was “dark force.” If the man’s presence hadn’t been so intense, she would have laughed at herself for sounding like a sci-fi nerd, but Andreus’ aura flooded the room, overtaking it like a flash tsunami. No one and nothing else could compete for her attention when their eyes met.
Andreus approached her, obviously being careful not to get too close.
Jaci extended her hand. “Hi. I’m Dr. Rothschild. Call me Jaci.”
Andreus looked at her hand, and time seemed to slow to a crawl, the old wall clock ticking loudly.
Finally, he accepted it, covering her hand with his. “Andreus.”
Unable to help herself, Jaci gasped. The very air seemed to spark, crackling around them with kinetic energy, and she was sure he felt it too because the spark was reflected in his eyes and he took a step back from her.
Jaci shook it off as a fluke
“I…apologize for not being there to pick you up. Thank God for Frank.”
“Thank you for coming here now.”
“You’re very welcome, and on that note, we’d better get out of here before Steve locks us both in.”
“Good to see you, Steve. Catch ya later.”
She turned and headed for the door, Andreus on her heels. She was careful not to touch him again, but found that his deep, melodious voice left her wanting to hear more from him, to know more about him.
Andreus followed Jaci to her car and held the door for her to slide into the driver seat before walking around to the passenger side. The night air felt good, but his back began to ache, his shoulder blades and spine suddenly throbbing. He knew it was not a result of his workout. In addition to the pain, a sense of foreboding grew more intense the longer they remained outside.
The moment he saw her, memories started to resurface from his dreams, Jaci’s face front and center. They had never met before, but there was a strong connection between them in some way. When they touched, he had felt intense pain, hers, and he sensed that some entity or group of entities would take great measures to keep them apart.
“Thank you, Andreus. Nice to meet a rare gentleman these days.”
He had no idea what to say to her. Starting conversations wasn’t something he had ever been good at, so he simply watched the road, periodically surveying their surroundings.
“So Steve told me you didn’t eat anything. Prison food is the worst, so I’m sure you have a craving for something. I’m not much of a cook, but we can stop and get whatever you want. Just say the word.”
Jaci seemed oblivious to the ominous energy brewing around them as its intensity continued to grow, making it hard for him to concentrate on what she was saying.