Mind Games (Games Thriller Series) (5 page)

Chapter 13

Chris bolted out of sleep, jumped out of bed, and flew into the bathroom as the scream filled his head. He looked into the mirror in time to see her whisper “Ty help me” and saw Frank slam into her and then Frank’s unspeakable words of paying a visit to Emily.

Fury overwhelmed him and it escaped his control along with the command hissing from his lips. “Shatter!”

The image crumbled and was gone.

Instantaneously, fear replaced the fury and his legs gave way, collapsing beneath him as sure as the glass in the image. He caught himself on the sink. “Jess!”

He couldn’t see her anymore and hot panic raced through his blood. The echo of the fortuneteller’s words pinging in his brain.

This is what Eric must have felt like when he couldn’t see her in the complex
.

“Eric,” he said. Eric had once found him psychically and Chris stared at the mirror, concentrating on getting a message to the boy who saved his life.

The reflection in the mirror altered and with a blink, he stood in a room he didn’t recognize and there was a commotion in the hallway on the other side of the door. A boy was sleeping in the bed and Chris reached out, shaking the child.

Eric looked up groggily at first and then his eyes went wide.

“Please tell me your mom is all right,” Chris said. The urgency in his voice caused Eric to glance in the direction of the commotion.

Eric stood up and opened his door. Tom was leading his mom out of the guest room, she looked a little sh
aken up, but otherwise she was okay. He closed the door and looked back at Chris. “She’s okay.” Eric nodded and the image faded.

Chris knelt down over the toilet and threw up, shaking violently.

“Holy shit,” he gasped, leaning back against the wall.

He broke those mirrors, not Jessica.

Chapter 14

Jessica grabbed a glass of orange juice and curled into the overstuffed family room chair while Tom poured himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. Still shaken from the encounter, she shivered and closed her eyes.

“He was here.”

Eric’s voice cut through the haze and her eyes flew open to her thirteen-year-old kneeling on the floor before her. “You saw him?”

Eric nodded. “He was worried about you.” He glanced toward Tom and back. “What’s happening
, Mom?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Then why would he come to me?”

Jessica thought for a moment. “Because my mirror was broken and he couldn’t see me.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“He broke the mirrors to protect us,” Jessica said.

“From what?” Eric shot a glare in Tom’s direction.

Jessica saw the glare and her heart broke. “Eric, Tom isn’t hurting me.”

“Then what was he protecting you from?”

“A ghost,” Tom answered.

“The bad man,” Eric gasped, his eyes going wide, causing both Tom and Jessica to break out in goose bumps.

Jessica shot Tom a look that told him to keep his mouth shut. Eric didn’t need to know about this, even though he figured things out pretty quickly, especially since he could read other
’s thoughts with little to no effort. She glanced back at Eric. “Yes but I’ll be just fine.”

“He can’t protect you, can he?” He pointed his thumb at Tom.

“Of course he can.” She tried to smile but it didn’t convince either of them. “I’m going out for a run,” Jessica said, changing the subject. “You still coming?”

Tom nodded and they headed outside.

Jogging side by side down the quiet suburban street, the silence thickened.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked.

“I will be.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You can’t be with me twenty-four-seven.”

“It’s his fault.”

“No it’s not.”

“He shows up and this shit begins to happen. It’s his fault.”

“If he hadn’t shown up, Emily would be dying of cancer,” Jessica snapped and sped up a little, pulling away from him.

Tom easily caught up with her, but didn’t say anything for a while.

With her feet rhythmically hitting the pavement, her mind drifted to Ty. The fury in his eyes this morning reminded her of the way he looked in the complex when Frank brought her bruised and battered body in the room for the first time. The look was murderous.

A gentle yank on her ponytail brought her back to the present. “Stop it
, Tom.”

“Lighten up.”

“Fuck you.”

He grabbed her arm and stopped running. “Jess, what’s wrong?”

She was taking her frustration out on him and it wasn’t fair. This wasn’t his fault and she knew he would do anything to stop it if he could. “He threatened Emily,” she finally said and began to run again.

Tom caught up to her. “He what?”

“Frank threatened to go after Emily.” The anger burst through the surface and she ran faster. “Ty heard what that bastard said and then both our mirrors shattered.”

Silence filtered between them again, their pace in harmony, each step echoing the other
’s.

“Do you think Ty is making this happen to screw with you?”

Jessica didn’t answer him right away, but she did send enough of a warning glare in his direction to make him take a side step away. “It isn’t Ty doing this to me Tom. He wouldn’t hurt me and he would never threaten my kids.”

“How the hell do you know?”

She stopped and glared at him. “I know.”

“Jess, he hurt you plenty,” Tom said stopping a few steps ahead of her. “Or did you forget?”

“I haven’t forgotten. But he isn’t the man we knew down in that hellhole. Eric and I profoundly changed him, Tom, more than just healing his wounds.”

Tom shook his head. “He’s a killer
, Jess. He should be dead or in jail for everything he’s done.”

“I killed too,” she reminded him.

Tom closed his eyes and put his hands on his hips. “That’s different.”

“How is that different?”

“He’s a psycho, you aren’t. And don’t you dare stand there and tell me he wouldn’t grab you in a second and… and...” he trailed off, the muscles in his jaw working and he clenched his teeth together. “He brought this on us.”

Jessica remembered the words she said to Chris at the lighthouse. “Ok
ay, I’ll admit he may have led Frank to us, but I don’t believe for a second he knew. Frank wants to kill all of us; he wants Ty to watch
me
die.” She paused and looked back in the direction of the house. “He came to give me exactly what I said I wanted, to save Emily.” She started to jog again and Tom followed. “I’d trade my life in a heartbeat for my kids.”

Tom kept pace with her. “What do we do now?”

“I have no idea.”

They slowed as they approached the driveway, walking the rest of the way. “I love you
, Jess.”

“I know and I love you too.” She slung her arm around his waist despite his sweaty shirt and they walked up the front steps. “Did I thank you for coming with me?” She looked up into his blue eyes.

“Not in so many words.”

“Thank you.” She
got on her tiptoes, kissing him gently and pressed the doorbell.

Eric opened the door and let them inside.

Daniel poked his head around the corner, the phone plastered to his ear and he waved them into the kitchen.

“They can see her today,” he said covering the phone. “I just need to find someone to be here when Eric gets home from school.”

“I’ll stay,” Tom offered without consulting Jessica.

She pressed her lips together, looking at him sideways, suddenly irritated that he didn’t want to come to the doctor’s office with them.

“You sure?” Daniel asked, his gaze bouncing from her to Tom and back.

“Yep, I’m sure,” Tom said and he looked at Jessica. “You don’t mind, do you?”

She narrowed her eyes and inhaled, putting on a smile that felt foreign and fake. “No, no problem.”

“That settles it.” Tom leaned down and planted a kiss on Jessica’s forehead before heading upstairs to clean up.

Daniel confirmed the appointment and hung up the phone. “I can find someone if you want me to.”

“No, Tom said he’d stay.”

“But you want him with you.”

Jessica chuckled. “I keep forgetting how well you know me.”

Daniel smiled. “You gave him the look.”

“Yeah, I did. Mind if I get some juice?”

“Go ahead.” He sipped his coffee.

“Is LeAnn coming?” Jessica poured herself a glass of orange juice.

“Yes, she always goes with me. She loves them like they were her own.”

Jessica took a deep breath and nodded. Tom never really understood what it was like to be a parent; he wasn’t around the kids enough. He certainly didn’t understand the sacrifice she made when she gave Daniel primary custody and moved to Maine.

“Sorry Jessie. I didn’t mean to rub it in.”

“You’re lucky.”

He nodded. “I know I am. I don’t know anyone who is divorced and actually still gets along with their ex either.”

“It was a very unique situation
, Danny.”

“Still, you didn’t fight the divorce and were more than generous with everything.”

“I didn’t want the money.” Aris Industries had sent her a very large check for her pain and suffering and she gave it all to Daniel and the children. She wanted to start over with Tom and she couldn’t accept the money knowing it came from Ty.

“I know. But I still appreciate it. It’s made our life a hell of a lot easier.” He smiled at his ex-wife. “Does Tom know how lucky he is?”

“Yes I do,” Tom said walking into the room and wrapping his arms around Jessica. “Yes I do.” He leaned over and kissed her neck. “Mmm. Salty.”

“I need to clean up.” She wiggled out of his grasp and excused herself, leaving Tom and Daniel staring at each other.

* * * *

“You sure you don’t want to be there for Jess?” Daniel asked.

Tom’s smile faded and he turned toward the stairs. “Shit, the mirror,” he said and sprinted for the stairs, leaving Daniel’s question unanswered. He burst into the bathroom just as she stepped into the tub.

“What is it?”

He looked at the wall and her gaze followed. Her reflection stared back.

“Shit,” she said and Tom stepped in the room and closed the door behind him.

“I’ll just stay here while you shower. Okay?” He leaned against the closed door, watching the mirror with dread.
Don’t know what I’ll do if he shows up, but at least I’m here.

* * * *

Stepping behind the shower curtain, she quickly washed and rinsed her body and hair, her heart pounding in her chest the entire time, leaving her mouth dry and her throat throbbing. She turned off the water and reached around the curtain to grab a towel. The rush of cold air on her wrist made her hesitate, dread wrapped its frigid hand around her heart and she took a deep breath reaching farther until the soft terry grazed her fingertips. She yanked the towel behind the curtain, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings, her airway closing, restricting the flow as the panic attack gripped her. Jessica wrapped the towel around her body and willed herself to calm down, forcing deep breaths. Slowly, she moved the curtain aside.

Tom’s blue eyes met hers, his face pale with dread etching lines in his forehead and around his tightly clamped lips. A layer of steam clouded the mirror and relief washed through her, springing tears from her eyes. The lines in his face smoothed and he crossed, wrapping his arms around her and he kissed her wet hair.

She nodded and clung to him. The mirror was starting to clear and she didn’t want to be in the room when it did. “Bedroom,” she said and gathered her things. They went into the bedroom so she could dress. He helped her with her hair by brushing it while she put moisturizer on her face. She put a dash of lipstick on and turned so he could see. “Do I look okay?” she asked, twirling her wet hair and clipping it into an easy up-do.

“You always look fantastic.”

“Thank you.” Her eyes welled with tears and she blinked them back, clearing the sudden burning from the back of her throat. “I don’t like being scared.”

He laughed. “I know. You want to be in control of everything.”

Surprised laughter burst from her lips. “I guess,” she said just before his lips found hers, shutting off the laughter.

He pulled away smiling and wrapping his arms around her tight, holding onto her for longer than he normally would. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked and released his hold on her.

“Yes, I do.” Jessica turned and headed downstairs.

Daniel and LeAnn sat at the kitchen table with Emily eating breakfast. Eric had already caught the bus to school.

“Hi angel,” Jessica said and kissed Emily on the cheek.

She turned to her mother with eyes that were bright and alert and pointed to the pile of pancakes on her plate. “I’m hungry.”

Jessica smiled at her and then up at Tom. “Tom’s going to stay here while we go to the doctor for more tests.”

“Will you stay for dinner?” Emily asked.

“Yes.” Both Jessica and Tom answered at the same time and smiled at each other.

* * * *

“So did you settle on which college you want to go to?” Jessica asked Emily on the drive to the hospital.

“No.” Emily picked at a hangnail, avoiding her mother’s eyes.

“Why not?” She glanced into the rearview mirror and caught Daniel’s warning glance.

Emily shrugged. “Just never got around to it.”

“Well, where were you accepted?”

“UConn, University of Hartford, Boston University and NYU.”

“No Yale or Harvard?”

Emily chuckled. “No, no Yale or Harvard.”

“So which one do you want to go to?”

“I kind of like the idea of going to school in New York City.”

Jessica raised her eyebrow. “Really?”

Emily nodded. “It’s also one of the top ten schools for teaching in the country.”

“You still want to be a teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Then NYU it is.”

Daniel cleared his throat and traded a glance with LeAnn and turned off the highway, navigating the roads to the large parking garage attached to the hospital.

They didn’t have to wait long before Emily was carted off for tests that included an MRI along with routine blood work.

“Jessica can I have a word with you?” LeAnn asked.

“Sure, what’s up?” Jessica replied.