Page 2 of Serial Love

His father, face lined and worn with years in the hot sun working on the farm, stood stoically as he lifted his hand to the son who was now a man. Jack glanced down at the hand offered but pulled his father into a hug instead.

“Dad, I’ll make you proud,” Jack promised, notingthe sting of tears in the back of his eyes as he embraced his father. A large man, not often given to outward signs of affection, surprised Jack as he returned his son’s hug.

As his father pulled away, he looked up at his son’s eager expression and replied, “Already have, boy. You already have.”

Jack turned to his mother, now openly crying, and lifted his arms, allowing her to rush in as well. Trying to make light of the situation, he said, “Mom, I’ll miss you, but I’ll miss your cookies the most.”

She laughed through her tears as she hugged him tighter. As the squeal of the bus’s brakes interrupted their moment, she moved out of his arms, reaching into her pocket. He looked down at her outstretched hand, a silver pendant glistening in the sunlight.

Pressing it into his hands, she said, “It’s a St. James medallion. It was your grandfather’s. I know you can’t wear it in the Army, but he is the patron saint of soldiers. I…I just want you to have it. May he keep you safe.”

Clearing his throat loudly to choke back the emotion, he clenched the pendant in his fist. Lifting his eyes to her face, he offered a smile. Nodding to both, he snatched his bag off the sidewalk and turned to walk to the bus.

With a glance over his shoulder, he said, “I love you, Mom. You too, Dad.” As he settled into the seat looking out of the window, he noticed his father placing his arm around his mother in a show of affection and support. Realizing his hand still clenched the pendant, he opened his fingers. He rubbed his thumb over the silver, feelingthe indentations, thinking of his name. St. Jacques. St. James.

Sucking in a huge breath and letting it out slowly, he shoved the pendant into his jeans pocket. With a last wave goodbye, he headed toward his future. Army Special Forces. Then? Jack was unsure, but he breathed easier with the medallion in his pocket.

2

TEN YEARS LATER

The three girls left the bar, clinging to each other as they teetered on their high heels. Tipsy giggles were heard as they walked across the campus. Celebrating her twenty-first birthday getting drunk was so cliché, but Tonya Perkins loved it. She was the last of her friends to turn twenty-one, so they decided to go all out. Their short skirts and low tops left little to the imagination, but what the hell, it was a celebration. Starting with dinner where the servers sangHappy Birthdayand ending with visiting several bars, each one offering the birthday girl free drinks, the trio now staggered back toward their apartment.

It was after midnight and the clicking of their heels resounded loudly, although the campus was hardly empty. Tonya loved Montwood College and recognized many of the faces passing by. Sybil and Alice had been her roommates since freshman year and while many college students did not get along with their first roommates, the three had been inseparable. Graduation wasonly a few months away and then real life would hit all of them. But for now? Continuing to celebrate was all she wanted to do.

Pounding footsteps came from behind, and the three girls turned, still teetering on their heels, as they saw two of the men they’d danced with at the bar running toward them. Holding hands and giggling, they stopped as they waited.

“Damn, they’re one man short,” Alice said, recognizing the blond she had been tangled with on the dance floor.

Tonya saw that the two men approaching were the two that had been dancing with her friends. The blond-haired man that had been buying her continuous birthday drinks was not with them. The two men halted in front of the trio, eyeing Sybil and Alice.

“We thought you’d like to extend the evening,” one of them said, sauntering up to Sybil. The other threw his arm around Alice, slurring his words as he invited her back to his apartment.

“Guys,” Alice whined. “What happened to the guy all over Tonya? We can’t just leave her.”

The men looked confused for a second before one spoke, “He wasn’t with us. We thought he was her boyfriend.”

Tonya laughed and gave her friends a slight push toward the men. “Go on, bitches. I’m almost at the apartment and I’ll be fine. You two have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Well, then hell boys, you’re out of luck,” Sybil joked, “because she never does anything.”

Offering goodbyes, Tonya watched the foursome turn and walk in the opposite direction. She pulled her keys out of her purse and headed down the block to their place. The area was illuminated with streetlights and the security light at the front of their apartment building. The only dark spot was near the trashcans. Passing the alcove where the garbage dumpster sat back from the road, she gasped as hands reached out to grab her. A foul-smelling cloth was placed over her nose and as her body slumped backward, the stars in the sky were the last sight she viewed before blackness descended.

He stood outside the room where the girl was still sleeping, her restraints would keep her from escaping. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he reveled in the feeling of rightness.The right time, the right place, the right girl.They were all sluts after all…all of them. That’s what mama always said.

He looked down at the camera hanging around his neck. This part had gotten easier. In the old days, he had to develop his own film. But now? Digital and his computer made it simple.

Straightening, he sucked in another fortifying breath. With the long thin knife in his hand, he was ready. Entering the room, he smiled.

3

The early morning fog draped the woods creating shapes and patterns as Jack Bryant ran along the path. Late spring in Virginia was cool, but sweat dripped off him as he continued to follow the trail around the perimeter of his property. It wound through a dense copse of trees, their protruding roots caused him to note their locations, but gave him no difficulty.

The years spent in Special Forces had him well trained to run through all types of terrain, his focus clear as his feet found their purchase wherever he was. This trail? Easy. Pounding along the route, he remembered his time in the Army with pride…and fondness. Earning a place in Captain Tony Alvarez’s squad had been the ultimate goal. Those tours and missions made this run seem like a stroll in the park.

The back of his acreage sat at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and he began to climb slightly. The oak and maple trees created a complete canopy overhead while the redbud and occasional dogwood gavethe hint of blooms in the sea of green leaves. Moss and fern grew beside a small stream he jumped over before turning and heading back to his cabin.

He loved the early morning runs. A time to plan his day. Work through problems. And running the perimeter of his land gave him a chance to make sure the fence was secure. He had bought the secluded property for its privacy and had researched his neighbors carefully before purchasing. The back of his land bordered on the Parkway and the north side owned by a small vineyard that was floundering in its first years of growing the vines necessary to make wine. The owner, from another state, only occasionally made forays to the property, probably creating a tax write-off. The vineyard manager onsite checked out fine when Jack completed an assessment of him. The manager kept to himself and was dedicated to making the farm productive, leaving little time for anything else.

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