Page 63 of Serial Love

Lifting one eyebrow in question, he stayed silent, so she plunged forward.

“Jack, my grandparents built this lodge to be their home. That’s what they wanted. And living right there allowed them to take care of the guests. They were living their dream.” She stopped, holding his gaze as she continued. “But that’s not my dream.”

He moved his fingers from her chin and slowly slid his large hand over her cheek, cupping it closely whilerubbing his thumb over her soft skin. “What’s your dream, beautiful?”

“You,” she breathed out. “You’re my dream.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the emotion to wash over him, carrying away the doubt, the concern, the hesitation. Opening them once more, he smiled, seeing her still staring up at him as though he truly was her dream.

Before he could speak, she continued. “Since I didn’t know if you felt the same, it’s kind of embarrassing to admit that I’ve got it all figured out. But since you do love me, do you want to hear my plan?”

“Abso-fuckin-lutely, beautiful,” he admitted, his ego bursting with the knowledge that she wanted to be in his life and in his home.Their home.

“Ican still own and work at Mountville. I can be here during the day, manage it, run, it, and keep doing what I do now. But like a day job. Then I can be with you every night. And if you’re gone on business, I can take care of your place as well. All I need is to find someone, or a family, who wants to live in the lodge and be there for the occasional need at night. And if I find that the wedding business goes well, then I could build a large reception hall on the east side of the lake where the small meadow is now. And?—”

Before she could finish her thoughts, he latched onto her lips. This time the kiss was anything but gentle. It was a scorching, white-hot, tongue-tangling assault as she melted under him. It was another hour before they managed to get out of bed.

22

Standing in Jack’s kitchen later in the day, Bethany washed the dishes from lunch. “Honey, I’ve got to get back. There're at least two more groups coming in this afternoon and that’ll fill up my last three cabins for the weekend.”

“I didn’t think the fall was that busy once Labor Day was over,” he commented, coming up behind her placing a hand on either side of her at the sink, entrapping her in his embrace. Nibbling on her neck, he knew she needed to go, and he was expecting his men at any time. But the soft skin over her pulse was calling to him.

Giggling, she playfully slapped his arm while unable to contain the moan that escaped. “Later, I promise.”

Walking her to her car parked in the front of the house, he saw several vehicles approaching. As some of the Saints came in, they all greeted each other. Marc was still with Cam on an assignment somewhere else, but the other five were there. Chad and Blaise smiled, seeing the ease with which Bethany fit into theircamaraderie, while Monty and Luke noticed their boss’ apparent happiness.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” Bethany called out once more, standing on her tiptoes to place a quick kiss on Jack’s lips. “Those fishermen have got to get checked in so they can head to the lake.”

“More fishermen?” Bart asked.

“Yeah. Well, I call them fishermen. They’re not professional fishermen. They just love fishing, and they travel all over the state to these fishing competitions that the various parks and lakes have. You know? Whoever catches the biggest fish wins the prize. These men and women are dedicated to this sport.”

Fishing. Travel. Different lakes and rivers.Jack’s mind began to whirl as Bethany hopped into her car and headed back to Mountville. The men stared at each other for a few seconds before rushing inside to the command center.

“Pull up a list of the contests,” he barked to Blaise. Turning to Chad, he ordered, “Get a list of what bodies of water are near the campuses where the victims have been.” To Luke, he said, “Dig into the college records from about twenty-eight years ago.”

“What am I looking for?” Luke asked.

“White male, discipline records. Personal not academic. Can you get that?” Jack asked.

Luke appeared hurt. “Boss, you want it, I can hack into it.”

“Good. We might just be closer to finding our mysterious Stan Jefferson.”

“You thinking he may be one of the hobby fishing sportsmen?”

“Don’t know, but if we can get a name, then we can cross reference it to the lists of contests for the past few years.”

While the others were busy with their computers, Monty surmised out loud. “So, this Stan, in order to please mom, kills the girl he sees his dad banging, or to act out his own fantasy. Or maybe he liked her first and she’d turned him down. Manages to not get caught. If mom knows, she sure as shit isn’t saying. If dad knows, he’s not about to say anything or he’d have to admit he got the girl pregnant. Stan graduates from high school, gets out of town and completely changes his identity. Goes to college to be a new person.”

Bart looks up from his computer and says, “Yeah, but the urge to kill is still there?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, we know from the profiler that the urges may have always been there but, until Charlene, they were never acted on.”

“What do you think?” Chad asked. “He gets shot down by some girl and kills her, using the same method he used on Charlene?”

Jack slowly nodded. “It has to be a good girl. Someone he liked. Someone who may have been nice to him. He makes a move or sees her doing something that doesn’t fit his ideal of her. He presses, she pokes him in the chest to make her point and he kills her.”

---