Chapter Fifteen

Jenna. Jenna. He’s coming!

She stirred, head aching. “Harry?”

Thank God you’re okay.

She blinked and looked around the room, her blood running cold. “Lexi! Where’s Lexi?”

She’s all right. She’s with a cop and a private investigator downstairs. She’s safe.

Jenna slumped against the wall in relief. “The police are here?”

Who is Lorenzo Dante?

“My ex-husband,” she said, fear turning her stomach.

He’s here. Get the gun I put on top of the TV cabinet.

“Where are you?” she asked, looking around the room. “I want to see you.”

“I’m here.”

She watched him materialize just a few feet away from her, and felt such a surge of emotion to see him again.

“I’m powerless against him, Jenna. You’re the only one who can see me. Feel me.”

She nodded, feeling just as powerless against Lorenzo.

“There is something else I need to tell you.”

She pushed herself to her feet and had to stop for a moment as her vision dimmed and her head swam.

“It’s about the money that was in the duffel bag.”

“Charlene took it,” she said, and couldn’t believe that she’d trusted that woman. It just showed how bad her instincts were. Like now. She looked at Harry. She saw the expression on his face. “No.”

“I switched the boxes.”

She let out a laugh and shook her head in astonishment. What part of “he’s a thief” didn’t she get?

“You have to understand. I thought I would spend the rest of eternity here, feeling nothing, being nothing. But then you came and changed everything. I want to be with you, Jenna. I can’t stand the thought that when you leave here, I will go back to being nothing again.”

“What did you think you were going to do with the money?” Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the suite door stood open. she took a couple of steps toward it.

He grabbed her arm. “It was just an old reflex and this crazy hope that I could buy my way out of here. That I could be with you. I thought with something this strong between us, maybe…”

She looked into his eyes again and realized what he was saying. She felt tears fill her own eyes as he pulled her to him. In his arms, she had believed anything was possible, but now she realized only one of them would be able to leave here. No amount of money could buy Harry Ballantine’s way out of Fernhaven.

“He’s just outside, Jenna.” Harry released her and went to the TV cabinet. He picked up her gun and handed it to her.

She took it, her fingers trembling. She still felt light-headed, and her heart was so filled with regret that the gun felt extra heavy in her hands.

Can you kill him? He’d asked the words in her head.

She met Harry’s gaze. He must have seen that instant of hesitation. She heard him groan.

“We’re going to need another plan. Quick, come with me.”

 

FOG DRIFTED PAST on a light breeze as Lorenzo cautiously approached the hotel.

Jenna couldn’t have gotten away. Charlene had to be lying. He wiped a smear of her blood from his knuckles onto his pants, wondering what she’d done with his money.

What nagged at him was that Charlene had looked as surprised as he’d been when the money hadn’t been in the box.

He slowed. The afternoon was dark, the clouds low and heavy with moisture. Mist moved through the air like floating cobwebs, and a strange cold feeling seemed to settle in his bones.

A light glowed in the lobby, and in front of it he saw figures in the lobby—Rose Garcia and the man she’d arrived with.

Apparently the man had been shot, because Rose was helping him. Alexandria was with her.

Lorenzo swore as he watched them disappear from view. He didn’t need any more trouble. All he wanted was his money. And Jenna.

Staying in the shadows, he moved up the steps and across the wide porch. No sign of Rose and the man. Where had they gone? He drew his gun and eased open the front door. The place was eerily empty. The lush, thick carpet muffled his footfalls as he moved quickly to the registration desk and quietly checked the book.

The first guest since 1936 was a Jenna Johnson. Johnson? Yeah, right. According to the book, she was in room 318. So Charlene at least hadn’t lied about that. All the cubbyholes behind the desk contained two keys, except for the slot marked 318. It had only one in it.

He pocketed the key with a smile and turned toward the elevator.

As he did he heard a sound coming from behind the door marked Manager. He heard Rose Garcia calling the police. Too late to stop her. He’d just have to move quickly and finish his business here before the cops arrived.

At the elevator, he pushed the button and waited. He was considering taking the stairs instead when the elevator doors opened and he saw an elderly, gray-haired man. The man’s surprised gaze went from Lorenzo’s face to the gun in his hand.

Lorenzo stepped in, the elevator doors closing behind him as he reached over and hit the third-floor button.

“Who the—” That’s all the old man got out before Lorenzo backhanded him with the gun. The old man slid slowly to the floor as the elevator hummed upward.

 

LOCKED INSIDE THE MANAGER’S office, Rose worked to stop Mike’s bleeding. She’d pulled off her jacket and folded the soft fabric, pressing it against the gunshot wound. Mike was pale, his skin clammy.

“A lot of help I was to you,” he said.

She smiled at him. “You’re just a high-priced private eye. You’re not used to women shooting at you. Or are you?”

His smile was feeble. “I didn’t see the gun in her hand until it was too late. I was looking at you and Lexi.”

That’s what she’d feared.

Lexi was crying softly. Rose pulled her closer. “It’s all right.” She met Mike’s gaze. “I’ve called for backup and an ambulance.”

He nodded and covered her hand with his. Their eyes met and she felt her heart drop like a stone. “Don’t dare think about taking off on me,” she murmured. They both knew what she meant.

“Not a chance,” he whispered. “Not after I finally got you to admit you wanted to date me.”

She looked at Lexi. Where was the little girl’s mother? Was Jenna still alive?

“Go on,” he said. “Find Jenna. I’ll be all right. I’ll take care of Lexi.”

He looked as if he might pass out at any moment. Rose knew if she left him he might die. She glanced from Mike to the little girl. Lexi had curled up beside Mike, hugging her rag doll and looking terrified.

“I know what you came up here to do,” Mike said quietly.

Kill Lorenzo, Rose thought.

“Go ahead. I wasn’t going to try to stop you,” Mike said.

She felt the pull. She was a cop. A cop on medical leave. Out of her jurisdiction. On a mission. She had come up here to make sure Lorenzo Dante was stopped for good, and Mike knew it.

“Several of the highway patrol are close by because of more flooding on the road,” she said.

She could hear sirens in the distance. They would be here soon.

“I’ll be all right,” he whispered.

She shook her head. She couldn’t leave this scared little girl alone with a man who might bleed to death while she was gone. “The highway patrol will find Jenna and help her.” If Jenna was still alive.

Rose looked into Mike’s eyes. She had thought she would do anything to stop Lorenzo Dante. But she was wrong. “I’m not leaving you,” she whispered. “Or Lexi. Come here, sweetheart,” she said to the little girl. Rose might not be able to help Jenna right now, but she could protect her daughter. “Everything is going to be all right.”

Lexi moved into the circle of Rose’s arm as the three huddled in the dim office, the sirens growing louder and louder.

 

HARRY DREW HER DOWN the hallway. Jenna heard the elevator begin to rise three floors below. She looked up at the dial over the closed doors. Someone was coming up. Lorenzo?

The stairs. Take the stairs!

She looked around for the door to the stairway. Harry grabbed her hand and they ran down the hallway as the elevator dinged behind them. They were still yards away when the elevator opened.

Harry pulled Jenna into one of the rooms that wasn’t quite finished yet.

She tried to hold her breath as she heard the heavy tread of footfalls on the hall carpet. The elevator doors closed. Silence. Then she heard the door to suite 318 bang open. She looked over at Harry. He motioned for her to wait.

She looked into his eyes—bottomless blue eyes. She tried to imagine living in the same time he had, being with him then, and her heart ached. She thought about opening night at Fernhaven, June 12, 1936.

Closing her eyes, she imagined being in the big ballroom with Harry, dancing to the music of the orchestra. She could almost smell all the flowers she’d seen on the tables, their scents mixing with the expensive perfumes the women were wearing.

Jenna would be dressed in a gown the color of Harry’s eyes. He would hold her close and they would sway to the music. She could almost feel his heart beating next to hers to the old-fashioned strains…. Then she heard the sound of breaking glass, and Lorenzo swearing.

 

LORENZO STARED DOWN at the broken lamp on the floor, then looked around for something else he could destroy. If Jenna was hiding in here, he’d find her.

He still had the gun in his hand, but he wasn’t going to shoot her. He thought he might choke the life out of her so he could watch her die. He wanted to be the last thing she saw when she left this earth.

He couldn’t believe this was where she’d been staying. A suite? The bitch had been staying in this elegant place on his money?

He moved deeper into the suite to check in the closets, under the bed. He’d seen her suitcases by the door. If she’d left, she’d left everything behind. Just taken the money, he thought with fury.

That’s when he heard the creak of door hinges down the hallway, and swung around. The stairs. He could hear her footfalls on the steps.

 

JENNA RAN DOWN THE STAIRS, practically throwing herself down the stairwell. It was cold and gray in here, and her footfalls echoed loudly.

She couldn’t hear if Lorenzo was behind her, if he was gaining on her. Nor could she hear or see Harry. Was he still with her?

Then she heard the door bang open above her, heard Lorenzo’s lumbering steps, as if he was half falling down the stairs in his rush to catch her.

Breathe.

Her heart thundered in her ears, louder than the horrible sound of Lorenzo gaining on her. And she felt an overwhelming sense of relief that Harry was still with her.

Then, suddenly, there was the exit door. Ground floor.

Take that door.

She shoved it open and stumbled out into the stormy darkness, met by a wave of cold dampness. It took her a moment to realize where she was. The courtyard. The only light was around the fountain. Everywhere else held pockets of shadow and mist.

Run to the path up the mountain.

“Harry?”

Run. You have to trust me.

Trust him? She could hear Lorenzo coming down the stairs.

Wait.

She had reached the edge of the courtyard, where the dense forest began.

Wait for him.

She stopped. “Harry, you’re scaring me.”

I’m going to help you. But you have to trust me. Can you do that, Jenna?

She took a deep breath and let it out.

Mist rose from the hot pools as Jenna waited at the edge of the courtyard for Lorenzo, wondering what she was doing. More to the point, what Harry was planning.

Let him see you, then take the path behind you. Trust me.

She let out a small laugh, half-hysterical, at the sound of Harry’s voice in her head. She’d more than lost her mind. She was about to lose her life. At least Lexi was safe. She did trust that Harry had told her the truth about her daughter. She could hear the sound of sirens growing closer.

There he is.

She could feel the gun tucked at the small of her back. Through the steam rising off the hot pools she saw Lorenzo come out the door into the courtyard. He spotted her and smiled as he began walking toward her.

This was crazy. But Harry was right about one thing. It had to end on this mountain. Jenna couldn’t live in fear the rst of her life. She had to protect her daughter.

She turned and started up the path, through the dense woods, as Harry had instructed. As she climbed, following the narrow track, the trees like a wall on each side of her, the clouds grew darker, the fog thicker. She could barely see two feet in front of her.

She didn’t look back, just kept climbing. Lorenzo wasn’t worried about catching her. His arrogance wouldn’t allow him to hurry. He thought he had her right where he wanted her. Maybe he did. Maybe this voice inside her head was of her own making. If so, then Lorenzo had driven her to this.

We’re almost there.

The sound of Harry’s voice sent a stab of yearning through her. She hadn’t lost her mind. Instead, she’d found something else here at Fernhaven. Something she couldn’t bear to lose.

She slowed as the path reached a small clearing. Mist swirled around large boulders and wind-twisted trunks of cedar trees.

Walk just ahead and wait for him. Stop.

Jenna stared back the way they’d come. A breeze stirred the tops of the trees, swirling the fog and mist, making a low groaning sound. The air was cold and damp and seemed to cut through her clothing. She hugged herself to still her trembling as she caught a glimpse of something moving through the fog toward her. Lorenzo?

She drew the gun and started to take a step back, but Harry stopped her.

There’s a cliff behind you.

Jenna swung around. She could see nothing but fog. She kicked a small rock and heard it drop over the side, hit way below her, then again, the sound echoing up until she heard nothing. She could feel Harry with her.

Jenna…

She turned back around, hearing something in Harry’s voice that scared her more than standing on the edge of a cliff.

“What is it?”

We’re not alone. I don’t know who it is.

She heard a strange sound in his voice and began to shake harder as a figure slowly took shape out of the mist.

Raymond Valencia stopped just yards from her. He looked odd, his clothing almost too neat after the climb up the mountain.

“Raymond?” Why did she get the feeling it wasn’t really him? “What are you doing here?”

“He can’t save you, Jenna,” Raymond said. “He was never interested in saving you—only himself. He’s a con man, Jenna. A thief. Haven’t you realized that?”

Who was Raymond talking about? Lorenzo?

“He tricked you, Jenna. Made you fall in love with him. You think it’s a coincidence you ended up at Fernhaven?” He shook his head. “He willed you here, knowing you were in trouble.”

She shook her own head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Harry Ballantine, Jenna. He’s the one who got you here so you could save his life.”

She stared at Raymond, her heart in her throat. Raymond Valencia knew about Harry?

“Tell her, Harry. You stole Bobby John Chamberlain’s identity so you could attend the Fernhaven grand opening to steal the jewelry you knew would be here. But you got caught in the fire. Except Bobby John Chamberlain was supposed to die. Not you. Not Harry Ballantine. Come on out, Harry. Show yourself. Don’t be shy.”

“How do you know all this?” Jenna cried.

“Because Raymond Valencia’s dead, Jenna,” Harry said, materializing beside her. “His helicopter crashed not far from here in the storm.”

“That’s right, Jenna,” Raymond said. “I can’t help you, either. But I can warn you. Harry wins either way. If he fails, he’s trapped here for eternity. But then so are you.”

She felt her knees go weak. None of this was happening. She was still inside the hotel on the floor, suffering from a concussion after Charlene had hit her. Maybe she was dead. Or maybe just dreaming.

“There is no redemption for Harry Ballantine because of the life he led before his untimely death,” Raymond said. “No matter what he does, he isn’t leaving this place. Save yourself, Jenna, before it’s too late.”

Redemption? Is that what this was about? The mist seemed to engulf Raymond. Jenna stared at the spot where he’d been standing, but he was gone.

She looked over at Harry. Their eyes met. Was it true? Was he nothing but a thief and a con man? Had he lured her here for his own reasons? “Tell me what he said isn’t true.”

His image seemed to fade. He said nothing.

She heard the snap of a twig, the scuff of a shoe on stone. Lorenzo came lumbering up over the rise. He looked winded and his pants were muddy, as if he’d fallen.

He leaned against one of the large rocks, obviously trying to catch his breath, but his eyes were on her. His lips turned up in a smile. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Jenna. You shouldn’t have taken my money.”

Jenna took a step toward him, remembering the cliff behind her. Lorenzo had strength and size on his side, not to mention a weapon under his jacket. Lorenzo always had a weapon close by.

He pushed himself off the huge rock he’d been leaning on and sauntered toward her. “You didn’t really think you could get away from me, did you?”

“No,” she said, realizing she never had. “I guess I always knew this moment would come.”

He was close enough that she could smell him, the sweat, the blood, the stale, leftover fear. “This is some freaky place you picked to hide in, you know?”

If he only knew. She drew the gun from behind her and pointed it at his heart.

He froze in midstep. “What do you think you’re doing?” He let out a coarse laugh. “You don’t even know how to use a gun.”

She fired off a shot that ricocheted off the rocks behind him.

He swallowed, his face going slack, a flicker of fear showing in his eyes. “So you learned how to fire a gun. You ever see a bullet rip through flesh? Ever see someone die right before your eyes? It’s an ugly sight, Jenna, one you would never get out of your head.” His smile broadened. “Firing a shot into the air is one thing. But put a bullet into a man? The man who fathered your daughter? The man who you once loved?”

He started to step closer.

“Don’t!” Jenna cried, her finger tensing on the trigger. He was right about one thing. She couldn’t shoot him.

She lowered the gun, dropping it to her feet as she braced herself.

She’d already decided there was only one thing she could do: grab him and take him with her over the edge of the cliff. She tried not to think about leaving Lexi behind, because that would make her weak, and right now Jenna had to be strong. Dying herself was one thing, but she couldn’t leave Lorenzo free. Couldn’t leave knowing he could get her baby girl.

Lorenzo smiled. “I knew you couldn’t shoot me.”

She thought about what Raymond had said—that Harry had brought her here. That if he couldn’t find a way to leave, then he would make sure she didn’t, either. Was that why he’d brought her up here? He wanted her to die and be trapped here with him?

After you grab him, drop down and let the momentum of his motion propel him over your head and out.

At first she wasn’t even sure she’d heard Harry, let alone heard him correctly.

Raymond’s right, I can’t save you. All I can do is try to help you. If you should fall, try to stay close to the edge of the cliff. There’s a ledge about ten feet below you.

A ledge ten feet down. Right. “Always a con man, huh?”

Lorenzo frowned at her words. “What?” He quickly glanced behind him. “Who are you talking to?”

Jenna, Raymond was wrong, though, about us. If it makes any difference, I didn’t bring you here. You were sent to me. I thought it was because we were supposed to be together. I guess I was wrong about that. Something is happening to me. Hurry. I feel as if I don’t have much time.

“I asked you who you were talking to,” Lorenzo snapped, and stuck his face into hers.

She grabbed him by the jacket and did as Harry told her, jerking him hard and at the same time ducking down. Her shoulder caught him in the groin. He let out a howl. His larger, heavier body went airborne over the top of her.

She’d done it!

Then she felt his fingers clutch the back of her jacket and find purchase. She was jerked backward. She grabbed at the ground, but the weight of his body pulled her over the edge of the cliff.

She turned in the air, throwing herself into the movement, breaking Lorenzo’s hold on her as she shoved him away, propelling him outward and her toward the cliff.

But now she was falling, and below there was nothing but fog and the sound of Lorenzo’s screams.

Jenna saw the ledge coming up at the very last moment. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable. She hit, but something—someone—broke her fall.

She lay stone still for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Below her, Lorenzo’s screams stopped with a sickening thud.

She closed her eyes and told herself it was over. She was alive. Lexi was safe. They would never have to fear Lorenzo again. “Harry?”

No answer.

Tears welled behind her closed lids. A sob escaped her lips and she choked on her tears. She had won. But her loss was overwhelming.

“Will I ever see you again?” she asked in a whisper.

She tried to feel his presence, but could sense him slipping away. She choked back more tears. “Do you have to stay here?”

Still no answer.

In the distance she could hear sirens and voices calling out for her.

But inside her head there was nothing but silence.